Jewish surnames are
family names
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, ...
used by
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
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 history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, in the 10th and 11th centuries CE.
Jews have some of the largest varieties of surnames among any ethnic group, owing to the geographically diverse
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora ( he, תְּפוּצָה, təfūṣā) or exile (Hebrew: ; Yiddish: ) is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancient ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of th ...
, as well as
cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is the process in which a minority group or culture comes to resemble a society's majority group or assume the values, behaviors, and beliefs of another group whether fully or partially.
The different types of cultural ass ...
and the recent trend toward
Hebraization of surnames
The Hebraization of surnames (also Hebraicization) ( he, עברות, ''Ivrut'', "Hebraization") is the act of adopting a Hebrew surname in exchange for a diaspora name. For many diaspora Jews who migrated to Israel, taking a Hebrew surname was ...
.
Some traditional surnames relate to Jewish history or roles within the religion, such as
Cohen ("priest"),
Levi
Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...
,
Shulman ("synagogue-man"),
Sofer
A sofer, sopher, sofer SeTaM, or sofer ST"M ( he, סופר סת״ם, "scribe"; plural of is , ; female: ) is a Jewish scribe who can transcribe Sifrei Kodesh (holy scrolls), tefillin (phylacteries), mezuzot (ST"M, , is an abbreviation of the ...
("scribe"), or
Kantor ("
cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds.
In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...
"), while many others relate to a secular occupation or place names. The majority of Jewish surnames used today developed in the past three hundred years.
History
Historically, Jews used
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
patronymic
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor.
Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...
names. In the Jewish patronymic system the first name is followed by either ''ben-'' or ''bat-'' ("son of" and "daughter of," respectively), and then the father's name. (''Bar-'', "son of" in
Aramaic
The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...
, is also seen.)
Permanent family surnames exist today but only gained popularity among
Sephardic Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
in
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and elsewhere as early as the 10th or 11th century and did not spread widely to the
Ashkenazic Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
of Germany or Eastern Europe until the 18th and 19th centuries, where the adoption of German surnames was imposed in exchange for
Jewish emancipation
Jewish emancipation was the process in various nations in Europe of eliminating Jewish disabilities, e.g. Jewish quotas, to which European Jews were then subject, and the recognition of Jews as entitled to equality and citizenship rights. It in ...
. European nations gradually undertook legal endeavors with the aim of enforcing permanent surnames in the Jewish populations. Part of the
Alhambra Decree of 1492 contained a provision mandating fixed legal surnames for Sephardic Jews, but it was not until the 17th and 18th centuries that the rest of Europe followed suit. The
Kingdom of Prussia
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...
began sequentially requiring Jews in its eastern provinces to adopt surnames in the 1790s, an edict affirmed by
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...
following his invasion of Prussia in 1812.
Surnames were derived from a variety of sources, such as the personal names of ancestors, place names, and occupations. In the 18th century, a custom developed amongst the Eastern European Jews of the
Austro-Hungarian and
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
s where surnames began being passed from mother to son as opposed from father to son, but the trend seems to have died out by the early 20th century.
An exception was members of the Cohanim (priestly caste) and Levites (descendants of Levi) who performed certain religious duties, who had always appended the surnames Cohen and Levi respectively (modern spelling in English may vary), which were usually preceded by ''ha-'' meaning "the" in Hebrew. These names are seen in many various forms today, all coming from this root. For example, the name Levine in English-speaking countries, the name Löw in Germanic countries and the names Levi, Lévai, or Lévay in Hungary, Europe, or America. Although Ashkenazi Jews now use European or modern-Hebrew surnames for everyday life, the Hebrew patronymic form (ben or bas/bat with the father's name) is still used in Jewish religious and cultural life. It is used in the
synagogue and in documents in
Jewish law, such as the
ketubah
A ketubah (; he, כְּתוּבָּה) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, ...
(marriage contract).
Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish Communities
Surnames were not unknown among the Jews of the Middle Ages, and as Jews began to mingle more with their fellow citizens, the practice of using or adopting civic surnames in addition to the "sacred" name, used only in religious connections, grew commensurately. Among the
Sephardim
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
, this practice was common long before the
exile from Spain, and probably became still more common as a result of the example of the ''
conversos
A ''converso'' (; ; feminine form ''conversa''), "convert", () was a Jew who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries, or one of his or her descendants.
To safeguard the Old Christian p ...
'', who upon adopting Christianity accepted in most cases the family names of their godfathers. Among the
Ashkenazim, whose isolation from the mainstream majority population in the lands where they lived was more complete, the use of surnames only started to become common in most places in the eighteenth century.
On the other hand, the use of surnames became common very early among the Arabic-speaking Jews, who carried the custom into the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...
(modern Spain and Portugal). Among
Sephardi Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
are found such names as
Abeldano, corresponding to ''Ibn el-Danan'';
Abencabre, corresponding to ''Ibn Zabara''; Tongay is another Sephardi Jewish last name is derived from the root word Torah () in Hebrew;
Avinbruch or
Auerbach corresponding to ''Ibn Baruch''; and Beizaee, corresponding to ''Iza'' (Hebrew root for "God is perfection").
Hagen corresponds to
Hassan Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to:
People
*Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name
*Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scottis ...
or
Hazan
A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.
In English, this p ...
; and the like. Biblical names often take curious forms in the Iberian records, ''Isaac'' appearing as
Acaz, ''Cohen'' as
Coffen or , ''Yom-Ṭob'' as
Bondia, ''Ẓemaḥ'' as
Crescas or and
Cresquez.
Arias
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompani ...
, a patronymic surname, became common throughout the Iberian peninsula. Among the Jews of Spain and Portugal, it had the hidden meaning "the lion of Israel is on high." A well-known Arias was the humanist and Hebraist
Benito Arias Montano
Benito Arias Montano (or Benedictus Arias Montanus; 1527–1598) was a Spanish orientalist and polymath that was active mostly in Spain. He was also editor of the '' Antwerp Polyglot''. He reached the high rank of Royal Chaplain to King Philip II ...
.
The ''Ḥen'' family appears to have adopted a translation of the name of their home village, Gracia, near
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
. Indeed, among the Sephardi the tendency to adopt family names from localities is largely developed; hence were derived such names as
Espinosa,
Gerondi,
Cavalleria
''Cavalry'' (Italian: ''Cavalleria'') is a 1936 Italian drama film directed by Goffredo Alessandrini and starring Amedeo Nazzari, Elisa Cegani and Luigi Carini. The film marked Nazzari's first role as a lead actor, after making his film debut the ...
,
De La Torre,
del Monte,
Lousada
Lousada () is a town and municipality of the Porto district, in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 47,387, in an area of 96.08 km².
It includes the site of Ancient Magnetum (Portuguese Magneto), in the civil parish Meinedo, which ...
, and
Villa Real. The name ''Sasportas'' deserves special attention, as it is really the
Balearic dialect
Balearic ( ca, balear) is the collective name for the dialects of Catalan spoken in the Balearic Islands: in Mallorca, in Ibiza and in Menorca.
At the last census, 746,792 people in the Balearic Islands claimed to be able to speak Catalan, th ...
al form of
La Porta.
Many families, especially among
New Christians
New Christian ( es, Cristiano Nuevo; pt, Cristão-Novo; ca, Cristià Nou; lad, Christiano Muevo) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction in the Spanish Empire and the Portuguese Empire. The term was used from the 15th century ...
(Jewish converts to Catholicism) and
Crypto-Jews
Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden').
The term is especially applied historically to Sp ...
, but not restricted to them, took Spanish and Portuguese family names, sometimes using translations (such as Vidal or de Vidas for ''Hayyim'', Lobos for ''Zev'', de Paz for ''Shalom'', and de la Cruz or Espírito Santo for ''Ruah''); phonetic similarities according to a
kinnui
A kinnui () or kinui (translated as "nickname") is the secular name held by Jewish peopleTelushkin, Joseph. ''Jewish literacy''. William Morrow and company, New York, 1991. in relation to the language spoken by the country they reside in, differin ...
-like system, sometimes choosing between already existing ones (such as Pizarro/Pissarro, Mendes, Fonseca, Calle, Fernandes or Rodrígues); even
given name
A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...
s (for example, de Jesus or de Miguel).
Julio Caro Baroja
Julio Caro Baroja (13 November 1914 – 18 August 1995) was a Spanish anthropologist, historian, linguist and essayist. He was known for his special interest in Basque culture, Basque history and Basque society. Of Basque ancestry, he was the ...
, supporting
José Leite de Vasconcelos
José Leite de Vasconcelos Cardoso Pereira de Melo (7 July 1858 – 17 May 1941) was a Portuguese ethnographer, archaeologist and prolific author who wrote extensively on Portuguese philology and prehistory. He was the founder and the first dire ...
' thesis in his "Anthroponymy Portuguesa, 4" argues, for example, that the surnames related to ''calle'' (
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
: "street"), that would be the equivalent in something like a ghetto, are of
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
origin. This is the case with Alonso Calle, treasurer on the first voyage of
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
to the Americas, who was one of the settlers of Sephardic origin who comprised the crew.
The
Curiel family
The Curiel family (Dutch: Curiël ''or'' also known as: da Costa) is a prominent Sephardi Jewish family.
