The surname Epstein ( yi, עפּשטײן, Epshteyn) is one of the oldest Ashkenazi Jewish family names. It is probably derived from the German town of

Eppstein Eppstein is a town in the Main-Taunus-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. Eppstein lies west of Frankfurt am Main, around 12 km north east of the state capital Wiesbaden, and is at the edge of the Taunus mountains. The ruins of the Eppstein castle is ...

, in

Hesse Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Dar ...

; the place-name was probably derived from

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

''apa'' ("water", in the sense of a river) and German '' -stein'' ("stone", in the sense of a hill). Some people with this name include:

Arts

* Alex Epstein, Israeli writer *

Barbara Epstein Barbara Epstein ( Zimmerman; August 30, 1928 – June 16, 2006) was a literary editor and founding co-editor of ''The New York Review of Books''. Life and work Epstein, née Zimmerman, was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to a Jewish family, and g ...

, literary editor *

Brian Epstein Brian Samuel Epstein (; 19 September 1934 – 27 August 1967) was a British music entrepreneur who managed the Beatles from 1962 until his death in 1967. Epstein was born into a family of successful retailers in Liverpool, who put him i ...

(1934–1967), businessman, manager of the Beatles * Daniel Epstein (pianist) * Daniel Mark Epstein, biographer and poet *

Deborah Epstein SoShy (born Deborah Sarah Epstein;), is a French singer, songwriter, actress, DJ and model. Early life She was born Deborah Sarah Epstein in Paris, France, on September 14, 1984,SoShy in thFrench National Library/ref> to a French-Argentine-Ita ...

, French-American singer-songwriter more commonly known as SoShy * Dena Epstein (1916–2013), American music librarian, writer, and musicologist *

Edward Jay Epstein Edward Jay Epstein (born 1935) is an American investigative journalist and a former political science professor at Harvard University, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Early life and educa ...

, author and early critic of the Warren Commission *

Howie Epstein Howard Norman Epstein (July 21, 1955 – February 23, 2003) was an American musician best known as a bassist with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Early life Epstein was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up in a musical household. His ...

, bass guitarist *

Jacob Epstein Sir Jacob Epstein (10 November 1880 – 21 August 1959) was an American-British sculptor who helped pioneer modern sculpture. He was born in the United States, and moved to Europe in 1902, becoming a British subject in 1911. He often produce ...

, sculptor * Jake Epstein, Canadian actor *

Jason Epstein Jason Wolkow Epstein (August 25, 1928 – February 4, 2022) was an American editor and publisher. He was the editorial director of Random House from 1976 to 1995. He also co-founded ''The New York Review of Books'' in 1963. Early life Epstein ...

, publisher who popularized the trade paperback * Jean Epstein, film director *

Joseph Epstein Joseph Epstein (October 16, 1911 – April 11, 1944), also known as Colonel Gilles and as Joseph Andrej, was a Polish-born Jewish communist activist and a French Resistance leader during World War II. He was executed by the Germans. Communi ...

, American editor and essayist * Julius Epstein, Croatian pianist *

Julius J. Epstein Julius J. Epstein (August 22, 1909December 30, 2000) was an American screenwriter, who had a long career, best remembered for his screenplay, written with his twin brother, Philip, and Howard E. Koch, of the film ''Casablanca'' (1942), for whic ...

, Oscar-winning screenwriter, brother of Philip G. Epstein * Kathie Lee Epstein (born 1953), maiden name of Kathie Lee Gifford, American television host * Lawrence J. Epstein (born 1946), American author *

Leslie Epstein Leslie Donald Epstein (born May 4, 1938 in Los Angeles) is an American educator, essayist, and novelist. Epstein is currently Professor of English and Director of the Creative Writing Program at Boston University. Career Epstein was born to an A ...

, novelist *

Mel Epstein Mel Epstein (March 25, 1910 in Dayton, Ohio – December 14, 1994) was an American film director and producer. He produced several films, including '' Secret of the Incas'' and ''Alaska Seas''. He also produced episodes of the 1961 televisio ...

, film director and producer *

Michael J. Epstein Michael J. Epstein (born 1976), is an American filmmaker, musician, writer, and auditory scientist. Epstein has also spoken and written about the impact of local media on the arts, music service gatekeeping, effective social networking, and crowd ...

(born 1976), American filmmaker and musician *

Mikhail Epstein Mikhail Naumovich Epstein (also transliterated Epshtein; russian: Михаи́л Нау́мович Эпште́йн; born 21 April 1950) is a Russian-American literary scholar and essayist who is Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Cultural Theo ...

, literary theorist and Emory University professor *

Philip G. Epstein Philip G. Epstein (August 22, 1909 – February 7, 1952) was an American screenwriter most known for his screenplay for the film ''Casablanca'' (1942), which won an Academy Award. He had written it in partnership with his twin brother Julius and ...

, Oscar-winning screenwriter, brother to Julius J. Epstein *

Rob Epstein Robert P. Epstein (born April 6, 1955), is an American director, producer, writer, and editor. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature, for the films '' The Times of Harvey Milk'' and '' Common Threads: Stories from the Quil ...

