Zak is a surname. It can be related to both

Żak Żak (pronounced like French ''Jacques'') is a Polish family name. * Zygmunt Solorz-Żak (born 1956) Polish businessman * Szymon Żak (1507–1591) Polish Calvinist pastor In the Polish wikipedia * :pl:Maciej Żak (1962) Polish film direct ...

, a Polish surname, and

Žák Žák (feminine Žáková) is a Czech surname meaning "pupil, disciple". Notable people with the surname include: * Hana Žáková, Czech rower * Ladislav Žák (1900–1973), Czech architect * Robert Žák Robert Žák (born 6 May 1966) is a C ...

, a Czech surname. However in the case of Jews, it can be a variant of the German surname

Sachs Sachs is a German surname, meaning "man from Saxony". Sachs is a common surname among Ashkenazi Jews from Saxony, in the United States sometimes adopted in the variant Zaks, supposedly in reference to the Hebrew phrase ''Zera Kodesh Shemo'' (ZaKS), ...

, the patronymic variant of the Hebrew biblical male personal name Yitzchak/Isaac or it can originate in the

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

surname Za'K, which stands for the Hebrew words ''Zera Kodesh'', literally meaning Holy Seed, a quotation from

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

6:13 implying descent from martyrs. In the variant

Zaks Zaks is a construction toy originally produced in Canada by the company Irwin Toy in 1987 and released in the United States by Ohio Art Company in 1988. The toy is a system of multicolored flat plastic triangle and square pieces that interlock via ...

, the final letter of the acronym can make the phrase ''Zera Kodesh Shemo'' ("his name descends from martyrs") or it may refer to the town of martyrdom, such as

Speyer Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...

(Zera Kodesh Speyer) or

Stendal The Hanseatic City of Stendal () is a town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is the capital of the Stendal District and the unofficial capital of the Altmark region. Geography Situated west of the Elbe valley, the Stendal town centre is located s ...

. Notable people with the surname include: *

Anna Zak Anna Kuzenkova ( he, אנה קוזנקוב, russian: Анна Кузенкова; born 12 March 2001), known professionally as Anna Zak (), is a Russian-born Israeli online personality, model, and singer. Her following consists of 4 million follo ...

(born 2001), Israeli social media personality, model, and singer *

Eugeniusz Zak Eugeniusz Zak (15 December 1884 – 15 January 1926), also known as Eugène Zak and Eugene Zak, was a Polish artist. Life Eugeniusz Zak was born to Jewish family in Mogilno, Minsk Governorate (nowadays Belarus). As a boy he moved to Warsaw, ...

(1884–1926), Belarusian artist also known as Eugene Zak * Frankie Zak (1922-1972), American Major League baseball player *

Fyodor Zak Fyodor L. Zak (russian: Федор Лазаревич Зак (born December 2, 1949, in Moscow) is a Russian mathematician working on mathematical economics and algebraic geometry Algebraic geometry is a branch of mathematics, classically st ...

(born 1949), Russian mathematician *

Gershon Zak Gershon Zak ( he, גרשון זק, 1913–1989) was the head of the Sea service which became the Israeli Navy, at that time there was no commander till Paul Shulman came and both Paul Shulman and Zak were in charge, Shulman as commander and Zak as ...

(1913-1989), Commander of the Israeli Navy * John C. Zak (born 1954), American director, producer and filmmaker * Leocadia I. Zak, Director of the U.S. Trade and Development Agency beginning 2009 *

Paul J. Zak Paul J. Zak (born 9 February 1962) is an American neuroeconomist. Background Zak graduated with degrees in mathematics and economics from San Diego State University before acquiring a PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He is p ...

(born 1962), American neuroeconomist *

Peter Zak Peter Zak (born May 13, 1965) is an American jazz pianist and composer. Life and career Zak grew up in Ohio. He studied classical piano between the ages of six and 20.Panken, Ted (September 2011) "Peter Zak – Melodic Intention". ''Down Beat''. ...

(born 1965), American jazz pianist and composer

Fictional characters

Piotr Zak Piotr (or Pjotr) Zak is the name of a fictional Polish composer whose alleged composition ''Mobile for Tape and Percussion'' was broadcast twice on the BBC Third Programme on 5 June 1961 in a performance supposedly played by "Claude Tessier" and " ...

, a fictional 'Polish composer' who featured in a famous BBC broadcasting hoax in 1961 * Rowena "Randy" Zak, a pre-teenage girl from the

Girl Talk (books) ''Girl Talk'' is series of books by L.E. Blair for teenage girls, telling school adventures of four American teenagers in junior high school: Sabrina, Allison, Randy, and Katie. The series takes place in the fictional small town of Acorn Falls ...

series

References

{{surname, Zak Yiddish-language surnames Polish-language surnames Czech-language surnames

Fictional characters

See also

References