Parker
Parker was the 102nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 3,477 babies. Its best year was 2015, when it ranked 72nd; the most babies were born in 2014 (5,720). Over the last ten years it has moved down 30 places. More babies were named Parker in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning park keeper (surname) · English
Say it PAR-ker /ˈpɑrkər/
- Rank in 2025
- #102 boys, down 7 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 3,477boys
- Girls and boys
- 40% girls, 60% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20145,720 babies
- Total since 1880
- 163,836babies recorded
What does the name Parker mean?
Parker is an English occupational surname for a park keeper. A medieval park was an enclosed hunting ground stocked with deer, and the parker looked after its game and fences. The word is simply park plus the agent ending -er. As a first name Parker is a transferred surname, used for boys and, from the late 20th century, for girls as well, mainly in North America.
parker (Middle English, “keeper of a park”)park (Middle English, “enclosed hunting ground”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Park.
See also: English names, names from occupations.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Parker', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'parker', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Parker (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Parker popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #106 | #102 | 2,536 | 3,477 |
| 2020 | #128 | #95 | 2,148 | 3,814 |
| 2010 | #465 | #85 | 652 | 4,732 |
| 2000 | #869 | #127 | 254 | 3,099 |
| 1990 | #4,816 | #342 | 20 | 724 |
| 1980 | #11,631 | #759 | 5 | 134 |
| 1970 | #6,202 | #1,048 | 8 | 61 |
| 1960 | — | #1,054 | — | 54 |
| 1950 | — | #883 | — | 61 |
| 1940 | — | #779 | — | 64 |
| 1930 | — | #966 | — | 50 |
| 1920 | — | #849 | — | 64 |
| 1910 | — | #812 | — | 15 |
| 1900 | — | #619 | — | 17 |
| 1890 | — | #595 | — | 12 |
| 1880 | — | #498 | — | 14 |
How popular is Parker, counting every spelling?
Parker has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #108 for boys in 2025, against #102 on the official list, because Kayden/Kaiden/Caden and Nicholas/Nicolas and Elliot/Elliott/Eliot move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Parker?
3,477 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Parker (0.96 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Parker born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 2 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Parker.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Parker?
About 126,300 people born in the US named Parker are alive today, with a median age of 15; half are between 9 and 23. That makes Parker mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Parker by state
How common Parker was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maine (3.4×), New Hampshire (3.0×), Vermont (2.7×), West Virginia (2.6×), South Dakota (2.1×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Mexico, California, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Parker: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Parker, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Parker · Sibling names for Parker
Questions about the name Parker
What does Parker mean?
Parker means “park keeper (surname)” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Parker?
Parker was the 102nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 3,477 babies. Its best year was 2015, when it ranked 72nd; the most babies were born in 2014 (5,720). Over the last ten years it has moved down 30 places. More babies were named Parker in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Parker a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 40% girls, 60% boys given the name Parker in the US.
Where is Parker most popular?
In 2021–2025, Parker was most common in Maine (7.27 per 1,000 boys), followed by New Hampshire and Vermont.