This surname is derived from an occupation. 'the parker,' the guardian, keeper, or custodian of a park. Found in every early register all over the country. I furnish but a few instances; v. Park. 'Parcar, verdier': Palsgrave. 'Parkere, indagator': Promptorium Parvulorum This surname has almost become a rival of Smith, Wright, Green, Brown, Jones, and Robinson for numbers.

John Parcar, Dorset, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Adam le Parker, Norfolk, ibid.

Peter le Parker, Yorkshire, ibid.

Martin le Parkar, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Hamo le Parkere. Calendarium Inquisitionum Post Mortem.

Robert le Parkere. Calendarium Rotulorum Originalium.

1570. Hugh Parker and Alice Bateman, widow: Marriage Lic. (London).

From the occupation of park-keeper. William le Parker, person of Kilmon, Perthshire, rendered homage, 1296 (Bain, II, p. 208,213). Gilcrist Parker was park-keeper at Cardross in 1329 (ER., I, p. 130), and Matheus Parker, juror on inquest, 1325 (RAA., I, p. 311). Andrew Perkeire, burgess of Dunde in 1368 (RMS., I, 236), appears in same year as Perkerr (Panmure, II, 178). Duncan Parkare was burgess of Dundee, 1429 (RMS., II, 131), and Andrew Parcar witnessed a charter by Andrew de Ogilvy of Inchmartin, 1444 (Milne, p. 31). Perker 1565. It is difficult for us to form any conception of how important the hunting of game was in the days of feudalism to both the nobles and the vassals. The game preserve, according to its size and character, was known as a 'forest,' a 'chase,' a 'park,' or a 'warren.'

(English) Park-Keeper, Gamekeeper [Middle English parker(e, etc.; v. under Park(e, and + the agential suff. -er] Our 13th and 14th cent. Rolls abound with such entries as ‘Adam le Parker’ and ‘Michael le Parcur.’ Grayvis [reeves], and baylys [bailiffs], and parker Schone [shall] come to acountes every yere.—The Boke of Curtasye, 589-90.

Derived from the Old-French parquier (parkkeeper) it is on record in Ireland since mediaeval times and is prominent in the “census” of 1659; but most Irish Parkers of the present day, who are mainly found in Ulster, are more recent immigrants. MIF 281*

See Perkins.

(English, Welsh) One in charge of a park for the lord of the manor; a gamekeeper.

An officer who had the surveillance of a park for some royal or noble personage. Collins traces the Earl of Macclesfield's family to Thomas le Parker, temp. Edward II. The extinct baronet family, Parker of Ratton, traced their pedigree to temp. Edward I. in Sussex. Le Parkere, Le Parker, Parcarius, &c., H.R.

The keeper of a park.

See Lyon for the early history. William le Parker or De Lions gave the park at Croxton for the foundation of an abbey (Monasticon Anglicanum), and Hugh, his brother, accompanied King Richard I. to Palestine. The family appears after this in Essex, Norfolk, Bucks, and Stafford, whence a branch removed to Notts, t. Richard II., and were Lords of Norton Lees, Derby, where, and in Stafford, they resided till Thomas Parker became Lord Chancellor, and Earl of Macclesfield.

Matthew, Archbishop of Canterbury, was lineally descended from a Norfolk family, one of whom, Nicholas P., in 1450, became principal registrar of the Archbishop of Canterbury (Strype’s Parker; Blomefield, Norfolk, iii. 306). In 1396 Roger P. had been bailiff of Norwich. About 1218 Hugo le Parker held the hundred of South Erpingham from Hubert de Burgh, Earl of Kent, and it was also held 1274 by Hugo le Parker, his son (Blomefield). The family had come from Leicester; for c. 1200 Hubert de Burgh, E. of Kent, had a grant of Croxton in Leicester, where the family of le Parker or de Lions had been long seated. Hugo le Parker was hereditary Parker or Forester of the royal park at Croxton, and accompanied Hubert de Burgh to Normandy, and was his tenant (Mon. Angl. ii. 604). Through Hubert de B. this branch became seated in Norfolk. See Parker, or De Lions.

