Packer Family History

English: occupational name for a wool-packer, from an agent derivative of Middle English pack(en) ‘to pack’. German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from an agent derivative of Middle Low German pak, German Pack ‘package’, hence an occupational name for a wholesale trader, especially in the wool trade, one who sold goods in large packages rather than broken down into smaller quantities, or alternatively one who rode or drove pack animals to transport goods.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press