Flack
A likely locational surname for someone who lived by flat, low-lying ground.
The #5,759 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,321 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Flack is usually explained as a local name for someone who lived on or near flat, low ground. One 19th-century source glosses it from Dutch "vlak," meaning flat or level ground, and later surname guides connect it with related forms meaning a flat place or a flaggy, level surface. The sense is topographic rather than occupational: it describes where the original bearer lived.
History
The name appears in English records from the medieval period, and later surname dictionaries treat it as a regional or local byname. It also turns up in Dutch and related continental forms such as Flach and Vlak, which supports a low-ground/flat-place origin. In modern usage it survives as a relatively uncommon surname in the English-speaking world, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older place-name and surname language, a word like "flack" could refer not just to stone but to turf or other flat ground, which is why this surname is tied to landscape rather than to a trade.
From the historical record
“FITZ ROY. The son of Roy (which see). FITZ SWAIN. The son of Swain (which see). FLACK. Local. (Dutch.) " TZafc," flat, low ground. OF FAMILY NAMES. 131 FLAHERTY. (Celtic.) A man of chieftain-like exploits. From flaith, a lord 6r chief, and oirbheartach, noble-deeded; the man of noble deeds. FLANDERS. Local. A name…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names