Rusak Family History

Polish, Ukrainian, Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic), and Belorussian: ethnic or regional name from Polish rusak ‘Ukrainian’, eastern Slavic rusak ‘Russian’. The name derives ultimately 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, Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic), and Belorussian: nickname from an eastern Slavic word meaning ‘light brown’, with allusion to the coloring of hair or skin (compare Polish rusy, Ukrainian and Russian rusyj). Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): habitational name from Rusaki, in Belarus. AB

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