Saker

This interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a diminutive of Sack, itself a metonymic occupational name for a maker of sacks or bags, derived from the Olde English pre 7th Century "sacc", sack or bag, originally from the Late Latin "saccus", the Greek "sakkos", probably ultimately of Semitic origin. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. Sack manufacture was a very important industry and this is confirmed by the variety of associated spellings; these include Sack, Sacker, Secker, Saker, Seket(t) and Sackur. The surname Sack was first recorded in circa 1250, Symon Sac' being recorded in the Chartulary of the Monastery of Ramsey, Cambridgeshire. However, the diminutive form was not recorded until much later; the first recording being found in the mid 16th Century (see below). Recordings from English Church Registers include: the marriage of Judith Sackett and Thomas West on February 20th 1622, in London, and the christening of Richard, son of Jacobi Sackett, on October 12th 1628, at Fareham, Hampshire. The surname is also well recorded in America; the marriage was recorded in New York of Richard Sackett and Margery L. Sleade on May 11th 1699. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joyce Sackett, which was dated October 12th 1562, christened at St. Lawrence's, Thanet, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.