Booker Family Crest, Coat of Arms and Name History

Booker Surname Name Meaning, Origin, History, & Etymology
There are four possible origin theories for this last name. First, it was an occupational surname denoting a person who worked with books (such as scribing and binding), derived from the Middle English word boker and Old English word boc, meaning “book”. Second, it is a spelling variant of the English surname Bowker, which is an occupational name for a person who steeped cotton or linen in lye to clean it, from the Middle English word bouken and Middle Dutch buken, meaning “to wash”. Third, is could be a habitational name denoting a person who lived near a beech tree, from the Old English word boc, meaning “beech tree”. Fourth, in some cases it is an Americanized spelling of the German surname Bucher. One source asserts the name is Anglo-Saxon in origin while another believes the origin is Norman-French, and that the family came over with William the Conqueror during the Norman Invasion of 1066 AD.

Surname Spelling variants
Spelling or names with similar etymologies include Boocher, Boker, Bowker, Bocker, Boeker, Boucker, Bowcker, and Boecker.

Booker Family Mottos
I have identified two Booker family mottos, translated from English to Latin as follows:
1) Ad coelum tendit (He direct his course towards heaven)
2) Deo non fortuna (By God not fortune)

Early Bearers of the Booker Surname
Walter Bochier was recorded in Normandy in 1180 AD. Robert le Bukere is listed in The Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1229 AD. William le Buker was documented in Lancashire in 1246 AD. William le Bocer was documented in Shropshire in 1255 AD. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 AD, a census of Wales and England, known in Latin as Rotuli Hundredorum lists two bearers of this surname: John Boker (Norfolk) and William le Bocer (Salop). Elias le Boukere was documented in Sussex, England in 1296 AD.

Popularity & Geographic Distribution
The last name Booker ranks 902^nd in popularity in the United Status as of the 2000 Census. The name ranks particularly high in the following five states: Virginia (374^th), Georgia (470^th), Mississippi (423^rd), Tennessee (480^th), and Maryland (502^nd).

The surname Booker frequency/commonness ranks as follows in the British Isles: England (1,223^rd), Scotland (5,001^st), Wales (1,396^th), Ireland (10,250^th) and Northern Ireland (4,918^th). In England, it ranks highest in West Sussex. In Scotland, the surname ranks highest in Scottish Borders. In Ireland, it ranks highest in Munster. In Wales, it ranks highest in Vale of Glamorgan.

The name is also present throughout the remainder English speaking world:  Canada (3,575^th), New Zealand (1,373^rd), Australia (1,779^th), and South Africa (33,712nd).

In his 1890 book, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain, Henry Brougham Guppy, states the following in regard to this last name: “John Booker was the principal proprietor in Worthing in the reign of Anne (D.). The name also occurs in Derbyshire”.

Booker Family Tree & Booker Genealogy

Booker of Velindra
The genealogy of this branch of the Booker family tree begins with Richard Blakemore, Esquire of the Leys, county Hereford, England, a Member of Parliament for Wells, a Justice of the Peace, and a High Sheriff who was born in 1775. He was the son of Thomas Blakemore of Darlaston and Ann Patridge. Richard died in 1856 and was succeeded by his nephew. This nephew, Thomas William Booker, was an Esquire of Leys and Velindra House, son of Reverend Luke Booker, Vicar of Dudley and Rector of Tedstone de la Mere and Anna Blakemore, born in 1802. He became a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant in counties Hereford, Monmouth, and Glamorgan. He also served in Parliament from 1849 to 1858. In 1824, he married Jane Anne, daughter of John Coghlan Esq., and had issue with as follows: Richard Blakemore (of the Leys), Thomas William (of Velindra), John Partidge (born 1833, married Clara Georgina Langley, had four sons and a daughter named Anna), and Mary (married Reverend Cyril Stacey). His son, Thomas William Booker was an Esquire of Velindra, Justice of the Peace, Deputy Lieutenant, and High Sheriff born in 1830. In 1861, he married Caroline Emily, daughter of Robert Lindsay, Esq., and had issue with her as follows: Thomas William Lindsay, Mary, Mabel, Gladys, Ethel, Ellen, Lilian, and Henrietta. The Booker coat of arms or Booker family crest is blazoned in the medieval European art of heraldry as follows: Per pale, or and vert, an eagle, displayed, within a bordure charged with four roundles and four flour-de-lis, all counterchanged. Crest: A demi-eagle displayed or, in the beak a fleur-de-lis, all counterchanged. Crest: A demi-eagle displayed or, in the beak a fleur-de-lis vert, the dexter wing bendy of six, or and vert, the sinister wing bendy sinister of six, also or and vert. They were seated at Velindra, Cardiff, Wales.

