Frequency: (1571)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
1. Dutch: from Middle Dutch bac ‘bucket’, ‘bin’, ‘beaker’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such vessels.
2. Dutch: nickname for someone with a peculiarity of the mouth, jaw, or cheek, from Dutch bakke ‘cheek’, ‘side’.
3. Norwegian: habitational name from any of numerous farmsteads named with Old Norse bakki ‘hillside’, ‘bank’.
GIVEN NAMES: Scandinavian 5%. Erik (3), Jalmer (2), Anders, Astrid, Bergit, Bjorn, Dagny, Gudrun, Helmer, Knute, Ordell, Tollef.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
