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Locker History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Locker History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Locker is rooted in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It is a name for someone who worked as a person who was a locksmith. 1 Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. Occupational names have remained fairly common in the modern period. This is attested to by the continuing appearance of occupational suffixes at the end of many English surnames. Some of these suffixes include: herd, monger, maker, hewer, smith, and wright.

"It is interesting to notice that while Lockyer has predominated over Locksmith in our personal nomenclature, yet locksmith has nearly ousted lockyer as an occupative term." 2

Early Origins of the Locker family

The surname Locker was first found in Somerset, where Kirby's Quest listed some of the first entries for the family: Nicholas le Lokyere; and Lucas le Lokier as both residing there, 1 Edward III (during the first year of Edward III's reign.) 3 And this tradition continued through the years as the Register of the University of Oxford lists William Lokier from Somerset in 1604. 2

London had early records for the family too as the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Henry le Lockier there at that time. 4

Early History of the Locker family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Locker research. Another 65 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1294, 1611, 1685, 1698 and 1771 are included under the topic Early Locker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Locker Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Locker are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Locker include: Lockyer, Lockyers, Lockier, Lokier, Locker, Lockweer and many more.

Early Notables of the Locker family

Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Locker Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Locker Ranking

In the United States, the name Locker is the 10,601^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 5

Locker migration to the United States +

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Locker or a variant listed above:

Locker Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Georg Locker, who landed in Virginia in 1635 6
Eliza Locker, who landed in Virginia in 1652 6
Coenraet Locker, who landed in New Netherland(s) in 1660 6
Conraet Locker, who arrived in New York in 1660 6
Mary Locker, who landed in Maryland in 1663 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Locker Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

M Elis Locker, who arrived in America in 1839 6

Locker migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Locker Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mark Locker, aged 21, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Epaminondas" 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Locker (post 1700) +

Robert Awtry "Bob" Locker (1938-2022), American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who pitched professionally from 1965 to 1975
Jacob Cooper "Jake" Locker (b. 1988), American NFL football quarterback for the Tennessee Titans
Dale Leroy Locker (1929-2011), American politician, Member of the Ohio House of Representatives (1973-1984)
W. P. Locker, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1912 8
John Locker, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Iowa, 1936 8
Jesse Dwight Locker (1891-1955), American politician, U.S. Ambassador to Liberia, 1953-55 8
Frank H. Locker, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Wayne County 1st District, 1948 8
William Locker (1866-1952), English footballer and cricketer
Edward Hawke Locker (1777-1849), English watercolourist and administrator of the Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich
Captain William Locker (1731-1800), British officer in the Royal Navy
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Locker family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. George Henry Locker, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 9

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) EPAMINONDAS 1852. Retrieved www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/epaminondas1852.shtml
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html