Sacks History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Israel

Etymology of Sacks

What does the name Sacks mean?

The Jewish surname Sacks has a two possible origins. In the first case, Sacks was often adopted in memory of a martyred ancestor. It is adapted from ZAKS, an acronym for the phrase "zera kodesh shemo," meaning "descended from martyrs." This acronym was adopted by the descendants of the residents of the German town of Speyer, which was devastated during the crusades. Another area that is remembered by this name is the Prussian town of Stendahl, where many Jews were martyred in the 16th century.

The alternate origin of Sacks suggests that it is of local or geographic derivation and indicates that its original bearer came from Saxony.

Sacks Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Sachs, Zaks, Saks, Sacks and more. and others.

Sacks Ranking

the United States, the name Sacks is the 10,306^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Sacks migration to the United States +

Sacks Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Bastiaan Sacks, who arrived in New York in 1709 2

Sacks Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Sacks, who arrived in Somerset County, Pennsylvania in 1843 2
August Sacks, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1857 2
Frederick Earnest Sacks, who landed in Colorado in 1882 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Sacks (post 1700) +

Marty Sacks, American Republican politician, Candidate for Florida State House of Representatives 86th District, 1978 3
Leon Sacks (1902-1972), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania 1st District, 1937-43 4
Joel D. Sacks, American politician, U.S. Attorney for Virgin Islands, 1971-73 4
George H. Sacks, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1956 4
Eddie Sacks, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oklahoma, 2008 4
Alexander Sacks, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 23rd District, 1968 4
Jonathan Henry Sacks (1948-2020), Baron Sacks, a British Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, author, and politician
Oliver Wolf Sacks CBE, FRCP (1933-2015), British neurologist, naturalist and author
Oliver Wolf Sacks CBE (1933-2015), English neurologist and author, perhaps best known for his 1973 book Awakenings which was adapted into the Academy Award-nominated film of the same name in 1990 starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro

Sources +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html