Travis Barker's Real Name: Travis Landon Barker

Quick answer: Travis Barker's full name is Travis Landon Barker. He was born on November 14, 1975, in Fontana, California. He is best known as the drummer of the pop-punk band blink-182, which he joined in 1998, and Rolling Stone has ranked him among the 100 greatest drummers of all time (Britannica; Library of Congress).

Real name and early life

Britannica gives his name in full as Travis Landon Barker. The Library of Congress name authority files him as "Barker, Travis" and describes him as a "punk-pop drummer; b. Nov. 14, 1975, Fontana, CA."

According to Britannica, he was born to Randy Barker, a steelworker, and Gloria Barker, who ran a day care center. His mother bought him his first drum kit when he was four, and he began taking lessons. She died when he was a teenager, a few months after being diagnosed with Sjögren syndrome. In his 2014 memoir, Can I Say, Barker recalled her telling him, "Don't stop playing the drums, Travis. Follow your dreams."

He got his first tattoo at 15, over his father's objections, and Britannica says the experience helped him commit to music. He played in his high school's marching band and jazz ensemble. After graduating he moved to Laguna Beach, California, and worked as a garbage collector while playing with punk bands.

Career highlights

In 1996 Barker joined the ska-punk band the Aquabats, which was touring with blink-182 at the time. In 1998 he replaced blink-182's drummer, joining bassist Mark Hoppus and guitarist Tom DeLonge. The band's breakthrough album, Enema of the State (1999), sold more than 15 million copies, according to Britannica. Take Off Your Pants and Jacket (2001) and the self-titled 2003 album, with "Feeling This" and "I Miss You," followed before the band went on hiatus in 2005.

On September 19, 2008, a private jet carrying Barker crashed on takeoff in South Carolina, and four of the six people on board died. Barker suffered severe burns and needed more than 25 surgeries. He later credited the crash with motivating him to give up abusing drugs. Blink-182 announced its reunion at the 2009 Grammys and released Neighborhoods (2011), California (2016), and One More Time... (2023). His solo album Give the Drummer Some (2011) featured Lil Wayne, Pharrell Williams, and Snoop Dogg. He has also drummed for Avril Lavigne and MGK.

Barker was married to Melissa Kennedy and then to model Shanna Moakler, with whom he appeared in MTV's Meet the Barkers. In 2022 he married Kourtney Kardashian in Portofino, Italy; their son was born in late 2023.

Name notes for searchers

Travis Barker is his birth name, and Landon is his middle name. He has always performed under his own name, both with blink-182 and on solo projects.