, American director * Selma Epstein, American concert pianist * Steven Epstein (music producer), U.S. classical music producer with Sony * Temi Epstein, child actress

Mathematics

* Bernard Epstein, American mathematician and physicist * David B. A. Epstein, British mathematician * Lenore A. Epstein, American statistician * Paul Epstein, German mathematician *

Paul Sophus Epstein Paul Sophus Epstein (; Warsaw, Vistula Land, Russian Empire, March 20, 1883 – Pasadena, California, United States, February 8, 1966) was a Russian-American mathematical physics, mathematical physicist. He was known for his contributions t ...

, American mathematician/physicist of Polish/Russian origin and California Institute of Technology professor. *

Richard Arnold Epstein Richard Arnold Epstein (born March 5, 1927 in Los Angeles, California), also known under the pseudonym E. P. Stein, is an American game theorist. Education He obtained his A.B. degree from UCLA in 1948. He then studied at the University of Cali ...

, mathematician, game theorist

Military

Giora Epstein Brigadier General Giora "Hawkeye" Epstein ( he, גיורא אפשטיין; born May 20, 1938), today Giora Even ( he, גיורא אבן), is a retired brigadier General in the Israeli Air Force (IAF) and a fighter ace credited with 17 victorie ...

, "ace of aces" Israeli fighter pilot *

, communist French resistance leader

Religion

* Abraham Epstein (born 1841), Russo-Austrian rabbinical scholar *

Aryeh Leib Epstein Aryeh Löb ben Mordecai Ha-Levi Epstein (''Ba'al ha-Pardes'') (1708 – June 26, 1775) was a Polish rabbi born in Grodno. At first he refused to become a rabbi, preferring to devote himself entirely to study, but in 1739 he was forced by poverty ...

, Polish rabbi *

Baruch Epstein Baruch Epstein or Baruch ha-Levi Epstein (1860–1941) ( he, ברוך הלוי אפשטיין) was a Lithuanian Jewish rabbi, best known for his ''Torah Temimah'' commentary on the Torah. He was the son of Rabbi Yechiel Michel Epstein, rabb ...

, Lithuanian rabbi and the son of Yechiel Michel Epstein *

Greg Epstein Greg M. Epstein (born 1977) is the president of the Harvard Chaplains Organization and Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an ordained Humanist Rabbi, and has been influential in American ...

, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University from 2005 *

Isidore Epstein Rabbi Ezekiel Isidore Epstein (יחזקא-ל יצחק אפשטיין ;1894-1962) was an Orthodox rabbi and rabbinical scholar in England. He is best known as Editor of the first complete English translation of the Babylonian Talmud, and for hi ...

, rabbi and biblical scholar *

Mendel Epstein The New York divorce coercion gang was a Haredi Jewish group that kidnapped, and in some cases tortured, Jewish men in the New York metropolitan area to force them to grant their wives ''gittin'' (religious divorces). The Federal Bureau of Invest ...

, American rabbi and kidnapper, also known as "The Prodfather" *

Moshe Mordechai Epstein Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866–1933) was rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Knesseth Yisrael in Slabodka, Lithuania and is recognized as having been one of the leading Talmudists of the twentieth century. He is also one of the founders of the city of Had ...

, rabbi and author of the Levush Mordechai *

Yechiel Michel Epstein Yechiel Michel ha-Levi Epstein ( he, יחיאל מיכל הלוי אפשטיין) (24 January 1829 – 25 March 1908), often called "the ''Aruch haShulchan''" after his magnum opus, Aruch HaShulchan, was a Rabbi and ''Posek'' (authority in Jew ...

, Lithuanian rabbi and author of the Arukh HaShulkhan *

Zelik Epstein Zelik Epstein, also known as Zelig Epstein (full name Aharon Zelig Epstein) (July 10, 1914 – August 3, 2009), was a prominent Orthodox rabbi and rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Shaar HaTorah-Grodno, a private Talmudical institution in Kew Garde ...

, Rosh Yeshiva of the Shaar HaTorah-Grodno Yeshiva, located in Kew Gardens, New York

Science and medicine

* Alex Epstein, American energy theorist *

Charles Epstein (geneticist) Charles Joseph Epstein (September 3, 1933 – February 15, 2011) was an American geneticist who was severely injured in 1993 when he became a victim of a mail bomb attack by the Unabomber. He was a researcher at the University of California, ...

* Claire Epstein (1911–2000), Israeli archaeologist *

Edward Epstein (meteorologist) Edward Epstein (29 April 1931, in The Bronx, New York City – 14 October 2008, in Potomac, Maryland) was an American meteorologist who pioneered the use of statistical methods in weather forecasting and the development of ensemble forecasting tech ...

, developer of statistical weather forecasting * Fred Epstein, pediatric neurosurgeon * Lenore Epstein (born 1942), birth name of

Lenore Blum Lenore Carol Blum (née Epstein, born December 18, 1942) is an American computer scientist and mathematician who has made pioneering contributions to the theories of real number computation, cryptography, and pseudorandom number generation. She ...

