Pak
A rare surname whose origin is uncertain in the surviving old surname books, and may be connected to a place-name or an old word for a pack/bag.
The #3,308 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,466 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The historical sources are not in agreement, and some of the evidence is probably noisy or incidental rather than a clean surname entry. One line of tradition links the name to an old Teutonic word related to a pack or bag, seen in forms like Old Norse and Dutch words for “pack.” Another source treats Pak as a very short form appearing in Norman-name material, but that excerpt is too garbled to support a firm derivation. On balance, the name looks either occupational/nickname-like from a “pack” word or a reduced form connected with a place or personal-name tradition, but the exact origin is uncertain.
History
The surname appears to be uncommon in the English-language record, and the provided excerpts do not give a secure, well-documented family history for it. Because several excerpts are fragmentary or only mention similar names such as Packe, Pakenham, and Pakington, it is hard to separate true evidence from alphabetical cross-references. The modern U.S. distribution suggests a relatively small, possibly immigrant or independently adopted surname group, rather than a long-established common English name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several old surname dictionaries group Pak with names built on pack/bag words, which shows how often tiny surnames hide very old everyday vocabulary.
From the historical record
“PAK llSO-Oo (MKS) ; EicLard d-Ovcre, Engl. c. lL'72 (Itll). Overy, for Auvery, or AilTxr. Owen, liaronet. '':>cp- Lokt). Owen, iu some cases from Pe St. Oiieu, or Audoen, from St. (.hien,”
— The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States