Acar (Aramaic: ܥܟܪ; Western Syriac-Aramaic: ܥܳܟܶܪ; Hebrew: עכר) is a Lebanese last name of Aramaic origin. Properly, the name means to roil water; and figuratively, it means to disturb, or to afflict.
In the Byblos district, the last name Acar developed in the 1820s as a nom-de-guerre given to a rebellious group of Maronite brothers because of their strong resistance against feudalism and tax inequality imposed upon Maronites by Bashir Shihab II.
According to an agreement reached on 17 May 1820, a referendum would be held among the inhabitants of Mount Lebanon regarding leadership of the emirate, as Bashir Shihab II had been deposed. Before the referendum could be held, however, Abdullah Pasha ibn Ali restored Bashir's authority on the condition that he collect an unfair amount of jizya from the Maronites for the Sublime Porte, to which Bashir agreed.
Among many other Maronite peasants, the Acar family, and clergymen of Byblos (as well as Maronite peasants and clergymen from Bsharri and Batroun) decided to take up armed resistance against Bashir's impositions, and garnered the support of the Shia Muslim Hamade sheikhs from Keserwan, being land owners in local villages around the Qartaba area, with connections to neighbouring, historically Shia, villages: Mazraat es-Siyad and Lassa. The Maronite peasants proceeded to assemble at Lehfed, Haqil and Ehmej, while Shia villagers assembled at Mishmish. The Acar family settled in the local towns and villages, predominantly: Mazraat es-Siyad, Abboud, Qartaba, and Jinné by the Adonis River. They are a branch of the Salamé family, who were historically of the Khoury family, in Chahtoul.
There are separate Acar families from Deir el-Qamar (who are a branch of the Nehmé family, who were historically of the Daou family), and another in Zahlé.
Although a nickname registered in the recent history of Lebanon, the history of Acar dates back to the Bible's Old Testament, and is Anglicized as Achar and Achan (biblical figure). In the Bible, this is the name of an Israelite who stole forbidden items during the assault on Jericho, for which he and his family were stoned to death (Book of Genesis 36:27, and in Books of Chronicles 1:42 he is called Jaakan).
The word Acar may be the origin of the Greek word 'achos' ("woe" or "pain"). Therefore, the Greek name Achaeus, and the name of the Ancient Greek mythological hero Achilles may find an origin in the Aramaic Acar.
Notable people of Lebanese origin with the last name include:
- Jacques F. Acar (1931–2020), French doctor and microbiologist who specialized in antibiotics.
- Joseph Acar, first Lebanese aviator to fly across the Atlantic.[4]
- Edward J. Akar, Sierra Leonean Deputy Finance Minister, economist, and lawyer.
- John Akar (1927–1975), Sierra Leonean entertainer, writer, and diplomat.
