Show ContentsAker History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Aker came to England with the ancestors of the Aker family in the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Aker family lived in the county of Cumberland. This surname was a local name meaning the dweller at the acre, or the dweller at the plot of arable land.

Early Origins of the Aker family

The surname Aker was first found in the county of Cumberland, where they were descended from one of two noble houses, the Lords D'Acre, called D'Acres of the North, and Lord D'Acre of Herstmonceux, called D'Acres of the South. Both of these noble branches originally settled at Dacre in Cumberland.

Early History of the Aker family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Aker research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1282, 1346, 1379, 1614, 1619, 1660, 1661, 1692 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Aker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aker Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Aker are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Aker include Acre, Acres, Aker, Eaker, Eakers, Aiker, Aikers, Aikerson, Aker, Akers, Acker, Ackers, Ackhurst and many more.

Early Notables of the Aker family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Sir Anthony Aucher, 1st Baronet (1614-1692), an English politician from Bishopsbourne, Kent, Member of Parliament for Canterbury (1660-1661), a supporter...
Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Aker Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Aker Ranking

In the United States, the name Aker is the 8,415th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


United States Aker migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Aker, or a variant listed above:

Aker Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • David Aker, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 2

Canada Aker migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Aker Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

New Zealand Aker migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Aker Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Mr. Charles Aker, (b. 1845), aged 20, British butcher travelling from London aboard the ship "Eastern Empire" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 4th January 1865 4

Contemporary Notables of the name Aker (post 1700) +

  • J. Calvin Aker, American politician, Justice of Kentucky State Supreme Court 3rd District; Elected 1978 5
  • Alan Aker (b. 1963), American Republican politician, Member of South Dakota State Senate 35th District, 1995- 5

Halifax Explosion
  • Mrs. May  Aker (1880-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries 6


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  4. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, February 2) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  6. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance


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