Pankey

Pankey is an Americanized form of French Panetier: occupational name for a pantryman from panetieran agent derivative of pain ‘bread’. Alteration of the French ending -tier to English -key is typical for American French surnames. The American version originated with two French brothers who emigrated to Virginia in 1700, Jean and Etienne Panetier. ^[1]

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It is also a North American last name^[2] and the Anglicized form of the German-language surname Pahnke,^[3] which in itself is derived from the diminutive form pank/panek of the Lower Sorbian/Upper Sorbian/Polish word pan for "man", "master" or "mister" (and can thus roughly be translated as "little gentleman", “young noble” or "junker").^[4][5][6]

Notable people with the surname include:

• Ashton Pankey (born 1992), American basketball player
• Aubrey Pankey (1905–1971), American baritone
• Eric Pankey (born 1959), American poet and artist
• Irv Pankey (born 1958), American football player
• Susan Pedersen Pankey (born 1953), American swimmer
• Titus Pankey Jr. (1925–2003), American physicist