2000
#28
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 501,307
First available Census row
Per 100,000 185.83
Very Common Last name
Walker
An occupational surname referring to a fuller or person who walked on cloth to clean and thicken it.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 578,905 Americans carry the last name Walker. That puts it at #32 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 168.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 592 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Walker surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Walker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
579K
1 in 592
Census rank
#32
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
168.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
505K
very common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 504,833 bearers of the surname Walker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 168.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 32nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Walker, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (34.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Walker
The surname Walker is an English occupational name that originated in the Middle Ages. It derives from the Old English word 'wealcan', meaning to walk or roll. The name referred to a fuller, someone who walked on cloth to thicken and clean it.
Walker was first recorded in the early 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers was Richard le Walker, mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199. The surname also appeared in the Hundred Rolls of 1273 as Willam le Walker in Oxfordshire.
In medieval times, the name was often spelled in various ways, such as Walkar, Walcker, Waulker, and Waulcker. These variations reflect the different regional dialects and spellings of the time.
The Walker surname is found in several early records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as a place name in various locations across England.
Notable people with the Walker surname include Sir William Walker (1551-1637), an English ironmaster and member of Parliament; George Walker (1618-1690), an English Protestant clergyman and defender of Derry during the Siege of Derry in 1689; and Benjamin Walker (1753-1818), an American Revolutionary War soldier and frontiersman.
Other famous Walkers include William Walker (1824-1860), an American physician, lawyer, and soldier of fortune who aimed to establish an English-speaking empire in Central America; and Mary Edwards Walker (1832-1919), an American feminist, abolitionist, and surgeon who served as an assistant surgeon in the American Civil War and was awarded the Medal of Honor.
Throughout history, the Walker surname has been associated with various occupations and professions, reflecting its origins as an occupational name. It has also been linked to place names in different parts of England, where families with the name may have lived or originated.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Walker
Among Census respondents with the surname Walker, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (34.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Walker bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Walker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White56.3% · 284,371
- Black or African American34.0% · 171,459
- Two or more races4.9% · 24,592
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 17,315
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4,108
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 2,988
Timeline
Historical Census data for Walker
Walker appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#31
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 523,129
+21,822 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 177.34
Rank movement Down 3 places
2020
#32
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 504,833
-18,296 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 168.90
Rank movement Down 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28 | 501,307 | 185.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #31 | 523,129 | 177.34 | +21,822 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 3 places |
| 2020 | #32 | 504,833 | 168.90 | -18,296 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 1 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Walker surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #31 | #32 | -3.2% |
| Count | 523,129 | 504,833 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 177.34 | 168.90 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Walker bearers went from 523,129 to 504,833 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #31 to #32.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Walker
FAQ
Walker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Walker?
Name Census estimates that about 578,905 living Americans carry the surname Walker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 592 residents.
How common is Walker?
Walker ranks #32 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 168.90 per 100,000 residents, which is about 169 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 504,833 people with the surname Walker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (578,905), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 168.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 168.90 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 169 of them to have the surname Walker.
Has Walker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Walker went from 523,129 recorded bearers to 504,833. That is a decrease of 18,296 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #31 to #32.
What does the Census say about the background of Walker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Walker, the largest self-reported group is White at 56.3%. The next largest groups are Black (34.0%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Walker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (284,371 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Walker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (56.3%), Black (34.0%), Two or More Races (4.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Walker (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Walker mean?
An occupational surname referring to a fuller or person who walked on cloth to clean and thicken it. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Walker (168.90 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Walker?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.