Explore the Family Name Hack
The meaning of Hack
1. German and Dutch: from the ancient Germanic personal name Hac(c)o, a short form of a compound name beginning with the element hag ‘hedge, enclosure’. 2. German and Dutch: occupational name for a butcher or a woodcutter (see Hacker). 3. North German: occupational name for a peddler (see Haack 3). 4. North German: topographic name for someone who lived by a hedge (see Heck 1). 5. North German: perhaps also a topographic name from hach, hack ‘dirty, boggy water’. 6. English: from the early Middle English personal name Acke or (with prosthetic H-) Hake, which is an Anglo-Scandinavian pet form of Old Scandinavian Áskell (see Haskell). 7. English: alternatively, a borrowing of Middle Dutch Hakke, a de-nasalized variant of Hanke, which is a Flemish and Picard pet form of John. 8. English: nickname from Middle English hak ‘unsparing, ruthless’. 9. Jewish (Ashkenazic): metonymic occupational name from Yiddish hak ‘axe’. History: George Hack (c.1623–c.1665) was born in Cologne, Germany, of a Schleswig-Holstein family, and emigrated to New Amsterdam in New Netherland (now New York City, NY) where he practiced medicine and entered the VA tobacco trade. Colony records show that he and his wife, Anna, were formally made naturalized citizens of VA in 1658. He had two daughters, neither of whom married, and two sons: George Nicholas Hack, the founder of the Norfolk branch of the family; and Peter, for many years a member of the VA House of Burgesses, the founder of the Maryland branch. Hack’s descendants eventually changed the spelling of the name to Heck.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Hack in the United States?
According to the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Hack" slightly decreased in rank from 5358 in 2000 to 5379 in 2010, a minimal change of -0.39%. However, the count of people with this surname increased by 8.18% from 5979 to 6468 over the same period. The proportion per 100k people modestly dropped by -1.35%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,358 | #5,379 | -0.39% |
| Count | 5,979 | 6,468 | 8.18% |
| Proportion per 100k | 2.22 | 2.19 | -1.35% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hack
The ethnic identity of individuals with the surname "Hack" also saw some shifts between 2000 and 2010 based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census. The number of Asians/Pacific Islanders with this surname grew by 64.47%, while the Hispanic population increased by 88.89%. The Black population also experienced growth, increasing by 31.70%. The percentage of people who identify as American Indian and Alaskan Native also rose slightly by 31.82%. Conversely, there was a decrease in the White population (-3.63%) and those identifying with two or more races (-37.12%).
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 89.01% | 85.78% | -3.63% |
| Black | 5.52% | 7.27% | 31.7% |
| Hispanic | 1.44% | 2.72% | 88.89% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 1.52% | 2.5% | 64.47% |
| Two or More Races | 2.29% | 1.44% | -37.12% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.22% | 0.29% | 31.82% |
Hack ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Hack is British & Irish, which comprises 37.0% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (30.7%) and Eastern European (6.7%). Additional ancestries include Ashkenazi Jewish, Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Indigenous American.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 37.0% |
| French & German | 30.7% |
| Eastern European | 6.7% |
| Other | 25.7% |
Possible origins of the surname Hack
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Hack have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 77.60% |
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 77.60% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 76.90% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 76.90% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 76.30% |
What Hack haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Hack is R-P312, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P312 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-L1029 and I-Z58, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Shuster, Hesse, Alberts, Stephan, Friedrich, Schramm, Fleischer, Lehmann, Eggert, Hartwig.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Hack surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Hack have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Hack" Surname 53.1%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Hack" Surname 21.7%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Hack" Surname 20.3%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Hack" Surname 17.7%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Hack?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Hack are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition