Faulkner, Falkner or Faulknor are name variants of Falconer. It is of medieval origin taken from Old French faulconnier, "one who practices the sport of falconry", or "keeper or trainer of hawks". Another etymology suggests the name could also have a parallel derivation meaning "maker or worker of a faucon" (a type of crane or windlass).

People named Faulkner or Falkner:

• Last name Faulkner
  • (George) Aubrey Faulkner (1881-1930), member of the South African cricket team for about two decades
  • Barry Faulkner, painter from New Hampshire, former student of the sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens, and also cousin of Abbott Handerson Thayer (the so-called "father of camouflage"). Worked with Sherry Edmundson Fry to set up the first American Camouflage Unit.
  • Bayard H. Faulkner, (1894-1983), former mayor of Montclair, New Jersey, USA in the 1950s
  • The Right Honourable (Arthur) Brian Deane Faulkner (1921-1977), Baron Faulkner of Downpatrick, the sixth and last Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
  • Cameron Faulkner (born 1984),Australian Rules football player for the Western Bulldogs of Footscray, in Melbourne.
  • Charles J. Faulkner (1806-1884), United States Representative from Virginia and West Virginia
  • Charles J. Faulkner (1847-1929), a United States Senator from West Virginia (son of the above)
  • Daniel Faulkner (1955-1981), a Philadelphia police officer who was murdered in the line of duty by a member of the Black Panther Party
  • Dave Faulkner, composer and one of the original members of the Sydney rock band, the Hoodoo Gurus.
  • David Faulkner (born 1963), former field hockey player & gold medal winner at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games
  • Elizabeth Faulkner, Pastry Chef from San Francisco, CA.
  • Eric Faulkner (born Eric Falconer), guitarist in the 1970s band the Bay City Rollers
  • George Faulkner, an Irish publisher who in 1735 published a complete set of Jonathan Swift's works; Volume III was the famous novel Gulliver's Travels.
  • Harris Faulkner, American newscaster for Fox News Channel
  • (James) Hugh Faulkner, PC (born 1933), a former Canadian politician.
  • Jack Faulkner (born 1926), a former American football coach and administrator
  • James Faulkner (born 1948), British television and film actor
  • John Faulkner (born 1954), member of the Australian Senate since April 1989
  • John Alfred Faulkner, DD (1857-1931), an American church historian.
  • John Meade Falkner (1858-1932), an English novelist
  • Larry Faulkner, until February 2006, the twenty-seventh president of The University of Texas at Austin.
  • Lisa Faulkner (born 1973), an English actress
  • (Herbert Gustavus) Max Faulkner, OBE (1916-2005), an English golfer
  • Mike Faulkner, bass player in the band The Damn Personals
  • Pádraig Faulkner (born 1918), a senior Irish Fianna Fáil politician
  • Raymond O. Faulkner (1894-1982), English Egyptologist and philologist
  • Sally Faulkner, a British filem and television actress from the 1970s
  • Sanford C. 'Sandy' Faulkner (1806-1874), Colonel in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, and composer of the popular fiddle tune The Arkansas Traveler
  • Shannon Faulkner (born 1975), first female cadet to enter The Citadel military college in South Carolina
  • Walt Faulkner (1920-1956), American racing driver from Tell, Texas
  • William Faulkner (1897-1962), Nobel Prize-winning novelist from Mississippi
  • William Clark Falkner (1825-1889, soldier, lawyer, politician, businessman, and author in northern Mississippi. Great-grandfather of author William Faulkner (above).