Booker
An English surname that can come from the old word for a writer or scribe, and in some cases is also linked to Bowker.
The #941 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,381 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Booker is usually explained as an occupational surname. One old derivation connects it with an early English word for a writer, scribe, or learned person, related to book-keeping or writing. Some historical surname dictionaries also treat Booker as a variant of Bowker, which may point to a different occupational origin in some families, so the name is not always from a single source.
History
The surname is well attested in medieval and early modern English records, with spellings such as Boker, Boocher, and Bowker-like forms appearing in different counties. Later bearers include John Booker, a 17th-century astrologer, whose family name was often linked to the Bowker/Booker spelling shift. The name is most strongly associated with England and especially northern English records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century lexicographers thought Booker could mean a “writer” or “doctor,” showing how closely medieval surnames could blur occupational labels.
From the historical record
“lock. See Bugler. BOOKER. 1. See Bowker. 2. Boccre, (c hard,) A-Sax. A writer, doctor, inter- preter. BOOKLESS. "Not so called from the scantiness of liis library, but ratlier from the good use lie made of what he had — Old Norse holders, book-learned, or, perhaps ratlier, able to read — a much more notable fact in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Booker
- Cory Booker (b. 1969)
- Devin Booker (b. 1996)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.