Learn more about our PARKERs in the Family Tree Database .

The PARKER Name

(information complied by Martha MOORE PARKER)

"The Latin origin of the name PARKER is PARCARIUS, which means park keeper or shepherd. Danes, Saxons, and Normans

all used the name. The very earliest PARKER had his occupation as a member of feudal society. A PARKER, to even deserve

this family name in feudal society, must have already become a man of some standing. This earliest PARKER was the keeper

of the king's hunting ground and probably managed the herds of livestock the king possessed. He had to supply not only sport

for the king but also meat for the royal household. He may very well have been a manager of the king's personal lands and

forests in all matters that were not directly military.

"Because of the evolutionary nature of name development, it is impossible to pinpoint the exact date of the formation of any

new name. PARKER, of course, is no exception. However, the surname PARKER is found throughout the country of England,

and some of the ancient records of the English nation, including the famous Hundred Rolls, give evidence of early forms of the

name. The names listed below are excerpts from these records.

• John Parcar, County Dorsetshire, Hundred Rolls, 1273

• Adam le Parker, County Norfolk, Hundred Rolls, 1273

• Peter le Parker, County Yorkshire ,Hundred Rolls 1273

• Martin le Parker, County Somersetshire, Kirby's Quest, 1327 - 1377

"By the time of the first census in America in 1790, many PARKER families had settled in this country. Census records indicate

there were more PARKER heads-of-households living in Massachusetts and North Carolina than any other part of America.

Official U.S. records complied in 1974 indicate that in that year PARKER was the 49th most frequently used surname in the

nation, and there were approximately 322,500 adult Americans named PARKER."