Parker is an

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

unisex Unisex is an adjective indicating something is not sex-specific, i.e. is suitable for any type of sex. The term can also mean gender-blindness or gender neutrality. The term 'unisex' was coined in the 1960s and was used fairly informally. The co ...

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...

origin, meaning 'park keeper', hence also an Old English occupational

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

. Parker was more common in the 19th century as a

personal name A personal name, full name or prosoponym (from Ancient Greek ''prósōpon'' – person, and ''onoma'' –name) is the set of names by which an individual person or animal is known. When taken together as a word-group, they all relate to that on ...

than it is now. The name has variants.

People with the given name

* P. O. Ackley (1903-1989), American gunsmith *

Parker Boudreaux Parker Boudreaux (born March 9, 1998) is an American professional wrestler. He is primarily working for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide and Gleat. He also worked for WWE as Harland, and All Elite Wrestling under his real name. Early life Boudreaux w ...

(born 1998), American professional wrestler * Parker Brailsford (born 2003), American college football player * Parker Burrell (1937–2010), Canadian politician *

Parker Cleaveland Parker Cleaveland (January 1, 1780 – August 15, 1858) was an American geologist and mineralogist, born in Rowley, Massachusetts. He was identified with the early progress of the natural sciences. After having attending the Dummer Academy in B ...

(1780–1858), American geologist and mineralogist * Parker Dunshee (born 1995), American baseball player *

Parker Ehinger Parker Ehinger (born December 30, 1992) is an American former professional football guard. He played college football at the University of Cincinnati. He was selected by the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL draft. Early l ...

(born 1992), American football player *

Parker Esse Parker Esse is an American choreographer. Esse began training at 9-years old at the Houston Ballet. After being cast in ''Fosse on'' Broadway in 2000, he proceeded to work on dozens of productions in prestigious regional theatres across the United ...

, American choreographer *

Parker Fennelly Parker W. Fennelly (October 22, 1891 – January 22, 1988) was an American character actor who appeared in ten films, numerous television episodes and hundreds of radio programs. Early life The son of gardener Nathan Fennelly and Estelle Doll ...

(1891–1988), American actor *

Parker Finn Parker J. Finn (born March 18, 1987) is an American filmmaker. Finn wrote and directed the horror films ''Smile'' (2022) and its sequel ''Smile 2'' (2024). Early life Finn was born on March 18, 1987, in Bath, Ohio. He attended the University ...

(born 1987), American filmmaker *

Parker Frisbie William "Parker" Frisbie (September 5, 1940 – February 12, 2018) was an American sociologist who studied demography and mortality. Works * ''The Demography of Racial and Ethnic Groups'', edited with Frank D. Bean (1978) * ''Sustenance Or ...

(1940–2018), American sociologist * Parker Gispert (born 1982), American singer *

Parker Griffith Rolf Parker Griffith Jr. (born August 6, 1942) is a retired American physician, entrepreneur and politician who served in the Alabama State Senate from 2006 to 2008 and then as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A lifelong member o ...

(born 1942), American politician * Parker Hall (1916–2005), American football player *

Parker Watkins Hardin Parker Watkins ("Wat") Hardin (June 3, 1841 – July 25, 1920) was a politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. From 1879 to 1888, he served as Attorney General of Kentucky. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 1891, 189 ...

(1841-1920), American politician * Parker Hesse (born 1995), American football player *

Parker Ighile Parker Ibrahim Ighile (born Parker Oseomwan Ibrahim Ighile-Peters; 1 March 1990) is a British record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He was born in London. , he was signed to US rapper Nicki Minaj's record label. As a producer, artist a ...

(born 1990), British record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter * Parker Illingworth (born 2002), Canadian rower * Parker Ito (born 1986), American artist *

Parker Jacobs Parker LeGrand Jacobs (born July 17, 1975) is an American artist, musician, author and actor. He is known for his work as an art director on the children's television series ''Yo Gabba Gabba!'', for which he has been nominated for four Daytime E ...

(born 1975), American artist, actor, and musician *

Parker Johnstone Parker Johnstone III (born March 27, 1961) is a former race car driver and motorsports announcer from Redmond, Oregon. An accomplished musician, he was the principal trumpet of the International Youth Orchestra, touring Europe, playing with Herb ...

(born 1961), American race-car driver *

Parker Kingston Parker Kingston is an American football wide receiver for the BYU Cougars. Early life and high school Kingston attended Roy High School in Roy, Utah, where he totaled 2,649 passing yards, 2,136 rushing yards, 542 receiving yards, and 64 total ...

, American football player *

Parker MacDonald Calvin Parker MacDonald (June 14, 1933 — August 17, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played for five National Hockey League teams between 1953 and 1969. He later coached the Minnesota North Stars and the Los Angeles K ...

(1933–2017), Canadian ice hockey player * Parker McCollum (born 1992), American country singer-songwriter * Parker Lee McDonald (1924–2017), American judge *

Parker McKenzie Parker Paul McKenzie (November 15, 1897, near Rainy Mountain – March 5, 1999, Mountain View) was a Kiowa Native American linguist, who developed the Kiowa language orthography. Early life McKenzie was born in a tipi, and baptized in the Washi ...

(1897–1999), Kiowan Native American linguist *

Parker McLachlin Parker Nicholas McLachlin (born May 10, 1979) is an American professional golfer and golf instructor who plays on the PGA Tour. McLachlin was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. He graduated from Punahou School in 1997 and UCLA in 2002 with a degree in so ...

