Trachtenberg ( Russian/ Ukrainian: Трахтенберг, yi, טראַכֿטנבערג; he, טרכטנברג, is a

surname 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 ...

of several notable people, typically an

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

Jewish surname, especially

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

n and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * So ...

. Sometimes the name is transliterated to Trachtenburg, whilst Jews from Argentina often spell the name Trajtenberg according to Spanish spelling norms. Some more recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union have had the name transliterated as Trakhtenberg when entering the US. Trachtenberg, literally "a mountain of costumes" (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

), or "a mountain of thoughts" (in

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

), is actually the former German name of a town in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. Silesia is split ...

now called by the Polish name

Żmigród Żmigród (german: Trachenberg) is a town in Trzebnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Żmigród. Geography The town lies in the historic Lower Sile ...

, where Jews were a significant part of the population until the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

. Jews who bear this name are usually descendants of families who moved from Trachtenburg, Silesia, to another place in central or eastern Europe (and then elsewhere, later on), and became known in their new communities by their former place of residence.

List of people with the surname Trachtenberg

* Alan Trachtenberg, scholar of American Studies *

Alexander Trachtenberg Alexander "Alex" Trachtenberg (23 November 1884 – 26 December 1966) was an American publisher of radical political books and pamphlets, founder and manager of International Publishers of New York. He was a longtime activist in the Socialist Part ...

(1884-1966), Marxist founder of International Publishers (NYC) *

Dan Trachtenberg Dan Trachtenberg (born May 11, 1981) is an American filmmaker and podcast host.Rachel Kurland, Scare Tactics Pay off for Cheltenham’s Dan Trachtenberg'. The Jewish Exponent. March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2017. He is best known for directi ...

(1981 - ), an American director * Deborah Trachtenberg, an American journalist and television personality * Herman Trachtenberg (1839 - 1895), Ukrainian-Jewish jurist * Jakow Trachtenberg (1888 - 1953), Ukrainian-Jewish inventor of the

Trachtenberg system The Trachtenberg system is a system of rapid mental calculation. The system consists of a number of readily memorized operations that allow one to perform arithmetic computations very quickly. It was developed by the Ukrainian engineer Jakow Tracht ...

of rapid mental arithmetic *

Joshua Trachtenberg Joshua Trachtenberg (1904–1959) was a reform Rabbi based in the United States of America. He had a notable career as a congregational Rabbi and scholarly writer. Biography Trachtenberg was born in London but travelled to America at aged three. He ...

(1904 - 1959), American rabbi and scholar of Jewish history *

Marc Trachtenberg Marc Trachtenberg (born February 9, 1946) is a professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his Ph.D in History from the University of California, Berkeley in 1974 and taught for many years for the history ...

, historian * Michelle Trachtenberg (1985 - ), an American actress. *

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Stephen Joel Trachtenberg (born December 14, 1937) was the 15th President of the George Washington University, serving from 1988 to 2007. On August 1, 2007, he retired from the presidency and became GW's President Emeritus and University Professo ...

, former president of George Washington University. The university's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration is named after him. * Isaac Trachtenberg ( 1929 - 2017 ), research scientist, holder of 17 patents, leading expert in reliability of photovoltaics * Ari Trachtenberg, professor of electrical and computer engineering

List of people with alternative spellings

Jason Trachtenburg The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players were an American indie-rock/art pop family band. It consisted of main vocalist Jason Trachtenburg, his wife Tina, and their only child, Rachel. Overview The band's members consisted of father, Jason T ...

Rachel Trachtenburg Rachel Sage Piña-Trachtenburg (born December 10, 1993), professionally known as Rachel Trachtenburg, is an American musician and singer. She is most notable for her key role as drummer and backup vocalist of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Pl ...

, American musician *

Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players were an American indie-rock/art pop family band. It consisted of main vocalist Jason Trachtenburg, his wife Tina, and their only child, Rachel. Overview The band's members consisted of father, Jason T ...

* Manuel Trajtenberg and Trajtenberg Committee (named after him) * Paul Tractenberg, American law professor and legal advocate for educational rights

References

{{Reflist Surnames Jewish surnames Lower Silesian Voivodeship Yiddish-language surnames