PACKARD
Packard is a surname of English origin, traditionally classified as an occupational name. The name is believed to derive from the Old English word paca, meaning “pack” or “bundle”. The suffix -ard indicates an individual associated with a particular activity; together the elements suggest a person engaged in packing or bundling goods, perhaps a packer or a carrier of provisions.
Agreements found in historical records indicate that the name was first recorded in the English Isles, predominantly in England, and that its bearers were generally Christian. As the medieval practice of naming shifted from descriptive descriptors to hereditary surnames, the occupational designation of a packer became cemented as a family name.
Over successive generations the use of the surname Packard became hereditary, passing from one generation to the next without reference to the original occupation. Consequently, by the early modern period, the name no longer implied a direct link to the profession of packing, although it continued to identify a distinct family line within English society.
Records indicate that the surname has remained relatively uncommon in comparison with more widespread English surnames. Nonetheless, its persistence in archival documents reflects the continuity of hereditary surnames that originated in the Middle Ages and survived into contemporary times.
Typical given names associated with the Packard surname
Male
- Andrew
- Chris
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Kevin
- Paul
- Philip
- Richard
- Robert
- Stephen
- Thomas
- William
Female
- Barbara
- Clare
- Cynthia
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jean
- Joanne
- Katie
- Linda
- Mary
- Sarah
- Susan
- Tessa
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Packard in...
Braille
⠏⠁⠉⠅⠁⠗⠙
Morse
.--..--.-.-.-.-.-.-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 536 people named Packard in the UK. That makes it one of Britain's least common surnames. Only around eight in a million people in Britain are named Packard.
Surname type: Occupational name
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Packard
- Gavin Packard - Indian actor of Irish descent (1964 to 2012)
- Alpheus Spring Packard - American classical philologist (1798 to 1884)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.