Nottinghamshire to Virginia
Edward Booker was born in Nottinghamshire, England c. 1450 AD. His son, John Booker, was born in Nottinghamshire c. 1485 AD. His son, John Booker II, was born in Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, England c. 1520. His son, Edmund Booker or Bowker, was born in Nottinghamshire c. 1559 AD. In 1589, he married Elizabeth, daughter of Roger Pott, and had two sons with her: John and Edward. His son, Edward Booker, was born in Gloucester, England c. 1587 AD. While in England, he married Sarah, daughter of Richard Glover. He went to colonial America c. 1648. The family had a land grand there. He died in York, Giles, Virginia c. 1674. He might have had a son named Richard. Captain Richard Booker was born in in England c. 1640. He went to Virginia with his father. He married twice: Rebecca Leake and Hannah Hand. He had issue as follows: Judith, Edward Ruffin, Ann, Richard, John, Edmund, Frances, and George. Four of his sons are discussed as follows:
1) Colonel Edward Ruffin Booker was born in Gloucester County, Virginia in 1680. The following is an except about him from The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, volume 7, 1899, “He removed from Gloucester to the part of Prince George county which is now Amelia, and was appointed Justice of the Peace of Prince George in 1733, was one of the first justices of Amelia at its formation in 1736, and was one of its. first representatives in the House of Burgesses in the same year”. He married twice: Judith Archer and Mary Goode, and had the following issue: Lucy, Richard, Edward William, and Judith (Holloway).
2) Colonel Richard Booker was born in Abington Parish, Gloucester County, Virginia in 1688. In 1711, he married Margaret, daughter of William Lowry, and had issue with her as follows: Frances, John, William Marshall, Martha, Richard III, Rebecca, and Purify.
3) Edmund Booker was born in Abingdon, Virginia c. 1693. In 1719, he married Jane Davis and had issue as follow: Edmund, Ann, William, John, Rebecca, and Frances.
4) George Booker was born in Abington, Virginia c. 1697. In 1720, he married Grace Richeson and had a son with her named George. George was born in Virginia in 1721. He married Sarah Cobbs and had two issue: Edith and Efford.

Marriages of Bookers
1) Joahm Bowker married Margareta Bibby in Cheshire, England in May 1615
2) Samuel Booker married Margrett Bayly in Trentham, Staffordshire, England in June 1680
3) Richard Buker married Elizabeth Burlington in Cheshire, England in January 1671
4) Richard Booker married Wolstanton, Staffordshire, England in January 1727
5) William Booker married Elizabeth Davies in Shotwick, Cheshire, England in July 1771
6) George Booker, age 21, married Mary Barker in Cheshire, England in October 1799
7) Harriet Booker married William Williams in Floyd, Indiana in May 1822
8) George W. Booker married in Eliza Ann Phillips in Kosiusko, Indiana in February 1874
9) George Booker, age 27, married Sallie L. Booker in Campbell, Virginia in 1876
10) Poindexter Booker married Sally V. Sears in Gloucester, Virginia in 1870
11) Spencer Booker married Ruth E. Bartlow in Morrow, Ohio in October 1860
12) Anna E. Booker married Abraham Kildoo in Mahoning County, Ohio in December 1900

Early American and New World Settlers
Some of the earliest settlers in colonial America bearing this name include:
1) Lancelot Booker, age 33, came to Virginia or Maine in 1607
2) Michael Booker came to Virginia in 1622
3) Edward Booker came to Virginia in 1648
4) Margaret Booker, and her daughter Mary, came to Virginia in 1653
5) Jeremy Booker came to Maryland in 1657
6) Eliza Booker came to Virginia in 1658
7) Thomas Booker came to Virginia or Maryland in 1664
8) Robert Booker came to Virginia in 1666
9) Richard Booker came to Virginia in 1672
10) Mary Booker came to Maryland in 1672
11) John Booker came to Maryland in 1676
12) Richard Booker came to Virginia in 1691
13) William Booker came to Virginia in 1695
14) John Booker came to Virginia in 1695
15) Richard Booker came to Virginia in 1701
16) John Booker came to Maryland or Virginia in 1733
17) John Booker, age 20, came to Pennsylvania in 1735
18) Cristana Booker, age 35, came to Pennsylvania in 1735
19) Hans Booker, age 54, came to Pennsylvania in 1735
20) Bartholomew Booker came to Frederick County, Maryland in 1758

