Parke
Usually a surname for someone who lived by or worked at a park, though in some cases it may be a local or even patronymic form.
The #7,031 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,876 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Parke is most often explained as a habitational or topographical name from Middle English parke, meaning an enclosed park or enclosed ground. That word goes back to Old English pearroc, "enclosure," and was also reinforced by Old French pare or related Anglo-Norman forms. Some 19th-century writers also suggested that in a few cases Parke may have developed as a variant of Peter or come from a place-name in Normandy, so the name is not always from the same source.
History
Medieval records show forms such as atte Parke and de la Parocke, which fit the common medieval pattern of naming people by where they lived. The spelling with final -e is an older and partly variable form that later often simplified to Park. In some families, especially in England and the United States, Parke and Park were used side by side, while related surnames like Parker developed as occupational forms for a park keeper or gamekeeper.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley and Lower both note that Park, Parke, Parkes, and Parks could all be connected to residence near a park, showing how flexible medieval surname spelling could be.
From the historical record
“PARK ICEng. and A.-Fr.) Dweller in an PARKE J Enclosed Ground [M.E. parke, parrok, O.'E. pearroc, an enclosure, park (O.Fr. pare is prob. f. Teut.] John del Vaic— Hund. Rolls. Roger atte Parke. — Pari. Writs. PARKER (Eng.) Park-Keeper, Gamekeeper [M.E.parker(e, etc. ; v. under Papk(e, and + the agent, suff. -«?•]”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)