Until the late 18th century, the family held diplomatic positions for the Portuguese Crown in Hamburg and Amsterdam.
History
The family's ...
is part of these New Christian families that emerge around the time due to persecution. Members adopted the Portuguese last name of Nunes da Costa and the Curiel family were
ennobled
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteri ...
by
João IV of Portugal
John IV ( pt, João, ; 19 March 1604 – 6 November 1656), nicknamed John the Restorer ( pt, João, o Restaurador), was the King of Portugal whose reign, lasting from 1640 until his death, began the Portuguese restoration of independence from ...
14 June 1641.
The erroneous belief that specific Iberian surnames indicate Jewish ancestry was popularized by the sephardim.com website in the late 1990s. It was claimed that any surname used by a New Christian was Sephardic. This included all 100 of the most common Portuguese surnames and 99 of the 100 most common Spanish surnames. The idea gained new traction after Spain and Portugal passed laws granting citizenship to people of Iberian Jewish ancestry. The error was incorporated into the relevant Spanish and Portuguese legislation. The claim that a surname alone is evidence of Sephardic ancestry is specifically rejected in the Code of Conduct of the Sephardic Genealogical Society.
Ashkenazi Jewish Communities
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
s have historically used
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
patronymic names. While permanent family surnames started appearing among
Sephardic Jews
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
in
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
and elsewhere as early as the 10th or 11th century, they did not spread widely to the
Ashkenazic Jews
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
of
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
or
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...
until later. However, Non-Ashkenazi Jews who had immigrated to what was considered
Ashkenaz
Ashkenaz ( he, ''ʾAškənāz'') in the Hebrew Bible is one of the descendants of Noah.
Ashkenaz is the first son of Gomer, and a Japhetic patriarch in the Table of Nations. In rabbinic literature, the descendants of Ashkenaz were first ass ...
(such as Sephardic Jews who fled the Inquisition) would often keep their surnames and/or Ashkenazize them (e.g., "Melamad" was kept; "Leoni" would be Ashkenazized to "
Leib"), and some of the already-settled Jews in communities in large cities (such as
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
or
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
) began to adopt various surnames.
Surnames derived from the name of the
matriarch
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general En ...
of the family were adopted by some households. For example, the surname Rivkes is derived from the female name Rivkeh, the Yiddish form of
Rebecca, so the surname literally means "Rivka's". The Slavic language-influenced counterpart is
Rivkin.
Other surnames came from the man's trade such as Metzger (butcher) or Becker (baker), and a few derived from personal attributes, such as
Joffe (beautiful), or special events in the family history. The majority of Middle Age surname adoption came from place names (for example
Shapiro, from Shpira,
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
, a Rhenanian city known for its famous Jewish community in the 11th century), often a town name, typically the birthplace of the founder of a rabbinical or other dynasty. These names would permutate to various forms as families moved, such as the original Welsch becoming Wallach, Wlock, or Block. Since these surnames did not have the official status that modern ones do, often the old surname would be dropped and a new one adopted after the family moved their household.
Many surnames in the Netherlands derived from the German versions. For example,
Waal
WAAL (99.1 FM "The Whale") is a commercial radio station licensed to Binghamton, New York. It airs a classic rock radio format and is owned by Townsquare Media. WAAL is the oldest FM radio station in the Binghamton metropolitan area. It is an ...
derived from
Wahl and Voorzanger (Chazan) derived from Vorsänger.
The process of assigning permanent surnames to Jewish families (most of which are still used to this day) began in Austria. On 23 July 1787, five years after the
Edict of Tolerance, the
Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II
Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...
issued a decree called ''Das Patent über die Judennamen'' which compelled the Jews to adopt German surnames. Prussia did so soon after, beginning with Silesia: the city of
Breslau in 1790, the Breslau administrative region in 1791, the
Liegnitz
Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 1975 ...
region in 1794. In 1812, when
Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
had occupied much of Prussia, surname adoption was mandated for the unoccupied parts; and Jews in the rest of Prussia adopted surnames in 1845.
[Lars Menk: ''A Dictionary of German-Jewish Surnames''. Avotaynu, Bergenfield, 2005. pp. 3–4]
Napoleon also, in a decree of July 20, 1808, insisted upon the Jews adopting fixed names. His decree covered all lands west of the Rhine; and many other parts of Germany required surname-adoption within a few years. The city of
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
was the last German state to complete the process, in 1849.
At the end of the 18th century after the
Partition of Poland
The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...
and later after the
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...
the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
acquired a large number of Jews who did not use surnames. They, too, were required to adopt surnames during the 19th century.
