Rusak Family History
Rusak Name Meaning
Polish Ukrainian Belorussian and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): ethnic or habitational name from Polish rusak ‘Ukrainian’ East Slavic rusak ‘Russian’. The name derives u ltimately from a Scandinavian term meaning ‘rower oarsman’ the Russian state having been first established in the 9th century by Varangian (i.e. Norse) settlers who rowed up the rivers from the Baltic. Polish Ukrainian Belorussian and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): nickname from an East Slavic word meaning ‘light brown’ with allusion to the coloring of hair or skin (compare Polish archaic rusy Ukrainian and Russian rusyy). Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from Rusaki in Belarus.
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022