Sachs is a German surname, meaning "man from

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

". Sachs is a common surname among

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

from Saxony, in the United States sometimes adopted in the variant

Zaks Zaks is a construction toy originally produced in Canada by the company Irwin Toy in 1987 and released in the United States by Ohio Art Company in 1988. The toy is a system of multicolored flat plastic triangle and square pieces that interlock v ...

, supposedly in reference to the Hebrew phrase ''Zera Kodesh Shemo'' (ZaKS), literally "his name is Holy Seed," a quotation from Isaiah 6:13.Elsdon Coles Smith, Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) Notable people with the surname Sachs include: * Adriana Sachs (born 1993), Argentine professional footballer *

Albie Sachs Albert "Albie" Louis Sachs (born 30 January 1935) is a South African lawyer, activist, writer, and former judge appointed to the first Constitutional Court of South Africa by Nelson Mandela. Early life and education Albie Sachs was born in ...

(born 1935), South African Constitutional Court Justice *

Alexander Sachs Alexander Sachs (August 1, 1893 – June 23, 1973) was an American economist and banker. In October 1939 he delivered the Einstein–Szilard letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, suggesting that nuclear-fission research ought to be pursued ...

(1893-1973), American economist *

Andrew Sachs Andreas Siegfried Sachs (7 April 1930 – 23 November 2016), known professionally as Andrew Sachs, was a German-born British actor. He made his name on British television and found his greatest fame for his portrayal of the comical Spanish waite ...

(1930–2016), German-British actor *

Bernard Sachs Bernard Sachs (January 2, 1858 – February 8, 1944) was an American neurologist. Early life and education After graduating with a B.A. from Harvard in 1878, Sachs travelled to Europe and studied under some of the more prominent physicians o ...

(1858–1944), American neurologist *

Curt Sachs Curt Sachs (; 29 June 1881 – 5 February 1959) was a German musicologist. He was one of the founders of modern organology (the study of musical instruments). Among his contributions was the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which he created with Eric ...

(also Kurth Sachs, 1881–1959), German music historian * Ed Sachs (1918–1996), American professional basketball player *

Eddie Sachs Edward Julius Sachs Jr, (May 28, 1927 – May 30, 1964) was a United States Auto Club driver who was known as the "Clown Prince of Auto Racing". He coined the phrase "If you can't win, be spectacular". Early life Sachs was born May 28, 1927, in ...

(1927–1964), American racecar driver * Edwin Sachs (1870–1919), British architect * Ernest Sachs (1879–1958), American neurosurgeon * Ernest Sachs, Jr. (1916–2001), American neurosurgeon * Gunter Sachs (1932–2011), German photographer, researcher (mathematics and astrology), and playboy *

George Sachs George Sachs (April 5, 1896 – October 30, 1960) was a Russian-born German and American metallurgist. Born in Moscow, he taught at Frankfurt University (1930-1935), and the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University, ''CW ...

(1896–1961), Russia-born German and US metallurgist *

Hans Sachs (disambiguation) Hans Sachs Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German ''Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poetry, poet, playwright, and shoemaking, shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing sc ...

Hans Sachs Hans Sachs (5 November 1494 – 19 January 1576) was a German ''Meistersinger'' ("mastersinger"), poetry, poet, playwright, and shoemaking, shoemaker. Biography Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg (). As a child he attended a singing school that w ...

(1494–1576), German poet **

Hans Sachs (serologist) Hans Sachs (6 June 1877, Kattowitz (Katowice) – 25 March 1945, Dublin), was a German serologist. He was of Jewish ancestry.Horst Dickel, "HANS SACHS" in Gisela M. B. Holfter (ed.), ''German-speaking Exiles in Ireland 1933-1945'', Rodopi (2006), p ...

(1877–1945), German serologist **

Hans Sachs (poster collector) Hans Sachs (1881-1974) was a Berlin dentist whose greatest accomplishment came from his passion for posters. He was the leading founder of an important group devoted to collecting posters which started an influential poster magazine. Before the sei ...

(1881–1974), German poster collector *

Hanns Sachs Hanns Sachs (; 10 January 1881, in Vienna – 10 January 1947, in Boston) was one of the earliest psychoanalysts, and a close personal friend of Sigmund Freud. He became a member of Freud's Secret Committee of six in 1912, Freud describing him as ...

(1881–1947), Austrian psychoanalyst; friend of Freud and author of ''The Creative Unconscious'' *

Harvey Sachs Harvey Sachs (born June 8, 1946 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American-Canadian writer who has written books on musical subjects. He has been a member of the Curtis Institute of Music faculty since 2009. Writing His books include biographies of and ...

(born 1946), American-Canadian conductor and writer *

Heinrich Sachs Heinrich Sachs (1863–1928) was a late 19th and early 20th century German neurologist and neuroanatomist best known for his atlas of the brain's white matter. Scientific career Heinrich Sachs was born in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony, Kingdom ...

(1863–1928), German neuroanatomist *

Hilda Sachs Hilda Gustafva Sachs (13 March 1857, Norrköping – 26 February 1935), was a Swedish journalist, translator, writer and feminist. She was the daughter of merchant Johan Gustaf Engström and Gustafva Augusta Gustafsson in Norrköping. She worke ...

(1857–1935), Swedish journalist and women's rights activist *

Horst Sachs Horst Sachs (27 March 1927 – 25 April 2016) was a German mathematician, an expert in graph theory, a recipient of the Euler Medal (2000). He earned the degree of Doctor of Science (Dr. rer. nat.) from the Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wi ...

