Kwak
A Dutch surname from a bird name, originally a nickname for someone linked to a heron or similar wading bird.
The #7,184 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 66,368 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from Dutch kwak, a word used for a heron-like bird. In older naming practice, such animal names often began as nicknames, perhaps for a person thought to resemble the bird, live near it, or have some other association with it. The historical material also shows spellings such as Quack and De Quack, reflecting older Dutch spelling habits rather than a different origin.
History
The surname appears in Dutch surname discussions as part of a wider group of family names taken from animal names. The same source notes a house name in Delft called In de Quack in 1600, showing that the word was familiar in everyday Dutch usage. Later bearers likely inherited the name as a fixed family surname rather than receiving it as a personal nickname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The word kwak could also refer to a kind of heron that was apparently eaten as wild game in the Middle Ages.
From the historical record
“Loquela — jaargang 1883 , bl. 25. — Plevier, Kievit, Kieviet, en als vadersnaam Kieviet s. — Reiger en D'Heygere. Hey- gere is de oud-vlaamsche naam van den reiger. Kwak, Quack en De Quack1; De Lepeleer,. De Lepelaere, De Lepeleir en De Lepeleire; Ooyevaar, Ojevaar, met de oude for- men van dit woord Ovaere…”
— De Nederlandsche geslachtsnamen in oorsprong, geschiedenis en beteekenis