Several thousand members of the Booker family came to the United States through Ellis Island, during the nineteenth century, including:
1) Michael Booker came from Ireland aboard the Celtic in 1881
2) Henry Booker came from England aboard the Greece in 1878
3) James Booker came from England aboard the Baltic in 1879
4) William L. Booker came from England aboard the Abyssinia in 1879
5) Eliza Booker came from Great Britain aboard the Pennsylvania in 1865
6) Augen Booker came from Great Britain aboard the Pennsylvania in 1865
7) Fanny Booker came from Ireland aboard the Ellen Anati in 1862
8) Pauline Booker came from Prussia aboard the Hermann in 1885
9) Rose Booker came from Horsham, England aboard the Oceanic in 1913
10) Basil Booker came from London, England aboard the Oceanic in 1913
11) Ethel A. Booker came from South Wales aboard the Minnetonka in 1906
12) John Booker came from Coln, Germany aboard the Finland in 1909

Some of the earliest settlers in Canada bearing this name include:
1) Arnold Booker came in 1817
2) Jane Booker came in 1832 (from Sussex, England to Upper Canada?)
3) George Booker came in 1836 (from Sussex, England to Upper Canada?)
4) Hannah Booker came in 1836 (from Sussex, England to Upper Canada?)

Some of the earliest settlers in Australia bearing this name include:
1) Edward and Eliza Booker came from Liverpool, England to New South Wales aboard the Marianne in 1832
2) John Booker came to New South Wales in 1840 aboard the Mangles
3) John Booker, age 22, came from London, England to Victoria aboard the Earl Durham in 1842
4) John Booker, age 22, came from London, England to Victoria aboard the Earl Durham in 1842
5) Mary Booker, age 19, came from London, England to Victoria aboard the Earl Durham in 1854
6) George Booker, age 29, came from Liverpool, England to Victoria aboard the Admiral Boxer in 1854
7) John W. Booker, age 45, came to Brisbane aboard the Fiery Star in 1864
8) James Booker, age 32, came to New South Wales aboard the Commodore Hates in 1823
9) William Booker, age 32, came to New South Wales aboard the Governer Bourke in 1833

Some of the earliest settlers in New Zealand bearing this name include:
1) John Booker came to Canterbury aboard the Queen of the Mersey in 1862
2) Elizabeth Booker, of Yorkshire, England, came to Canterbury aboard the Queen of the Mersey in 1862
3) Jonathan Booker, of Yorkshire, England, came to Canterbury aboard the Queen of the Mersey in 1862
4) Isaac Booker came to Canterbury aboard the Queen of the Mersey in 1862
2) Thomas Booker, age 45, from Gloucestershire, England, came to Canterbury aboard the Cathcart in 1874
1) Sarah Booker, age 12, came to Canterbury aboard the Cathcart in 1874
2) George Booker, age 15, came to Canterbury aboard the Cathcart in 1874
3) Ann Booker came to Canterbury aboard the Cathcart in 1874
2) James Booker came to Canterbury aboard the Cathcart in 1874
5) William Booker came to Canterbury aboard the Cathcart in 1874
3) Charles Booker came to Canterbury aboard the Cathcart in 1874
3) Henry Booker, a farm laborer, came to Wellington aboard the Wennington in 1874
4) Emma Booker came to Wellington aboard the Wennington in 1874
5) Ellen Booker, of Middlesex, England came to Wellington aboard the Wennington in 1874
6) Agnes Booker, of Middlesex, England came to Wellington aboard the Wennington in 1874

Grantees of Arms
1) Booker, from London, out of Nottinghamshire, Or, an eagle displayed vert, crowned of the first, a bordure azure charged with 8 fleurs-de-lis gold by Segar.
2) Booker to Gregor, of Trewarthericke and Creed, county Cornwall, 1820s
3) Thomas William Booker, of The Leys, Ganerew and Tedstone de la mere, county Hereford; Velindia House, Whitechurch, county Glamorgan, Wales; and Dudley, county Worcester, 1850s
4) Lieutenant Colonel Josias Booker of Liverpool, county Lanc., 1860s, widow, quarterly escutcheon of pretense

