LOCKER
Locker is a surname of English and Scottish origin, found throughout the British Isles. It is an occupational name, derived from the Middle English word lokier, meaning “keeper” or “guardian”. The name originally applied to someone responsible for guarding a particular place, object or enclosure, and over time it may also have been used for a lock‑keeper or for a person dwelling near a physical lock.
The surname is a variant of Lock, which itself has Old English and German roots. Three distinct sources have been identified. First, as a metonymic occupational name for a locksmith, the word comes from Old English loc (lock, fastening). Second, it is a topographical name for a person living near an enclosure or a movable barrier on a river, again derived from Old English loka. Third, it has been used as a nickname for a person with fine hair, from Old English and Old High German loc (lock of hair, curl). Variants such as Locke, Lockier and Lockyeaer are recorded.
Historic evidence for the name appears early. In the Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire a document dated 1130 records the name Leuric Loc, the earliest known spelling of the family. During the reign of King Henry I, known as "The Lion of Justice", the name was still common. In London parish registers the surname is mentioned in several 16th‑ and 17th‑century entries, including the christening of William Locker on 16 February 1589 at St. Botolph's, Bishopgate, and the marriage of Edward Locker to Sussana Meachill on 17 October 1643 at St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury.
From an etymological perspective, the occupational aspect of the surname aligns with several other English surnames that denoted a person's trade or function within a community. The name’s survival into the modern era is reflected in its continued use across the United Kingdom and, through emigration, in other English‑speaking countries. The historical records and linguistic evidence affirm that Locker is a surname deeply rooted in the occupational and topographical language of medieval England and Scotland, rather than a product of later speculation or romanticisation.
Typical given names associated with the Locker surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
Female
- Amy
- Christine
- Claire
- Emma
- Jennifer
- Joanne
- Julie
- Margaret
- Rebecca
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Sheila
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Lockyer
- Looker
- Lockyear
- Lockart
- Lockard
- Lacker
- Lecker
- Licker
- Loaker
- Locke
- Lacour
- Lagar
- Lagger
- Laghari
- Lagor
- Lagorio
- Lagourie
- Lagrua
- Lagrue
- Laguer
- Laguerre
- Lagura
- Laiker
- Laker
- Lakor
- Lakra
- Laugher
- Lawker
- Leaker
- Lecoeur
- Lecore
- Lecour
- Lecquire
- Leeker
- Legair
- Legar
- Legaria
- Leggar
- Legger
- Leggeri
- Leggieri
- Leggiero
- Leghari
- Legor
- Legore
- Legree
- Legro
- Leiker
- Lekar
- Leker
- Lequere
- Lequire
- Licar
- Licari
- Lieker
- Ligar
- Ligori
- Ligouri
- Liguori
- Liker
- Likour
- Liquori
- Lockerbee
- Lockerbie
- Lockerby
- Lockerly
- Lockern
- Lockeron
- Lockert
- Lockery
- Locket
- Lockeyear
- Lockeyer
- Lockier
- Lockner
- Lockrie
- Lockyers
- Locter
- Loecker
- Logar
- Logger
- Lokare
- Loker
- Lokier
- Lokyer
- Lougher
- Loughor
- Lucker
- Lucre
- Luecker
- Lugar
- Lugari
- Lugaro
- Luggar
- Lugger
- Lugrue
- Luker
- Lyker
- Wlaker
- Wlker
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Locker in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 1,440 people named Locker in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,532nd most common surname in Britain. Around 22 in a million people in Britain are named Locker.
Surname type: Occupational name
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Locker
- Godfrey Locker-Lampson - Politician (1875 to 1946)
- William Locker - Football player (1866 to 1952)
- Arthur Locker - Novelist and journalist, editor of The Graphic (1828 to 1893)
- Frederick Locker-Lampson - Poet (1821 to 1895)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.