Adin is an uncommon
family name
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
found today in the United States (particularly New York City),
England,
Israel,
New Zealand,
Spain (particularly the
Basque country
Basque Country may refer to:
* Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map)
* French Basque Country o ...
),
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
and
Turkey.
Origin
Biblical references
Since the name occurs in the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
and is mentioned in the Bible four times, it has been suggested that the name has
Jewish origins.
However, the
Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain have no records of this as a
Jewish family name
Jewish surnames are family names used by Jews and those of Jewish origin. Jewish surnames are thought to be of comparatively recent origin; the first known Jewish family names date to the Middle Ages, in the 10th and 11th centuries CE.
Jews have ...
. Albeit, the Consolidated Jewish Family Name Index of U.S. based
Avotaynu indicates Adin is a Jewish family name that was present in
Poland and
Belarus prior to
World War II.
Due to the name having just 4 letters, it may be a phonetic coincidence that it exists across diverse cultures.
''
Who's Who
''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...
in the Old Testament Together with the Apocrytha'' by Joan Comay states that Adin (Heb. "delicate") 1. date unknown. Ancestor of a family of
Judah who returned with
Zerubbabel from Exile in
Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
.
Ezra 2:15; 8:6;
Nehemiah 7:20.
Records of Adin's in England
The
International Genealogical Index charts migration of the Adin family name throughout England from
Great Wigborough, Essex, in 1567, to the midlands in the late 17th century, in particular
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
and
Derbyshire, followed by migration to
Liverpool and
Manchester in the 1840s during the
Industrial Revolution and on to the United States. Some branches remained in
Derbyshire until they emigrated to
Foxton, New Zealand, in 1863, arriving on a ship called the ''
Helvellyn''.
Cultural assimilation within the United States
During the 19th and 20th centuries many immigrants poured into the United States from various
European countries and the
dominant culture found their names to be difficult to pronounce and/or even spell. Adin, as a family name was chosen by a very small number of
Eastern European immigrants during the
cultural assimilation to the United States for
socio-political reasons and acceptance by the
dominant culture. Entire families legally modified their
family name
In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community.
Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...
from "Adinski" and "Adinus" to Adin; some decades after their arrival into the United States.
Emigration to Israel
Since 1948 many immigrants have also changed their names back to
Hebrew names
A Hebrew name is a name of Hebrew origin. In a more narrow meaning, it is a name used by Jews only in a religious context and different from an individual's secular name for everyday use.
Names with Hebrew origins, especially those from the H ...
; some have chosen Adin, in order to erase remnants of "galuti" (exiled) life still surviving in
family names from other languages.
Other uses
Adin (first name) Adin (Hebrew language, Hebrew: עדין) Help:IPA/English, /ˈɑːdɪn/, also spelled Aidin (Persian language, Persian: آیدین) Help:IPA/English, /ˈeɪdən'/, is a modern variation of Aidan and several Celtic languages, Celtic language names.
A ...
is also used as a first name in Spanish-speaking and Bosnian cultures.
See also
*
List of Biblical names
*
English name
*
Hebrew name
A Hebrew name is a name of Hebrew origin. In a more narrow meaning, it is a name used by Jews only in a religious context and different from an individual's secular name for everyday use.
Names with Hebrew origins, especially those from the H ...
*
Jewish name
*
Turkish name
A Turkish name consists of an ''ad'' or an ''isim'' (given name; plural ''adlar'' and ''isimler'') and a ''soyadı'' or ''soyisim'' (surname). Turkish names exist in a "full name" format. While there is only one ''soyadı'' (surname) in the full na ...
References
{{Reflist
Americanized surnames
English-language surnames
Turkish-language surnames