How to say it
PARK · er
/ˈpɑr.kɚ/
Unisex
Parker
Park keeper
What it means
English occupational surname for the keeper of a park (a medieval game preserve). Spider-Man's Peter Parker (Peter Parker as surname) and Parker Posey are the strongest English-language anchors.
Parker is an English occupational surname for the keeper of a park — in medieval English, a 'park' was a fenced game preserve owned by the nobility, and the parker was responsible for it. The surname has been common since the 13th century. Spider-Man's Peter Parker (Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, 1962) is the strongest English-language anchor; Parker Posey (the indie-film actress) and Parker Schnabel (Discovery's Gold Rush star) cover modern usage. As a first name Parker is American and recent: rare before 2000, then climbing fast as part of the masculine surname-first wave. It's now in the US top 100 and increasingly unisex. Single short forms aren't common.
Popularity over time
Feminine: peaked at #104 in 2024, currently #106 in 2025.
Masculine: peaked at #72 in 2015, currently #102 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Peter Parker (Spider-Man) is the inescapable American anchor; Parker Posey gives the unisex side modern actress weight.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Peter Parker (Spider-Man) Marvel Comics's friendly neighborhood hero, since 1962 (Parker as surname)
- Parker Posey American actress, Christopher Guest films and Lost in Space
Spelling variants
- Parkyr
Names with the same feeling
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