Sack
An English and French surname that can come from a sack-maker, a sackcloth garment, or a French place-name.
The #8,791 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 82,796 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname has more than one likely source. In English usage, it can be a metonymic occupational name from Middle English/Old English sack, meaning a sack or coarse garment, and is related to the trade term for a maker or seller of sacks. In French, it may reflect a place-name such as Le Sacq or a surname based on French Sacq/Sacig, which older writers connected either with a Germanic personal name or with the same sack-related word family. The ultimate word behind the garment term goes back to Latin saccus, "bag" or "sack."
History
19th-century surname writers recorded Sack in both English and French contexts, and also grouped related forms like Sacker and Sackville nearby. In England it appears to have been used for people connected with sacks, sackcloth, or sack-making; in France it may have been locational, from a place such as Le Sacq in Normandy. Because the surname is short and common-word based, some early examples may also be spelling variants or shortened forms of longer names.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Lower noted that medieval religious orders sometimes wore sackcloth, which helped make sack a memorable surname element in older records.
From the historical record
“Lat. salt-US, a leap. SACK (A.-Fr.) i Bel. to le Sacq (Eure, Norm.) The surname Du Sacq (Dusacq) is not rare in France. 2 the French pers. name Sacig prob. represents the O.Ger. Sacco [f. the root seen in O.Sax. sakan = O.E. sacan (ge)saca, an adversary) = Goth, sakan = O.H.Ger. sahhan, to dispute, strive, blame]…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)