Medieval France
In
medieval France
The Kingdom of France in the Middle Ages (roughly, from the 10th century to the middle of the 15th century) was marked by the fragmentation of the Carolingian Empire and West Francia (843–987); the expansion of royal control by the House of ...
the use of Biblical names appears to have been more extended, judging by the elaborate lists at the end of Gross's ''Gallia Judaica''. True surnames occurred, especially in the south, like Farissol, Bonet, Barron, Lafitte; but as a rule local designations were popular, such as "Samson of Sens", etc.
Israel
Many
immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...
to
modern Israel change their names to Hebrew names, to erase remnants of exiled life still surviving in family names from other languages. This phenomenon is especially common among
Ashkenazic Jewish immigrants to Israel, because most of their surnames were taken recently, and many were imposed by authorities in Europe as a replacement for the traditional Hebrew patronymic form.
A popular form to create a new family name using Jewish patronymics sometimes related to poetic Zionist themes, such as ''ben Ami'' ("son of my people"), or ''ben Artzi'' ("son of my country"), and sometimes related to the Israeli landscape, such as ''bar Ilan'' ("son of the trees"). Others have created Hebrew names based on
phonetic
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that studies how humans produce and perceive sounds, or in the case of sign languages, the equivalent aspects of sign. Linguists who specialize in studying the physical properties of speech are phoneticians. ...
similarity with their original family name: ''Golda Meyersohn'' became
Golda Meir
Golda Meir, ; ar, جولدا مائير, Jūldā Māʾīr., group=nb (born Golda Mabovitch; 3 May 1898 – 8 December 1978) was an Israeli politician, teacher, and '' kibbutznikit'' who served as the fourth prime minister of Israel from 1969 to ...
. Another famous person who used a false patronymic was the first
Israeli Prime Minister
The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exe ...
,
David Ben-Gurion
David Ben-Gurion ( ; he, דָּוִד בֶּן-גּוּרִיּוֹן ; born David Grün; 16 October 1886 – 1 December 1973) was the primary national founder of the State of Israel and the first prime minister of Israel. Adopting the nam ...
, whose original family name was Grün ("green" in German) but adopted the name "Ben-Gurion" ("son of the
lion cub"), not "Ben-Avigdor" (his father's name).
Iran
Most of the
Jews in Iran had no permanent surnames before
Reza Shah
,
, spouse = Maryam Savadkoohi Tadj ol-Molouk Ayromlu (queen consort) Turan Amirsoleimani Esmat Dowlatshahi
, issue = Princess Hamdamsaltaneh Princess Shams Mohammad Reza Shah Princess Ashraf Prince Ali Reza Prince Gholam Reza P ...
. After surnames became mandatory, many Persian Jews employed job related names as their surnames. Many Jews worked in non-Muslim professions like goldsmith, silversmith, dealers of coins, money changing and seller of spirits. Others engaged in medicine, silk manufacturing and weaving, locksmith, tailors, shoe makers, merchants of second hand items. Many other Jews were engaged in jewelry trading, opium and wine manufacturing, musicians, dancers, scavengers, peddlers and other professions that were generally deemed non-respectful.
Many Jews adopted these professions as their surnames, such as Abrishami (silk maker), Almasi (diamond maker), Boloorian (crystal maker), Dehghan (wealthy farmer), Fallah (farmer), Zarrinkoob, Javaherian, Gohari (gold seller), Noghrehforosh (silversmith), Mesforosh (coppersmith), Sarraf, Sarrafan, Sarraf Nezhad, Banki (money changer), Zargar, Zarshenas (goldsmith), Hakakian or Hakkakian (connected with raw material, finished product or implements associated with that trade) for example Roya Hakakian. Jews in Iran also employed the son of or daughter of patronymics, using Persian suffixes such as ''-pour'' (son of), ''-zadeh'' (born of), ''-nezhad'' (from the race of) and ''-ian'' (from the group of). Some examples of these names include Davoud pour (son of David), Davoud nezhad (from the seed of David), Davoud zadeh (born of David), Rabbi pour (son of a rabbi), Rabbi zadeh (born of a rabbi), Yaghoub pour (son of Jacob) and Jafar nezhad (from the race of Japhet).
Levite
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...
and
Kohanim
Kohen ( he, , ''kōhēn'', , "priest", pl. , ''kōhănīm'', , "priests") is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. Levitical priests or ''kohanim'' are traditionally be ...
surnames became Lavi, Lavaee, Lavi Zadeh, Lavaeeian, Kohan, Kohan pour (son of a Kohen), etc.
Many Persian last names consisted of three parts in order to distinguish from other families with similar last names. Some Persian Jewish families that had similar surnames to their Muslim neighbors added a second surname at the end of their last names. As an example Jafar nezhad Levian (From the race of Japhet and from the Tribe of
Levite
Levites (or Levi) (, he, ''Lǝvīyyīm'') are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname ''Halevi'', which consists of the Hebrew de ...
