Occupational surname for one who trod cloth to thicken it — cloth fuller. The trade was called walking because the work was done underfoot.
Walker ranks 78th among American boys in 2025, with 4,303 born that year. Its best year was 2022, when 4,408 babies were given the name, ranking 78th. The typical living American called Walker is about 7 years old today. It is relatively most common in Vermont, where it accounts for 0.50% of births.
Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.