Descended from Norman le Parcar or Forester, who held from Queen Matilda in 1083 (Exon. Domesd.). He appears to be the same as Norman Venator of Salop 1086 (Eyton, ix. 361,362; Mon. i. 375), brother probably of Hugh Fitz-Norman De la Mare. See De la Mare. From him descended Hugh Parcarius of Devon, 13th cent. (Testa de Neville); Roger le Parker 1313 (Parliamentary Writs), and the Parkers Earls of Morley.

And Parkman (English), Park keeper or dweller.

From the German, Parke; a personal name.

Parker: the official in charge of the deer-park. Hence Parkman, Parkes.

Parker. —Distributed almost all over England, but absent or conspicuously rare in the extreme south - western counties of Devon and Cornwall. Its principal centres are in the northern half of the country, the first in the West Riding and in the adjacent counties of Lancashire, Derby, and Lincoln, and the second in Northumberland, but it does not extend across the border. It has also additional homes in the south of England, in Essex on the east coast, in Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire in the west, and in Hampshire on the south coast.

Parker is an ancient occupational name. It probably first came to this country with the Norman Conquest, though it possibly existed here prior to 1066. The surname Parker derives from the Old French word ‘parquer’ (‘parchier’), which means ‘park keeper’ or ‘ranger’. The Old French word derives in turn from a Germanic original meaning ‘a park, enclosure, or thinly wooded land kept for beasts of the chase’.

There are several related surnames, such as Parkman, and Parkhouse (place name for a dweller in a house in a park), and Duparc (Norman, meaning ‘of the park’).

Variations on the name Parker include Park, Parke, Parks and Parkes. Park and Parkes are, strictly speaking, place names (i.e. a dweller in a park). However, as often as not they probably indicated someone who worked in a park, and were thus occupational names.

The first reference to the surname Parker is in the Domesday Book records for Somerset where, in 1086, one Anschetel Parcher is listed.

When someone can’t mind his own business, he’s colloquially labelled a ‘nosey parker’. The original was sixteenth-century English clergyman Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury under Queen Elizabeth I, whose critics dubbed him ‘Nosey Parker’ because he kept poking his nose into church matters that weren’t his concern.

One man stood between Abraham Lincoln and assassin John Wilkes Booth-an alcoholic policeman named John Parker, the only guard posted outside the President’s box at Ford’s Theater. Half-way through the evening’s performance he wandered off to get a drink, with consequences that changed the course of American history.

Comanche leader Quanah Parker, son of a chief who had married a white woman captured in childhood, led a year-long Texas rebellion of 700 warriors against the full might of the US cavalry before agreeing to settle on a reservation in 1875. He went on to become a powerful mediator between his people and the whites, spending his last 30 years as a successful businessman while still retaining his Indian culture and beliefs.

British Admiral Sir Hyde Parker sent a withdrawal signal to the Baltic Fleet during the 1801 Battle of Copenhagen. His subordinate, Horatio Nelson, whose small ships had done most of the fighting, put his telescope to his blind eye so he could honestly claim he hadn’t received the order, then went on to win the battle.

Scottish explorer Mungo Park (1771—1806) was the first European to explore the Niger and several other interior regions of Africa.

The United Kingdom has no towns or major geographic features which are related to the name Parker. Canada has a town called Parkerview while the United States has 10 related-name towns and cities (including 5 called Parker) as well as the famous Parker Dam. Australia has a Parker hill, a Parker range and Parker Point while Hong Kong has a Parker mountain.

With about 117,000 namesakes Parker is the 49th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The surname is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Parker is notably popular in and around Leeds where an estimated one in about 365 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Nottingham, Leicester and Bradford are other Parker strongholds. Around the world Parkers are most common in Sydney (one in 852 families), Wellington (one in 893) and Melbourne (one in 953). The United States has more Parkers than the entire population of Newcastle-an estimated total of just under 339,000 makes this their 49th most popular surname.