BabyNameScoreName profile
Parker
unisex
This reflects the first name on its own. The full-name report scores the complete combination separately.
Check it with a full name ↓Parker is an English occupational surname meaning 'keeper of a park' (an enclosed hunting/game preserve), from Middle English parker, ultimately from Old French parc ('enclosed wood or heath used as a game preserve', itself likely from West Germanic *parruk, 'enclosed tract of land'). As a surname it is attested in English from the mid-12th century, and in the 20th-21st centuries it has crossed over into given-name use as part of a broader trend of occupational surnames (Mason, Cooper, Carter, Hunter) becoming first names.
Why it works
- English speakers will almost certainly pronounce it correctly on the first try
- spelling is short and predictable — rarely needs repeating
Popularity
Familiar — #102 in the latest U.S. ranking.
Meaning and origin
Parker means 'Keeper of the park' — a medieval occupational title for someone who managed an enclosed hunting ground.
Currently used as a genuinely unisex name in the US, ranked #102 for boys and #106 for girls (2025); also common in Canada, Australia, and the UK.
Documented origin: Parker is an English occupational surname meaning 'keeper of a park' (an enclosed hunting/game preserve), from Middle English parker, ultimately from Old French parc ('enclosed wood or heath used as a game preserve', itself likely from West Germanic *parruk, 'enclosed tract of land'). As a surname it is attested in English from the mid-12th century, and in the 20th-21st centuries it has crossed over into given-name use as part of a broader trend of occupational surnames (Mason, Cooper, Carter, Hunter) becoming first names.
How it travels
English and Turkish are shown by default; German is included when it adds a meaningfully different reading.
Spelling stability: high — based on letter-pattern analysis, not a documented linguistic fact.
Also documented
US: /ˈpɑr.kər/
UK: /ˈpɑː.kə/
Popularity without panic
Familiar — #102 in the latest U.S. ranking.
Familiar enough to feel established, distinctive enough to stand out.
Full-name check
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Real-world considerations
- Familiar — #102 in the latest U.S. ranking.
- Spelling note: Minimal; occasionally confused in casual writing with 'Parkr' typos or the unrelated surname 'Packer'..
- Parker's occupational etymology ('park-keeper') is well established and not seriously disputed among etymological sources; the main open question is not the meaning but the precise timeline of its given-name revival, which secondary sources describe only in general terms (a 19th-century personal-name use followed by decline, then a late-20th-century occupational-surname-name trend revival).