Find out how popular the last name Chalker is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Chalker.

Chalker, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Chalker surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chalker in America

Chalker is the 16444th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chalker surname appeared 1,749 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Chalker.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chalker to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Chalker

The surname Chalker originated in England, specifically in the county of Gloucestershire. It dates back to the 13th century and is derived from the Old English word "chalker," which referred to a worker who dug and processed chalk or lime.

The earliest known record of the name Chalker appears in the Hundred Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1273, where it is spelled "le Chalker." This suggests that the name was initially an occupational surname given to someone whose primary trade was working with chalk or limestone.

In the 14th century, the name is found in various forms, such as "Chalker," "Chalkere," and "Chalkour," in various tax records and court rolls from Gloucestershire and neighboring counties like Wiltshire and Somerset.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Chalker was John Chalker, who was mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1327. Another early record is that of William Chalker, who was listed in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Wiltshire in 1332.

The name Chalker is also found in the Protestation Returns of 1641-1642, which were lists of individuals who swore allegiance to the Protestant religion. This includes entries for Thomas Chalker of Ashton Keynes, Wiltshire, and William Chalker of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.

In the 17th century, the surname Chalker began to spread beyond its initial stronghold in the southwest of England. Notable individuals from this period include Robert Chalker (1601-1672), a prominent merchant and landowner from Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, and John Chalker (1636-1699), a clergyman who served as the Rector of Wilton, Wiltshire.

By the 18th century, the Chalker surname had become well-established across various parts of England. Some notable individuals from this period include Thomas Chalker (1717-1789), a renowned clockmaker from London, and Elizabeth Chalker (1744-1824), a writer and poet from Bath, Somerset.

Other notable individuals with the surname Chalker over the centuries include Sir Thomas Chalker (1809-1890), a British politician and Member of Parliament, and John Armstrong Chalker (1838-1917), a renowned architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chalker

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Chalker.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Chalker was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Chalker has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Chalker was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Chalker, please contact us.

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