). The purpose of Levian at the end is to distinguish from Muslim Jafar nezhad (From the race of Japhet).
Many Jews employed the Turkish suffix ''-chi'' (meaning "merchant of") to denote their profession. Examples of such include Abrishamchi (silk merchant), Saatchi (watch seller), Talachi (gold seller), Noghrechi (silver seller), Arakchi (merchant of alcoholic drinks), Meschi (copper merchant), Aeenechi (merchant of mirrors), etc.
Toponyms
Many modern Jewish surnames are
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
s, names derived from place names. There are general names like
Deutsch
Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to:
*''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places
*''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym
*Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic ve ...
,
Frank
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Curr ...
,
Franco
Franco may refer to:
Name
* Franco (name)
* Francisco Franco (1892–1975), Spanish general and dictator of Spain from 1939 to 1975
* Franco Luambo (1938–1989), Congolese musician, the "Grand Maître"
Prefix
* Franco, a prefix used when ref ...
,
Frankel
Frankel is the surname of:
* Benjamin Frankel (1906–1973), British composer
* Bethenny Frankel (born 1970), American chef and reality television personality
* Charles Frankel (1917–1975), American philosopher, known for Charles Frankel Prize ...
, and more localized ones from almost every European country.
The Netherlands has contributed
Leuwarden,
Neumegen,
Limburg
Limburg or Limbourg may refer to:
Regions
* Limburg (Belgium), a province since 1839 in the Flanders region of Belgium
* Limburg (Netherlands), a province since 1839 in the south of the Netherlands
* Diocese of Limburg, Roman Catholic Diocese in ...
,
van Thal, and various other
vans, as
van Ryn (
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source1_coordinates=
, source1_elevation =
, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
, source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland
, source2_coordinates=
, so ...
), etc.
Germany has contributed the largest number. Some refer to well-known cities as
Speyer
Speyer (, older spelling ''Speier'', French: ''Spire,'' historical English: ''Spires''; pfl, Schbaija) is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located on the left bank of the river Rhine, Speyer li ...
(in the Middle Ages Spira) (hence Shapira or
Shapiro),
Posen (hence
Posner and
Posener, as well as
Pozner),
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
(hence
Berliner
Berliner is most often used to designate a citizen of Berlin, Germany
Berliner may also refer to:
People
* Berliner (surname)
Places
* Berliner Lake, a lake in Minnesota, United States
* Berliner Philharmonie, concert hall in Berlin, Germany
...
and
Berlinsky),
Breslau (anglicised to "
Bresslaw"),
Bingen,
Cassel Cassel may refer to:
People
* Cassel (surname)
Places
;France
* Cassel, Nord, a town and commune in northern France
** Battle of Cassel (1071)
** Battle of Cassel (1328)
** Battle of Cassel (1677)
;Germany
* Cassel, Germany, a city in Hesse re ...
(cf.
David Cassel),
Treves
Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the w ...
(whence, according to some authorities, originated the very popular
Alsatian name of
Dreyfus),
Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...
,
Fulda (hence
Foulde), and
Oppenheim
Oppenheim () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The town is a well-known wine center, being the home of the German Winegrowing Museum, and is particularly known for the wines from the Oppenheimer Krötenbru ...
; others, to less familiar towns, like
Auerbach,
Bischoffsheim,
Utting am Ammersee
Utting am Ammersee (until 1953 just Utting) is a municipality in the district of Landsberg in Bavaria in Germany.
History
During World War II, a subcamp of Dachau concentration camp
,
, commandant = List of commandants
, known for ...
(hence Utting),
Hildesheim
Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the L ...
(
Hildesheimer),
Landshuth,
Sulzberg. House signs such as those in the ''
Frankfurter Judengasse
The Frankfurter Judengasse ("Jews' Lane" in German) was the Jewish ghetto of Frankfurt and one of the earliest ghettos in Germany. It existed from 1462 until 1811 and was home to Germany's largest Jewish community in early modern times.
At ...
'' gave rise to the names of some of the best known of Jewish families:
Rothschild
Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...
("red
shield"),
Schwarzschild ("black shield"),
Adler ("eagle"),
Ganz
The Ganz Works or Ganz ( or , ''Ganz companies'', formerly ''Ganz and Partner Iron Mill and Machine Factory'') was a group of companies operating between 1845 and 1949 in Budapest, Hungary. It was named after Ábrahám Ganz, the founder and th ...
or
Gans ("
goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
"),
Strauß ("
ostrich
Ostriches are large flightless birds of the genus ''Struthio'' in the order Struthioniformes, part of the infra-class Palaeognathae, a diverse group of flightless birds also known as ratites that includes the emus, rheas, and kiwis. There ...
