Walker
Walker was the 78th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 4,204 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 263 places. More babies were named Walker in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning cloth fuller (surname) · English
Say it WAH-ker /ˈwɔkər/
- Rank in 2025
- #78 boys, up 128 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 4,204boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20224,250 babies
- Total since 1880
- 48,951babies recorded
What does the name Walker mean?
Walker is an English occupational surname, most common in northern England and Scotland. It named a fuller, a worker who cleaned and thickened woollen cloth by treading it underfoot in water, which is to say 'walking' it. Wiktionary traces the agent noun to Middle English walkere, from walk plus -er; the verb originally meant 'to roll' or 'toss' in Old English. As a boy's first name Walker is a transferred surname, used mainly in the United States.
walkere (Middle English, “fuller; one who walks cloth”)wealcan (Old English, “to roll, toss”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Walk.
See also: English names, names from occupations.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Walker', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'walker', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wiktionary, entry 'walk', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Walker (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Walker popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 1,037 since 1914, 99 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #78 | 4,204 |
| 2020 | #206 | 1,861 |
| 2010 | #426 | 649 |
| 2000 | #427 | 578 |
| 1990 | #844 | 148 |
| 1980 | #1,186 | 60 |
| 1970 | #1,335 | 40 |
| 1960 | #1,398 | 33 |
| 1950 | #947 | 54 |
| 1940 | #716 | 73 |
| 1930 | #644 | 91 |
| 1920 | #491 | 151 |
| 1910 | #453 | 38 |
| 1900 | #444 | 27 |
| 1890 | #327 | 29 |
| 1880 | #318 | 29 |
How popular is Walker, counting every spelling?
Walker has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #86 for boys in 2025, against #78 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 Walker?
4,204 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Walker (1.17 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Walker born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 46. 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 Walker.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Walker?
About 43,400 people born in the US named Walker are alive today, with a median age of 7; half are between 3 and 19. That makes Walker a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Walker by state
How common Walker was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Wyoming (3.3×), Montana (3.3×), West Virginia (3.1×), North Dakota (3.1×), Vermont (2.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Walker: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Walker, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Walker · Sibling names for Walker
Questions about the name Walker
What does Walker mean?
Walker means “cloth fuller (surname)” (English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Walker?
Walker was the 78th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 4,204 babies. That is its highest rank since records began in 1880. Over the last ten years it has moved up 263 places. More babies were named Walker in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Walker a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Walker in the US.
Where is Walker most popular?
In 2021–2025, Walker was most common in Wyoming (7.43 per 1,000 boys), followed by Montana and West Virginia.