, German mathematician, expert in graph theory *

Hugh Sachs Hugh J. Sachs (born 25 February 1964) is an English actor. He is best known for his roles as Gavin Ramsbottom in the ITV hit sitcom ''Benidorm'' (2007–2012) and Brimsley in the Netflix period drama ''Bridgerton'' (2020–) and its preq ...

, British actor in the TV series ''Benidorm'' *

Ignacy Sachs Ignacy Sachs (17 December 1927 – 2 August 2023) was a Polish-born French economist. He was considered to be an ''ecosocioeconomist'' for his ideas about development as a combination of economic growth, equalitarian increase in social well-being ...

(born 1927), Polish, naturalized French economist and ecosocioeconomist * James D. Sachs, retired U.S. Air Force veteran, game artist, and game programmer *

Jeffrey Sachs Jeffrey David Sachs ( ; born November 5, 1954) is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University, where he was formerly director of The Earth Institute. He worked on the topics of sustainable develop ...

(born 1954), American economist *

Johann Sachs Johann Melchior Ernst Sachs (28 February 1843 – 18 May 1917) was a German romantic composer, who also held teaching and performing posts. He studied first at Altdorf Seminary; taught in elementary schools from 1861 to 1863, and later ente ...

(1843–1917), German composer *

Jonathan Sachs Jonathan Sachs (born June 25, 1947) is a programmer who co-founded Lotus Development Corporation with Mitch Kapor in 1982 and created the first version of the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet program. Sachs left Lotus in 1985 to develop photo-editing so ...

(born 1947), American computer programmer *

Julius von Sachs Julius von Sachs (; 2 October 1832 – 29 May 1897) was a German botanist from Breslau, Prussian Silesia. He is considered the founder of experimental plant physiology and co-founder of modern water culture. Julius von Sachs and Wilhelm Knop a ...

(1832–1897), German botanist * Lenny Sachs (1897–1942), American football player and basketball coach * Lessie Sachs (1897–1942), German-born poet and artist *

Leonard Sachs Leonard Meyer Sachs (26 September 1909 – 15 June 1990) was a South African-born British actor. Life and career Sachs was born in the town of Roodepoort, in the then Transvaal Colony, present day South Africa. He was Jewish. He emigrated ...

(1909–1990), British actor *

Marcus Sachs Marcus Sachs (1812–1869) was a Polish Jew who emigrated to Scotland and became Professor of Hebrew at the Free Church Divinity Hall in Aberdeen (later known as Christ's College). Life He was born the son of an engineer in Inowroclaw in the ...

(1812-1869) Professor of Hebrew in Aberdeen * Margaret Michaelis-Sachs (1902–1985), art photographer * Margaret Sachs, American lawyer and professor at University of Georgia * Maria Sachs (born 1949), American politician * Mary Sachs (1882–1973), American playwright and poet. * Maurice Sachs (1906–1945), French author * Mavro Sachs (1817–1888), Croatian physician * Mendel Sachs (1927–2012), American physicist *

Michael Sachs (rabbi) Michael Yechiel Sachs (; 3 September 1808 – 31 January 1864) was a Prussian rabbi from Groß-Glogau, Silesia. Life He was one of the first Jewish graduates from the modern universities, earning a Ph.D. degree in 1836. He was appointed Rabbi ...

(1808–1864), German rabbi *

Milan Sachs Milan Sachs (28 November 1884 – 4 August 1968) was a Czech-Croatian opera conductor and composer, who was long associated with the Zagreb Opera in Croatia, where he conducted some important local premieres, including Wagner's ''Parsifal'', an ...

(1884–1968), Czech-Croatian opera conductor and composer * Moses Sachs (1800–1870), German Meshulach *

Nelly Sachs Nelly Sachs (; 10 December 1891 – 12 May 1970) was a German–Swedish poet and playwright. Her experiences resulting from the rise of the Nazism, Nazis in World War II Europe transformed her into a poignant spokesperson for the grief and yearn ...

(1891–1970), German poet * Paul J. Sachs (1878–1965), American museum director * Philip Sachs (1902–1973), American professional basketball coach * Rainer K. Sachs (born 1932), German-born American scientist known for his work in astrophysics and biophysics * Robin Sachs (1951–2013), British actor * Salomo Sachs (1772–1855), Prussian architect and engineer * Stephen Sachs (born 1959), American stage director and playwright * Stephen H. Sachs (1934–2022), American politician and Attorney General of Maryland * Wolfgang Sachs (born 1946), German researcher and author of books Fictional characters: * Andrea Sachs, created by Lauren Weisberger * Daniel Sachs, from an online graphic novel ''Demonology 101'' *Amelia Sachs, an NYPD police officer in the

Lincoln Rhyme Jeffery Deaver (born May 6, 1950) is an American mystery and crime writer. He has a bachelor of journalism degree from the University of Missouri and a J.D. degree from Fordham University and originally started working as a journalist. He late ...

series of crime/mystery novels by Jeffery Deaver. *Benjamin Sachs, protagonist in the novel Leviathan (Auster novel) by Paul Auster

References

{{surname, Sachs German-language surnames German toponymic surnames Surnames of Jewish origin Jewish toponymic surnames Yiddish-language surnames Kohenitic surnames

See also

References