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. •
Edward J. Akar, Sierra Leonean Deputy Finance Minister, economist, and lawyer. •
John Akar (1927–1975), Sierra Leonean entertainer, writer, and diplomat. ==Turkey==