The BARKER Surname
BARKER Name Meaning and History
- English: occupational name for a tanner of leather, from Middle English bark(en) ‘to tan’, tree bark having been used as the tanning agent.
- English: occupational name for a shepherd, Anglo-Norman French bercher (Late Latin berbicarius, from berbex ‘ram’, genitive berbicis). With the change of -ar- to -er- in Middle English, this became indistinguishable from the preceding name.
- Altered spelling of German Barger or Berger.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
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