, computer scientist and mathematician * Mark Epstein, psychotherapist * Sir Michael A. Epstein, British pathologist, discoverer of the Epstein-Barr virus. *

Robert Epstein Robert Epstein (born June 19, 1953) is an American psychologist, professor, author, and journalist. He was awarded a Ph.D. in psychology by Harvard University in 1981, was editor in chief of ''Psychology Today'', and has held positions at sever ...

, psychologist *

Rose Frisch Rose Epstein Frisch (July 7, 1918 – January 30, 2015) was a pioneering American scientist in fertility and human development whose work was instrumental in the discovery of leptin. She is mainly known for her work in infertility; specifically ...

(Rose Epstein Frisch), biologist * Samuel Epstein, doctor and professor of environmental medicine *

Samuel Epstein (geochemist) Samuel Epstein (December 9, 1919 – September 17, 2001) was a Canadian- American geochemist who developed methods for reconstructing geologic temperature records using stable isotope geochemistry. He was elected to the United States Natio ...

, Wollaston Medal winner

Sport

* Charlotte Epstein (1884–1938), nicknamed "Eppie", American Hall of Fame swimming coach, "Mother of Women's Swimming in America" * Denis Epstein, German football player *

Hayden Epstein Hayden Scott Epstein (born November 16, 1980) is a former American football placekicker and punter who played college football for the Michigan Wolverines from 1998 to 2001 and played professional football in the National Football League (NF ...

(born 1980), American NFL football player * Kurt Epstein, Czechoslovakian Olympic water polo player *

Mike Epstein Michael Peter Epstein (born April 4, 1943), nicknamed "Superjew", is an American former professional baseball player for the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and California Angels of Major League Bas ...

, nicknamed "SuperJew" (born 1943), American major league baseball player *

Theo Epstein Theo Nathaniel Epstein (born December 29, 1973) is an American Major League Baseball executive, who currently works for MLB as a consultant. He was the vice president and general manager for the Boston Red Sox and then the president of baseball o ...

(born 1973), American President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs

Other

* Alan H. Epstein, aeronautical engineer * Anthony C. Epstein, American jurist * David Epstein (gangster), former member of Epstein–Wolmark gang * David G. Epstein, law professor * Eliahu Epstein (1903–1990), birth name of Eliahu Eilat, Israeli diplomat and President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem * Howard Epstein, Canadian politician * Hedy Epstein (1924–2016), Jewish anti-Zionist * Israel Epstein, Polish-Chinese journalist * Jacob Epstein (spy), alleged Soviet intelligence agent *

Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...

(1953–2019), American financier and sex offender * Kathleen Epstein, American-British sculptor * Lee Epstein, American political scientist * Leon Epstein (1919–2006), American political scientist * Leopold Vail Epstein (1910–1991), American attorney and father of Linda McCartney * Melech Epstein (1889–1979), American journalist and historian * Moses J. Epstein ( 1911–1960), New York assemblyman *

Richard Epstein Richard Allen Epstein (born April 17, 1943) is an American legal scholar known for his writings on torts, contracts, property rights, law and economics, classical liberalism, and libertarianism. He is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of Law at ...

, law professor * Samuel Epstein (politician), American politician, lawyer, and physician * Simon Epstein, Israeli economist and historian *

Steven Epstein (academic) Steven Epstein is the John C. Shaffer Professor in the Humanities and Professor in the Department of Sociology at Northwestern University. He spent the majority of his career as Professor of Sociology and Director of the Science Studies program at ...

, sociologist *

William Epstein William Epstein, (July 10, 1912 – February 9, 2001) was a Canadians, Canadian international civil servant who worked at the United Nations for 54 years and was considered an expert on disarmament. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Epstein attended ...

, Canadian international civil servant

Fictional characters

* Juan Epstein, fictional character on the TV series ''Welcome Back, Kotter'' * Dov Epstein, fictional character on the TV series ''Rookie Blue'' * Solomon Epstein, fictional character on the TV series ''The Expanse''

Variant surnames

Katja Ebstein Katja Ebstein (born Karin Witkiewicz; 9 March 1945) is a German singer. She was born in Girlachsdorf (now Gniewków, Poland). She achieved success with songs such as "Theater (song), Theater" and "Es war einmal ein Jäger". She was married to , w ...

(b. 1945), German singer * Wilhelm Ebstein (1836–1912), German Jewish physician and nutritionist *

David Eppstein David Arthur Eppstein (born 1963) is an American computer scientist and mathematician. He is a Distinguished Professor of computer science at the University of California, Irvine. He is known for his work in computational geometry, graph algo ...

(b. 1963), computer scientist * Margaret J. Eppstein, complex systems theorist * Nikolay Epshtein (1918–2005), Soviet ice hockey coach * Shakne Epshtein, Soviet journalist *

Boris Epshteyn Boris Epshteyn (born August 14, 1982) is a Russian-American Republican political strategist, investment banker, and attorney. He was a strategic advisor on the Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign and has remained a close advisor to Trump ...

, political commentator

References

{{Surname, Epstein Ashkenazi surnames German-language surnames Yiddish-language surnames