Bank Family History
Bank Name Meaning
German Dutch and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German or Middle Low German banc or Yiddish bank ‘bench table counter’ in any of various senses e.g. a metonymic occupational name for anyone whose work required a bench or counter for example a butcher baker court official or money changer. The surname of German is also found in Poland and in Czechia. Danish and Swedish: topographic name from bank ‘(sand)bank’ or a habitational name from a farm named with this word. Danish and Swedish: from bank ‘noise’ hence a nickname for a loud or noisy person. Compare Bang . Danish: habitational name from the German placename Bänkau. English: topographic name from Middle English banke (Old Norse banke) ‘bank hillside’ or a habitational name from any of the many places so called. Irish: adopted for Ó Bruacháin ‘descendant of Bruachán’ a byname apparently meaning ‘large-bellied’. This name has also been Anglicized as Banks as if from Irish bruach ‘bank’.7: Dutch: from the personal name Bank recorded in North Holland province a vernacular of Bancras from Pancratius (see Pankratz ).8: Hungarian (Bánk): from a diminutive of Bán (see Ban ).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022