Family name origins & meanings
- German : Americanized spelling of Eckhardt.
- French : variant of Achard, which is from an Old French personal name, Achart, a derivative of an ancient Germanic personal name composed of the elements agi(n) ‘edge (of a sword)’ + hard ‘bold’, ‘hardy’. Compare English Ackert and Italian Accardi, which are from the same Germanic source.
- The name Andreas Lowrence Acord appears on an 18th-century ship’s master’s list, corresponding to Andreas Arkhard among the signatures of those taking an oath of allegiance in Pennsylvania in October 1753. A will written in Staunton Co., VA, in 1806 begins ‘‘In the Name of God, Amen, I, Francis Acord …’’ but is signed in German script Frantz Eckhardt.