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Barker Family History

Barker Surname Meaning

English: occupational name for a tanner of leather from Middle English barkere ‘tanner’ tree bark having been used as the tanning agent.

English: occupational name for a shepherd from Middle English berker bercher (Old French berchier bercher berkier berker Late Latin berbicarius from berbex ‘ram’ genitive berbicis).

With the change of -ar- to -er- in Middle English this became indistinguishable from the preceding name (see 1 above).

Americanized form of German Berger or Barger.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Barker family from?

You can see how Barker families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Barker family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Barker families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1840 there were 403 Barker families living in New York. This was about 22% of all the recorded Barker's in USA. New York had the highest population of Barker families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Barker surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Barker ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Housekeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Barker. 16% of Barker men worked as a Farmer and 7% of Barker women worked as a Housekeeper. Some less common occupations for Americans named Barker were Truck Driver and Stenographer.

View Census Data for Barker | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    16%
  • Laborer
    14%
  • Salesman
    5%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Housekeeper
    7%
  • Housewife
    7%
  • Teacher
    6%
  • Stenographer
    5%

What Barker family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Barker. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Barker census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Barker

Passenger Lists

There are 91,000 immigration records available for the last name Barker. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Barker immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 128,000 military records available for the last name Barker. For the veterans among your Barker ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Barker military records

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