Affleck's mother was a freedom rider in the 1960s; until her retirement, she was a public school teacher in Cambridge, Massachusetts. His younger brother is actor Casey Affleck. He has English, Irish, Scottish, German, Swedish, Swiss, Northern Irish (Scots-Irish), Welsh and French ancestry. The surname "Affleck" is of Scottish origin, and his middle name, "Géza", was the name of a family friend. He was raised in a mostly Episcopalian family.