"), and
Ochs ("ox"). Some names may seem to be derived artificially, but can also refer to towns, e.g.,
Birnbaum (translated into "
Pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
tree"),
Rosenberg,
Kornberg,
Sommerfeld,
Grünberg (hence
Greenberg),
Goldberg Goldberg or Goldberger may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Goldberg Ensemble, a British string ensemble
* ''Goldberg Variations'', a set of 30 keyboard variations by Johann Sebastian Bach
* ''The Goldbergs (broadcast series)'', American radio ...
, and
Rubinstein/
Rubenstein.
The English
Crawcour (cf.
Siegfried Kracauer
Siegfried Kracauer (; ; February 8, 1889 – November 26, 1966) was a German writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist. He has sometimes been associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He is notable for a ...
) comes from
Cracow, while ''
van Praag(h)'' is the name of a
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
family that settled in the Netherlands before going over to England. The name
Gordon
Gordon may refer to:
People
* Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters
* Gordon (surname), the surname
* Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War
* Clan Gordon, ...
may in some cases be derived from the Russian
Grodno but is also said to have been adopted by Jews in the Russian Empire in honor of
Lord George Gordon
Lord George Gordon (26 December 1751 – 1 November 1793) was a British politician best known for lending his name to the Gordon Riots of 1780.
An eccentric and flighty personality, he was born into the Scottish nobility and sat in the Hous ...
(1751–1793), a Scottish nobleman who converted to Judaism in 1787 in Birmingham.
From Poland have come names such as
Polano,
Pollock
Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus ''Pollachius''. '' Pollachius pollachius'' is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingd ...
,
Polack
In the contemporary English language, the noun ''Polack'' ( and ) is a derogatory, mainly North American, reference to a person of Polish descent or from Poland. It is an anglicisation of the Polish masculine noun ''Polak'', which denotes a per ...
,
Polak,
Pollak Pollak is an Austrian surname, and is a variant of ''Polak'' usually of Jewish Ashkenazic origin, it originates as an ethnic surname for Jews between Austria, Poland and Germany. Notable people with the surname include:
Athletes
* Burglinde Poll ...
,
Poole,
Pool
Pool may refer to:
Water pool
* Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming
* Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings
* Tide pool, a rocky po ...
, and
Polk
Polk may refer to:
People
* James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States
* Polk (name), other people with the name
Places
* Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois
* Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community
* Polk, Missou ...
. The names
Altschul or
Altschuler are derived from the ''Altschul'' ("old school/synagogue") of Prague.
Sephardic surnames, as already mentioned, are almost invariably local, as
Almanzi,
Castro
Castro is a Romance language word that originally derived from Latin ''castrum'', a pre-Roman military camp or fortification (cf: Greek: ''kastron''; Proto-Celtic:''*Kassrik;'' br, kaer, *kastro). The English-language equivalent is '' chester''.
...
,
Carvajal,
Silva
Silva is a surname in Portuguese language, Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Portugal and Brazil. It is derived from the Latin word , meaning "forest" or "woodland". It is the family name of the House of Silva.
The name is also widespread i ...
,
Leon
Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to:
Places
Europe
* León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León
* Province of León, Spain
* Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...
,
Navarro,
Robles,
Sevilla
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
(Spanish), and
Almeida,
Carvallo,
Lisbona,
Miranda,
Paiva,
Pimentel,
Porto
Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
,
Pieba and
Verdugo (Portuguese). Many Italian names are also of this class, as
Alatino, Di Cori (from
Cori),
Genovese
Genovese is an Italian surname meaning, properly, someone from Genoa. Its Italian plural form '' Genovesi'' has also developed into a surname.
People
* Alfred Genovese (1931–2011), American oboist
* Alfredo Genovese (born 1964), Argentine ar ...
(from
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
),
Meldola
Meldola ( rgn, Mèdla) is a town and ''comune'' near Forlì, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.
History
The area of Meldola was inhabited since very ancient times. The Romans built here a large aqueduct (still existing under the ground) which served the mi ...
,
Montefiore Montefiore, Montifiore, and Montefiori is a surname associated with the Montefiore family, Sephardi Jews who were diplomats and bankers all over Europe and who originated from the Iberian Peninsula, namely Spain and Portugal, and also France, Morocc ...
,
Mortara,
Pisa,
Rizzolo,
Romanelli (with its variants
Romanin,
Romain,
Romayne, and
Romanel),
Sonnino
Sonnino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, in the Lazio region of central Italy.
It is the birthplace of Italian national team footballer Alessandro Altobelli, and Roman Catholic archbishop Velasio de Paolis.
History
Originati ...
