indicate the level to which a name has been verified.
Type Surname (from nickname, from location)
Usage English, Dutch, Scottish, English (American)
Meaning & History
English and Dutch: nickname for an idle person, from Middle Dutch slac, Middle English slack, ‘lazy’, ‘careless’. English: topographic name from northern Middle English slack ‘shallow valley’ (Old Norse slakki), or a habitational name from one of the places named with this word, for example near Stainland and near Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire. Scottish (Dumfriesshire): habitational name, maybe from Slake or Slack in Roberton, Roxburghshire (now part of Borders region).