Frequency: (2596)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. English: from Middle English bakehous ‘bakehouse’ (Old English bæchūs), hence a topographic name for someone who lived or worked in a bakery. See also German Backhaus.
2. Lithuanian (Bačkus): from Lithuanian bačka ‘barrel’, ‘cask’, hence either a nickname for a short, fat man or an occupational name for a cooper.
FOREBEARS: Among the original settlers of Norwich (later Franklin), CT, in 1660 was a certain Stephen Backus.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
