Rinker
An English surname that likely began as a nickname or occupational-style formation linked to an old word for a warrior or bold man.
The #7,050 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,999 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The excerpt points to an old English base like "rinc," a word meaning a warrior, man, or brave fellow, with the suffix "-er" possibly marking a person associated with that quality. If that reading is right, the surname would originally have been a nickname for someone seen as bold, martial, or vigorous. Because the source is only an incidental mention and the etymology is not fully explicit, this should be treated as a plausible but not certain explanation.
History
Rinker is a relatively uncommon surname in the United States today, but it fits a broader English pattern of surnames formed from personal nicknames or descriptive labels. The name may also have developed independently in different places, since similar-looking surnames can arise from local speech or spelling variation. The historical record here is thin, so a single fixed origin should not be assumed without family-specific evidence.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The old English word behind this name, if that derivation is correct, was not a family name at all but a common noun for a fighting man.
From the historical record
“same. Rinker. Rinc, a warrior, a valiant man ; ere, an agent. A warrior. Rinne. Rine, a race, course, life. Ripley. Rip, harvest, reaping ; ley, a song. A harvest-”
— Family Names from the Irish, Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman and Scotch