, Vitalis (from
Jaim or
Chaim and its variants Vidal, Vidale and Vidas); Verdugo and its variants Berdugo, Bardogo,
Paradiso an anagram for the word diaspora (dispersion).
Even in the East there are names of these last two classes,
Behar
Behar, BeHar, Be-har, or B'har ( — Hebrew language, Hebrew for "on the mount," the fifth word, and the Incipit, first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 32nd weekly Torah portion (, ''parashah'') in the annual Judaism, Jewish cycle of Tor ...
(from
Bejar),
Barron (from
BarOn),
Galante,
Veneziani, though there are a few Arabic names like
Alfandari
Alfandari was a family of eastern rabbis prominent in the 17th and 18th centuries, found in Smyrna, Constantinople, and Jerusalem. The name may be derived from a Spanish locality, perhaps from Alfambra. The following is a list of the chief members ...
and Ḥaggis; Greek, as
Galipapa and
Pappo; and a few Turkish, as
Jamila
Jamila ( ar, جميلة) is a feminine given name of Arabic origin. It is the feminine form of the masculine Arabic given name Jamil, which comes from the Arabic word ''jamāl'' (Arabic: جَمَال), meaning beauty. The name is popular on a glo ...
,
Gungur, Bilbil, and
Sabad. Going still farther east, the curious custom which prevails among the
Bene Israel
The Bene Israel (), also referred to as the "Shanivar Teli" () or " Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via their ancestors who had settled there ce ...
may be mentioned of changing Biblical names to similar
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
names with the addition of ''-jee'', thus
Benjamin into
Benmajee,
Abraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...
into
Abrajee,
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
into
Dawoodjee,
Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
into
Akkoobjee.
Occupational names and nicknames
Another frequent source for Jewish and German-Jewish surnames is the names of trades and occupations; such names as
Kaufmann
Kaufmann is a surname with many variants such as Kauffmann, Kaufman, and Kauffman. In German, the name means '' merchant''. It is the cognate of the English '' Chapman'' (which had a similar meaning in the Middle Ages, though it disappeared fro ...
and
Marchant Marchant is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Adio Marchant (born 1987), English singer and songwriter known professionally as Bipolar Sunshine
* Alison Marchant, Australian politician
* Chesten Marchant (died 1676), last monog ...
("merchant") became prominent. Others of the same kind are: Bialasik,
Banks
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Becaus ...
, Brauer, Breyer, and Brower ("brewer");
Spielmann
Spielmann or Spielman is a German occupational surname, which means " jester", from the Middle High German ''spilære''.''Dictionary of American Family Names''"Spieler Family History" Oxford University Press, 2013. Retrieved on 16 January 2016. The ...
("musician");
Gerber ("tanner"); Goldschmit (Goldsmith); Silverschmit (Silversmith);
Steinschneider
Moritz Steinschneider (30 March 1816, Prostějov, Moravia, Austrian Empire – 24 January 1907, Berlin) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist. He received his early instruction in Hebrew from his father, Jacob Steinschneider ( 1782; ...
("stonecutter");
Graveur ("engraver");
Shoemark or
Schumacher ("shoemaker");
Schuster Schuster ("shoemaker", "cobbler") is a common family name in German. It is also common among Ashkenazi-Jews, sometimes spelled as " Shuster".
People
* Blessed Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster (1880–1954), Italian cardinal and Archbishop of Milan ...
("cobbler");
Schneider,
Schneiders, and
Snyders ("tailor"; in Hebrew ,
Chait
Chait, also transliterated as Khait, is a Jewish family name, from Hebrew , “tailor”. Notable people with the surname include:
* Arkady Khait, Soviet comedy and script writer
*Baruch Chait, Jewish religious composer and author
*Galit Chait, I ...
/Khait (and at times
Hyatt));
Wechsler Wechsler (German: ''exchanger'') may refer to:
Surnames
* David Wechsler, psychologist
* Henry Wechsler, researcher
* Herbert Wechsler, legal scholar
* James Wechsler, journalist
* Nick Wechsler (actor), actor
* Nick Wechsler (film producer), pro ...
("money-changer"). Related, and likewise generically German, names are derived
metonymically for a common object or tool of a profession: e.g., Hammer for a blacksmith, Feder ("quill") for a scribe, and Lein ("linen") for a dealer in cloth;
Balsam
Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from Semitic, Aramaic ''busma'', Arabic ''balsam'' and Hebrew ''basam'', "spice", "perfume ...
a dealer in Balsam.
There are other occupational names that are more distinctively related to Jewish culture and religious roles: Dayan (Jewish religious judge in a Beth din); Parnass, Gabbay, Singer,
Cantor
A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds.
In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...
