Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Parker

Parker finds its roots in England, originally a surname with occupational origins from the Old French “parchier" meaning "park-keeper". A “parchier” was a medieval official in charge of one of the many enclosed preserves or large hunting parks set aside by the king, a member of the nobility or a wealthy landowner (a parchier held a lofty position in society; the “keeper of the park” was an important and dignified trade). Parker is also one of the oldest recorded surnames to surface in England in the 11th century and one of the first established in America in the early 17th century. As a given name, Parker has been in general use for boys since at least the 19th century (1800s) while for girls the name has only been in noticeable circulation since 1999. Today Parker is a favorite baby boy’s name in the United States and Canada. However, in America Parker is considered gender-neutral and, while it’s not as popular for girls as it is for boys, more and more parents are naming their daughters Parker each year.

All About the Baby Name – Parker

Personality

OF THE UNISEX NAME PARKER

Romance is the hallmark of the Six personality. They exude nurturing, loving, and caring energy. Sixes are in love with the idea of love in its idealized form - and with their magnetic personalities, they easily draw people toward them. Like the number Two personality, they seek balance and harmony in their life and the world at large. They are conscientious and service-oriented, and a champion for the underdog. These personalities naturally attract money and are usually surrounded by lovely material objects - but their human relationships are always primary. They thrive in giving back to others rather than being motivated by their own desires. This is when they achieve great things. Sixes are natural teachers, ministers and counselors.

Popularity

OF THE UNISEX NAME PARKER

Parker is a unisex name in America; although it’s quite a bit more popular for boys than for girls (parents are five times more likely to bestow the name on their sons than their daughters). For boys, the name has been in use for over 150 years, but it wasn’t until the late 1990’s that Parker really came into vogue. Although not yet obnoxiously trendy, Parker did manage to earn Top 100 status on the masculine naming charts in 2009 which it’s been able to maintain until today. For girls, the name only debuted in 1999 but continues to demonstrate forward momentum. Clearly, as Parker started to show promise for little boys, some American parents decided to snatch the name away for their daughters. Using unisex names for girls has been an on-going trend in America in the past twenty years, so we expect to see Parker eventually surpass the popularity of her male counterpart sometime in the not-so-distant future. Parker is also a great choice for baby girls and boys of jazz-loving parents, in a nod to the great Charlie Parker (1920-1955).

Quick Facts

ON PARKER

GENDER:

Unisex

ORIGIN:

English

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

N/A

PRONUNCIATION:

PAHR-ker

SIMPLE MEANING:

Park-keeper or gamekeeper

Characteristics

OF PARKER

Humanitarian

Community-minded

Family-oriented

Loving

Affectionate

Compassionate

Sensitive

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Parker

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME PARKER

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Parker

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME PARKER

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Parker


Popular Songs

ON PARKER

Parker's Band
a song by Steely Dan

Ms. Parker
a song by Playa [explicit]

The Ballad of Dorothy Parker
a song by Prince [explicit]

Ivy Parker
a song by Boy Kill Boy

Famous People

NAMED PARKER

Parker Posey (actress)
Parker Stevenson (actor)
Parker Posey (actress)
Parker Stevenson (actor)
Parker Posey (actress)
Parker Stevenson (actor)

Children of Famous People

NAMED PARKER

Rosie O'Donnell;

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME PARKER

Charlie Parker was an extremely innovative jazz musician, both as a saxophonist and as a composer, and was an early creative force in the bebop movement. He played with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis (who famously said: “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”). Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Charlie Parker always considered New York City his true home. In spite of his music making genius and his early successes, “Bird” suffered the consequences of a lifelong heroin addiction, brought about by the introduction to morphine after a youthful automobile accident. Ultimately, this led to his untimely death at the age of thirty-four. His recordings provide an oasis of bliss for his fans; many of them were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Charlie Parker’s life is paid a poignant tribute in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 film, “Bird”.

Charlie Parker was an extremely innovative jazz musician, both as a saxophonist and as a composer, and was an early creative force in the bebop movement. He played with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis (who famously said: “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”). Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Charlie Parker always considered New York City his true home. In spite of his music making genius and his early successes, “Bird” suffered the consequences of a lifelong heroin addiction, brought about by the introduction to morphine after a youthful automobile accident. Ultimately, this led to his untimely death at the age of thirty-four. His recordings provide an oasis of bliss for his fans; many of them were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Charlie Parker’s life is paid a poignant tribute in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 film, “Bird”.

Charlie Parker was an extremely innovative jazz musician, both as a saxophonist and as a composer, and was an early creative force in the bebop movement. He played with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis (who famously said: “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”). Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Charlie Parker always considered New York City his true home. In spite of his music making genius and his early successes, “Bird” suffered the consequences of a lifelong heroin addiction, brought about by the introduction to morphine after a youthful automobile accident. Ultimately, this led to his untimely death at the age of thirty-four. His recordings provide an oasis of bliss for his fans; many of them were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Charlie Parker’s life is paid a poignant tribute in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 film, “Bird”.

Charlie Parker was an extremely innovative jazz musician, both as a saxophonist and as a composer, and was an early creative force in the bebop movement. He played with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis (who famously said: “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”). Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Charlie Parker always considered New York City his true home. In spite of his music making genius and his early successes, “Bird” suffered the consequences of a lifelong heroin addiction, brought about by the introduction to morphine after a youthful automobile accident. Ultimately, this led to his untimely death at the age of thirty-four. His recordings provide an oasis of bliss for his fans; many of them were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Charlie Parker’s life is paid a poignant tribute in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 film, “Bird”.