Notables
There are hundreds of notable people with the Booker surname. This page will mention a handful. Famous people with this last name include:
1) Major Charles Dawson Booker (1897-1918) was a World War I fighter ace credited with 29 victories, born in Burnt House Cottage, Speldhurst, Kent, England
2) Trevor Christopher Booker (1969) is a former English football (soccer) player who played from 1986-1992 for Millwall, Welling United, and Fisher Athletic, born in Lambeth
3) Roderick Stewart Booker (1958) was an American baseball player who played in the MLB from 1987-1991, for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Philadelphia Phillies, born in Los Angeles
4) Hilton Edward “Eddie” Booker (1917-1975) was an American-American boxer active in the 1930s and 1940s, part of a group of black boxers known as “Murders Row”
5) Trevor Fitzgerald Booker (1987) was a former professional basketball player in the NBA who played from 2010-2018 for five different teams including the Washington Wizards and Utah Jazz, born in Newberry, South Carolina
6) Robert D. Booker (1920-1943) was a US Army soldier awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions in World War II, born in Callaway, Nebraska
7) James “Pete” Booker (1886-1922) was an African-American baseball catcher and first base in the early negro leagues, playing from 1907-1920 for teams such as the Leland Giants and Chicago Giants, born in Richmond, Virginia
8) John Booker (1603-1667) was an English astrologer and mathematician born in Manchester
9) Lorenzo Adarryll Booker (1984) is a former running back in the NFL who plated from 2007-2012 for several different including the Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings, born in Oxnard, California
10) Christopher John Penrice Booker (1936) is a British author and journalist  who has taken a position counter to the scientific community of several issue including global warming

Booker America Civil War Veterans
There were several soldiers with the last name Booker who served in the American Civil War, including the following:
1) William H. Booker of the 40^th Regiment Indiana Infantry (Union)
2) George A. Booker of the 88^th Regiment Illinois Infantry (Union)
3) James M. Booker of the 1^st Regiment Ohio Heavy Artillery (Union)
4) Alvin S. Booker of the 22^nd Regiment Maine Infantry (Union)
5) Daniel F. Booker of the 144^th Regiment New York Infantry (Union)
6) Joshua M. Booker of the 21^st Regiment Pennsylvania Cavalry(Union)
7) August Booker of the 11^th Regiment Kentucky Cavalry (Union)
8) Mumford Ethelbert Booker of the 1^st Regiment Tennessee Infantry (Confederacy)
9) William J. Booker of the 4^th Regiment Alabama Infantry (Confederacy)
10) Joseph W. Booker of the 23^rd Regiment Arkansas Infantry (Confederacy)
11) Charles E. Booker of the 27^th Regiment Texas Cavalry (Confederacy)
12) Isaac W. Booker of the 43^rd Regiment Mississippi Infantry (Confederacy)
13) William T. Booker of the 1^st Regiment Maryland Cavalry Confederacy)
14) Charles A. Booker of the 4^th Regiment Missouri Infantry (Confederacy)

Booker America Revolution Veterans
There were several soldiers with the last name Booker who served in the Revolutionary War, including the following:
1) Private Edward Booker of Virginia
2) Lieutenant James Booker
3) Private Joshua Booker of Virginia
4) Private Andrew Booker of Virginia
5) Private George Booker of Virginia
6) Captain Gideon Booker of Georgia
7) John Booker of New York
8) Captain Lieutenant of Lewis Booker of Virginia
9) Sergeant Richeson Booker of Virginia
10) Lieutenant Samuel Booker of Virginia
11) James Booker of Maryland
12) 2^nd Lieutenant Ralph Booker of Virginia
13) Isaiah Booker of Massachusetts
14) Private Nehemiah Booker of Massachusetts
15) David Booker of New York
16) Daniel Booker of Connecticut

Blazons & Genealogy Notes

1) (London, from Woodbouse, co. Nottingham). Or, an eagle displ. vert, ducally gorged of the first, beaked and membered gu. within a bordure az. charged with three fleurs-de lis gold. Crest—A swan ppr. collared and lined az.
2) (Velindra House, co. Glamorgan). Arms, the same. Crest—A demi eagle displayed. Motto—Ad coelum tendit.
3) (granted to Josias Booker, Jun., Esq., of Demerara, West Indies, Lieut.-Col. Demerara Militia, eldest son of Josias Booker, of Poplar-grove, Allerton, near Liverpool). Or, within a bordure az. charged with four fleurs-de-lis and four mullets alternately of the first an eagle displ. vert gorged with an annulet gold. Crest—On a mount vert a swan ppr. collared and lined and charged on the breast with a fleur-delis az. Motto—Deo non fortuna.
4) or Boocher – (London). Granted to [???} Booker, alias Boocher, of London, England, by William Segar, Clarenceux – The same, but with eight fleurs-de-lis.
5) (borne as an impalement by Thomas Cosby, Esq., of Vicarstown, Queen’s Co. (b. 1742), in right of his wife, Frances Booker). Ar. an eagle displayed vert crowned or, within a border az. charged with eight fleurs-de-lis of the third.