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Walker Family History

Walker Surname Meaning

English (mainly North and Midlands) and Scottish: occupational name for a fuller from Middle English walker Old English wealcere (an agent derivative of wealcan ‘to walk tread’) ‘one who trampled cloth in a bath of lye or kneaded it in order to strengthen it’. This was the regular term for the occupation during the Middle Ages in western and northern England.

Compare Fuller and Tucker. As a Scottish surname it has also been used as a translation of Gaelic Mac an Fhucadair ‘son of the fuller’. This surname is also very common among African Americans.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Walker family from?

You can see how Walker families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Walker family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Walker families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 5,070 Walker families living in Ontario. This was about 54% of all the recorded Walker's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Walker families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Walker surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Walker ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Walker. 31% of Walker men worked as a Farmer and 10% of Walker women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Walker were Carpenter and Student.

View Census Data for Walker | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    31%
  • Labourer
    8%
  • Laborer
    5%
  • Carpenter
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Stenographer
    10%
  • Housekeeper
    10%
  • Income
    8%
  • Student
    7%

What Walker family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 3 million census records available for the last name Walker. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Walker census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Walker

Passenger Lists

There are 467,000 immigration records available for the last name Walker. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Walker immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 540,000 military records available for the last name Walker. For the veterans among your Walker ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Walker military records

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