Charlie Parker was an extremely innovative jazz musician, both as a saxophonist and as a composer, and was an early creative force in the bebop movement. He played with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis (who famously said: “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”). Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Charlie Parker always considered New York City his true home. In spite of his music making genius and his early successes, “Bird” suffered the consequences of a lifelong heroin addiction, brought about by the introduction to morphine after a youthful automobile accident. Ultimately, this led to his untimely death at the age of thirty-four. His recordings provide an oasis of bliss for his fans; many of them were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Charlie Parker’s life is paid a poignant tribute in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 film, “Bird”.

Charlie Parker was an extremely innovative jazz musician, both as a saxophonist and as a composer, and was an early creative force in the bebop movement. He played with such greats as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis (who famously said: “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”). Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Charlie Parker always considered New York City his true home. In spite of his music making genius and his early successes, “Bird” suffered the consequences of a lifelong heroin addiction, brought about by the introduction to morphine after a youthful automobile accident. Ultimately, this led to his untimely death at the age of thirty-four. His recordings provide an oasis of bliss for his fans; many of them were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Charlie Parker’s life is paid a poignant tribute in Clint Eastwood’s 1988 film, “Bird”.

Bonnie Parker was the celebrated girlfriend of Clyde Barrow, and with him and his gang, participated in a rampage of robbery and murder between 1931 and 1934. Born in Texas, Bonnie, her two siblings and her widowed mother lived with her maternal grandparents. They were reasonably well-off and Bonnie was a good student in school. Before her 16th birthday, however, she dropped out of school and married her boyfriend. The union was short-lived (though never officially dissolved) and Bonnie was working as a waitress when she met Clyde Barrow. She was immediately smitten with him and joined him and his gang without looking back. Without looking much forward, either. Bonnie was 24 years old when she and Clyde died together in a shootout by a police posse, and moved on into legend, helped in no small way by the 1967 portrayal of her by Faye Dunaway in the movie, Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie Parker was the celebrated girlfriend of Clyde Barrow, and with him and his gang, participated in a rampage of robbery and murder between 1931 and 1934. Born in Texas, Bonnie, her two siblings and her widowed mother lived with her maternal grandparents. They were reasonably well-off and Bonnie was a good student in school. Before her 16th birthday, however, she dropped out of school and married her boyfriend. The union was short-lived (though never officially dissolved) and Bonnie was working as a waitress when she met Clyde Barrow. She was immediately smitten with him and joined him and his gang without looking back. Without looking much forward, either. Bonnie was 24 years old when she and Clyde died together in a shootout by a police posse, and moved on into legend, helped in no small way by the 1967 portrayal of her by Faye Dunaway in the movie, Bonnie and Clyde.

Bonnie Parker was the celebrated girlfriend of Clyde Barrow, and with him and his gang, participated in a rampage of robbery and murder between 1931 and 1934. Born in Texas, Bonnie, her two siblings and her widowed mother lived with her maternal grandparents. They were reasonably well-off and Bonnie was a good student in school. Before her 16th birthday, however, she dropped out of school and married her boyfriend. The union was short-lived (though never officially dissolved) and Bonnie was working as a waitress when she met Clyde Barrow. She was immediately smitten with him and joined him and his gang without looking back. Without looking much forward, either. Bonnie was 24 years old when she and Clyde died together in a shootout by a police posse, and moved on into legend, helped in no small way by the 1967 portrayal of her by Faye Dunaway in the movie, Bonnie and Clyde.

Dorothy Rothschild Parker was an American writer of short stories, poems, plays, screenplays and entertainment criticism, whose acerbic wit made her the doyenne of the sparkling (albeit alcohol-fueled) company at the Algonquin Round Table in New York in the roaring twenties. In her heyday, she wrote for Vogue, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker, among others, and was a formidable theatre critic (once describing Katharine Hepburn as running the gamut of emotions from A to B). She espoused liberal causes early on, including the Spanish Civil War, the Sacco and Vanzetti case, and civil liberties for African-Americans (in fact, leaving her entire estate to the N.A.A.C.P.). She was blacklisted in Hollywood during the 1950s, which she considered an honor. Ms. Parker was married once to stockbroker, Edwin Parker (being half Jewish in an era of anti-Semitism, she joked that she did it only to change her name), and twice to Alan Campbell, a screenwriter and sometimes actor. Probably the love of her life was the writer, Charles MacArthur, but their affair ended disastrously; he went on to marry Helen Hayes and she went on to her first suicide attempt. In her later years, Dorothy, who was childless, lived in a residential hotel in Manhattan with her pet dogs, and died alone of a heart attack. Her remains were unclaimed for 17 years; finally the N.A.A.C.P. put them to rest in a memorial garden in their Baltimore headquarters. She had her share of sorrow in her life, but she certainly contributed to laughter in ours. Our favorite Parkerism? Asked to use “horticulture” in a sentence, she replied, “You can lead a horticulture, but you can’t make her think.” Apocryphal? Maybe. Who cares – we believe it!

Bonnie Parker was the celebrated girlfriend of Clyde Barrow, and with him and his gang, participated in a rampage of robbery and murder between 1931 and 1934. Born in Texas, Bonnie, her two siblings and her widowed mother lived with her maternal grandparents. They were reasonably well-off and Bonnie was a good student in school. Before her 16th birthday, however, she dropped out of school and married her boyfriend. The union was short-lived (though never officially dissolved) and Bonnie was working as a waitress when she met Clyde Barrow. She was immediately smitten with him and joined him and his gang without looking back. Without looking much forward, either. Bonnie was 24 years old when she and Clyde died together in a shootout by a police posse, and moved on into legend, helped in no small way by the 1967 portrayal of her by Faye Dunaway in the movie, Bonnie and Clyde.