(born 1979), American professional golfer *

Parker Millsap Parker Millsap is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Purcell, Oklahoma, playing a blend of blues, country, rock, Americana, and folk music. Named one of Americana Music Association's 2014 Emerging Artists of the Year afte ...

, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist *

Parker Mitchell Parker Mitchell is the co-founder and former co-CEO of Engineers Without Borders (Canada). He and George Roter founded the Canadian organization in 2000. Mitchell has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a B.A. (Cognitive Science mino ...

, Canadian co-founder of Engineers Without Borders * Parker Navarro (born 2001), American college football player *

Parker Palmer Parker J. Palmer is an American author, educator, and activist who focuses on issues in education, community, leadership, spirituality and social change. He has published ten books and numerous essays and poems, and is founder and Senior Partner ...

(born 1939), American author, educator, and activist *

Parker Pannell Parker Pannell is an American actor, YouTuber, and social media personality who is best known for his TikTok account, where he primarily posts comedy vlogs and skits. Life and career Pannell was raised in the Lexington, Kentucky area. He attend ...

, American social media personality *

Parker Pennington Parker Blair Pennington (born September 13, 1984) is an American figure skater. He won silver medals at the 2006 Nebelhorn Trophy and 2007 Finlandia Trophy, three gold medals on the JGP series, and bronze at the 2002 JGP Final. Pennington won ...

(born 1984), American figure skater *

Parker Pillsbury Parker Pillsbury (September 22, 1809 – July 7, 1898) was an American minister and advocate for abolition and women's rights. Life Pillsbury was born in Hamilton, Massachusetts. He moved to Henniker, New Hampshire where he later farmed and wo ...

(1809-1898), American minister and activist *

Parker Porter Parker Porter (born April 22, 1985) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division. A professional since 2007, he competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA. Background Porter played bas ...

(born 1985), American MMA fighter *

Parker Posey Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress. Known for playing eccentric characters in independent films, she was named "Queen of the Indies" by ''Time'' in 1997. She has received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Awa ...

(born 1968), American actress *

Parker Retzlaff Parker Edward Retzlaff (born May 21, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 4 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation), Chevrolet SS for Alpha Prime Racing. Racin ...

(born 2003), American stock car driver * Parker Roberts (born 1997), American soccer player *

Parker Stevenson Richard Stevenson Parker Jr. (born June 4, 1952), known professionally as Parker Stevenson, is an American actor best known for playing Frank Hardy in the 1970s series '' The Hardy Boys'' and Craig Pomeroy on the 1990s series ''Baywatch''. Ea ...

(born 1952), American actor *

Parker Thompson Parker Thompson (born 2 March 1998) is a Canadian race car driver from Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Career Early career Thompson began racing at the age of eight, competing in the Calgary Kart Racing Club a short distance from his family resi ...

(born 1998), Canadian race car driver * Parker Thomson (1932-2017), American lawyer *

Parker Tyler Harrison Parker Tyler (March 6, 1904 – July 24, 1974), was an American author, poet, and film critic. Career Tyler co-authored ''The Young and Evil'', in 1933 with writer Charles Henri Ford. The work was one of the first openly gay America ...

(1904-1974), American author, poet, and film critic *

Parker Valby Parker Alys Valby (born September 27, 2002) is a professional American track and field and cross-country athlete. She is a six-time NCAA champion and the current NCAA record holder for the indoor 5000m, outdoor 5000m, and outdoor 10000m. Earl ...

(born 2002), American track and field and cross-country athlete * Parker Washington (born 2002), American football player *

Parker Wickham Parker Wickham (February 28, 1727–May 22, 1785) was a Loyalist (American Revolution), Loyalist politician who was banished from the State of New York under dubious circumstances. Wickham was the oldest son of Joseph Wickham and Abigail Parker ...

(1727-1785), American Loyalist politician * Parker Warren (1802-1887), American farmer and politician * Parker Williams (1872-1958), Welsh-born politician * Parker T. Williamson, American minister *

Parker Wolfe Parker Wolfe (born July 27, 2003) is an American middle and long-distance runner, who competes for the North Carolina Tar Heels. Career In high school, Wolfe was a multiple time state champion for Cherry Creek High School. He also won the 2020 ...

(born 2003), American runner * Parker Wotherspoon (born 1997), Canadian ice hockey player *

Parker Young Parker Young is an American actor. He portrayed Ryan Shay on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Suburgatory'', Randy Hill on the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox sitcom ''Enlisted (TV series), Enlisted'' and Richard on the Bravo (U.S. T ...

, American actor

Fictional characters with the given name

* Parker Lewis, in TV show ''

Parker Lewis Can't Lose ''Parker Lewis Can't Lose'' (rebranded simply as ''Parker Lewis'' for the third and final season) is an American teen sitcom that originally aired on Fox from September 1990 to June 1993. It was produced by Clyde Phillips Productions, in asso ...

'' * Parker Selfridge, in the ''

Avatar Avatar (, ; ) is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means . It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearance" is sometimes u ...

'' film series *

Parker (Stark novels character) Parker is a fictional character created by American novelist Donald E. Westlake. A professional robber specializing in large-scale, high-profit crimes, Parker is the main protagonist of 24 of the 28 novels Westlake wrote under the pseudonym Ri ...

* Parker Robbins, alter ego of

The Hood The Hood (Parker Robbins) is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Brian K. Vaughan, and artists Kyle Hotz and Eric Powell (comics), Eric Powell, the character was introduced in his own sel ...

, comic book supervillain

References

{{given name English unisex given names English-language unisex given names Given names originating from a surname

People with the given name

Fictional characters with the given name

See also

References