Contents [hide]

Booker History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Motto Suggested Reading Citations

Booker History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England-Alt
England

Booker is a name of ancient Norman origin. It arrived in England with the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is a name for a dealer or maker of books, or anyone whose affairs were otherwise concerned with books. The distinguished name Booker is derived from the Old English boker. 1 Alternatively, the name could have been Anglo Saxon for "bocere," a writer, doctor, interpreter. 2 And yet another source claims the name was occupational for "the butcher." 3

Early Origins of the Booker family

The surname Booker was first found in Lancashire where the spelling variations of the name are numerous. Bowker was typically a Lancashire variant while in London "in the pedigree of Booker (London Visitation, 1633-5) the following variations occur: John Booker, John Boochard, and Edmund Boocher." 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings: John Boker, Norfolk; and William le Bocer, Salop (Shropshire.)

Early History of the Booker family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Booker research. Another 121 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1250, 1273, 1603, 1631 and 1667 are included under the topic Early Booker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Booker Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Booker, Boocker, Bouker and others.

Early Notables of the Booker family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

John Booker (1603-1667), English astrologer, was born at Manchester 23 March 1603...
He was "he son of John Bowker (commonly pronounced Booker), of Manchester3...

Booker Ranking

In the United States, the name Booker is the 632^nd most popular surname with an estimated 47,253 people with that name. 4

Booker migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Booker or a variant listed above:

Booker Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Michael Booker, who landed in Virginia in 1622 5
Edward Booker, who landed in Virginia in 1648 5
Marg Booker, who landed in Virginia in 1650 5
Margarett Booker, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 5
Margaret Booker, who settled in Virginia in 1654 with her daughter, Mary
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Booker Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Richard Booker, who arrived in Virginia in 1701 5
Benjeeman Booker, aged 13, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1735 5
Cristan Booker, aged 10, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1735 5
Cristana Booker, aged 35, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1735 5
Hans Booker, aged 54, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1735 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Booker Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Samuel Booker, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1802 5
J B Booker, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 5

Booker migration to Australia +

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

Booker Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. James Booker, British Convict who was convicted in Kent, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Commodore Hayes" in April 1823, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Mr. William Booker, English convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Augusta Jessie" on 10th August 1838, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Mr. John Booker, British Convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Corona" on 13th October 1866, arriving in Western Australia, Australia 8

Booker migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Booker Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

William Booker, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Cresswell" in 1856
Mrs. Mary Booker (Brooker), (b. 1828), aged 34, English settler, from Yorkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 20th October 1862 9
Mr. Jonathon Booker (Brooker), (b. 1829), aged 33, English labourer, from Yorkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 20th October 1862 9
Miss Elizabeth Booker (Brooker), (b. 1846), aged 16, English settler, from Yorkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 20th October 1862 9
Mr. William Booker (Brooker), (b. 1851), aged 11, English settler, from Yorkshire travelling from London aboard the ship "Queen of Mersey" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, Southland, South Island, New Zealand on 20th October 1862 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Booker (post 1700) +

Robert J. Booker (1935-2024), American historian, author, and politician
Simeon Booker (1918-2017), award-winning American journalist for The Washington Post, Jet, and Ebony
Christopher Scott Booker (b. 1976), American Major League Baseball pitcher
Henry George Booker, American Professor in the Department of Applied Physics and Information Science at the University of California at San Diego
Harry Booker (1849-1924), American silent screen comedian
Private Robert D. Booker (1920-1943), American Army soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1943
G. R. Booker, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Virginia, 1940 10
Cory Anthony Booker (b. 1969), American Democratic Party politician, Mayor of Newark, New Jersey, 2006-; Defeated, 2002; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from New Jersey, 2008 10
Corinne Booker, American Democratic Party politician, Associate Chair of West Virginia Democratic Party, 1945 10
Circero B. Booker Jr., American politician, Independent Candidate for Connecticut State Senate 15th District, 2008 10
... (Another 23 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

The Booker Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Ad coelum tendit
Motto Translation: He directs his course towards heaven

Citations +

Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
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)
"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)
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th March 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/commodore-hayes
Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/augusta-jessie
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/corona
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 12) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html