,
Voorsanger,
Chazan
A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' ( he, חַזָּן , plural ; Yiddish ''khazn''; Ladino ''Hasan'') is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who helps lead the congregation in songful prayer.
In English, this p ...
,
Cantarini, from the synagogue officials who were so called;
Shochet,
Schaechter,
Schechter, from the ritual
slaughterer (also Schub or Shub: Hebrew acronym for ''shochet u-bodek'', ritual slaughterer and kosher meat inspector);
Shadkun, a marriage-broker;
Rabe,
Rabinowitz Rabinowitz (also Rabinowicz) (רבינוביץ), is a Polish-Lithuanian Ashkenazi Jewish surname, Slavic for "''son of the rabbi''". The Russian equivalents are Rabinovich or Rabinovitch.
It may refer to:
People
* Loren Galler-Rabinowitz (born 1 ...
,
Rabinovich,
Rabinowicz, and
Rabbinovitz,
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
s (occasionally Anglicized to
Robinson Robinson may refer to:
People and names
* Robinson (name)
Fictional characters
* Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719
Geography
* Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 1960 ...
or
Robbins);
Benmohel (one variant of which is
Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
), son of one who performed
circumcision
Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Top ...
, the sacred rite of Abraham. A number of Arabic names are of similar origin:
Al-Fakhkhar, a potter;
Mocatta
Mocatta (also ''de Mattos Mocatta'', ''Lumbroso de Mattos Mocatta'' and ''Lumbrozo de Mattos Mocatta'') is a surname.
The Mocatta family is a leading Anglo-Jewish family that traces its ancestry to the Sephardic Jewish communities of Spain and P ...
, a mason or possibly a soldier (''
Al-Muḳatil'').
[For the various forms of '' Cohen'' see Jew. Encyc. iv. 144.]
See also
*
Family name etymology
*
German family name etymology
Personal names in German-speaking Europe consist of one or several given names (''Vorname'', plural ''Vornamen'') and a surname (''Nachname, Familienname'').
The ''Vorname'' is usually gender-specific. A name is usually cited in the " Western or ...
*
Hebrew name
* ''
Jewish Encyclopedia'' articles
*
Jewish name
The Jewish name has historically varied, encompassing throughout the centuries several different traditions. This article looks at the onomastics practices of the Jewish people, that is, the history of the origin and forms of proper names.
His ...
*
List of Jewish nobility
*
Polish surnames
Citations
General bibliography
*
*
*
* Eva Horowitz and
Heinrich Guggenheimer
Heinrich Walter Guggenheimer (July 21, 1924 – March 4, 2021) was a German-born Swiss-American mathematician who has contributed to knowledge in differential geometry, topology, algebraic geometry, and convexity. He has also contributed volume ...
Jewish Family Names and their Origins: an etymological dictionary KTAV 1992, , 882 pages
* ''What’s in a Name? 25 Jewish Stories''. Jewish Museum of Switzerland, Biel 2022. ISBN 978-3-907262-34-4.
German Jewish surnames
* Lars Menk: ''A Dictionary of German-Jewish Surnames''.
Avotaynu
''Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy'' is a magazine that focuses on Jewish genealogy and family history published by Avotaynu Inc. (New Haven, Connecticut). It was established in 1985. An index to the first 24 volumes is avail ...
,
Bergenfield, 2005.
* Franz D. Lucas and Margret Heitmann: ''Stadt des Glaubens''. Olms, 1992, .
* A. Heppner: "Die Stamm-Numeranten". In: ''Breslauer Juedisches Gemeindeblatt, Amtliches Blatt der Synagogengemeinde zu Breslau''. Breslau 1928.
*
Leopold Zunz: ''Namen der Juden: Eine geschichtliche Untersuchung''. Leipzig 1837.
*
Johann Jakob Schudt: ''Jüdische Merkwürdigkeiten. Vorstellende, was sich Curieuses ... mit denen ... Juden zugetragen''. Frankfurt & Leipzig, 1714–18.
Other regions
*
Alexander Beider: ''A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia''. Avotaynu, Bergenfield, 2004, .
* Alexander Beider: ''A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland''. Avotaynu, Bergenfield, 1996, .
** (first edition) Alexander Beider: ''Jewish Surnames in Prague (15th–18th Centuries)''. Avotaynu, Bergenfield, 1994, .
* Alexander Beider: ''A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire'': Revised Edition, two volumes. Avotaynu, Bergenfield, 2008, , 10,008 pages
** First edition: 1993, {{ISBN, 0-9626373-3-5.
External links
"Names and Naming"by Alexander Beider, ''
The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe
''The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe'' is a two-volume, English-language reference work on the history and culture of Eastern Europe Jewry in this region, prepared by the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research and published by Yale Univ ...
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Surname