Ancient Jewish surnames. "What's in a name

If the Orthodox used to look at the Saints to choose a name for a newborn, then the Jews always chose in three ways:

Focusing on older relatives.
In honor of your favorite biblical heroes.
Dwelling on the Hebrew righteous.

Kabbalah teaches that the letters in the name are a connection with spiritual forces, therefore in practice there are cases when seriously ill people are called by double names, adding Chaim (life). In the books of Sholom Aleichem and Isaac Babel, such options appear quite often. Sometimes they are used and next to it is translation. For example, Zeev - Wolf.

The list of names will include only Hebrew (or Yiddish) names, although any names have been allowed in Russia since 1917. Everywhere Barukhs and Berlys turned into Borisovs, and Leibs into Lvovs. In other countries (Palestine), the opposite processes took place, which was strictly monitored by the state. Boys are named at the time of circumcision - on the eighth day from birth. Let's look at the most common Jewish male names.

List in alphabetical order (from A to M) with translation

Aaron -"mountain", brother of Moses, high priest.
Abraham - considered a forefather (“father of nations”). The allowed option is Abram.
Adam -"earth", in honor of the first man on Earth.
Baruch -“blessed”, assistant to the prophet.
Gad - "luck" son of Jacob.
Gershom- “stranger”, son of Moses.
David- “beloved”, from him came the line of Jewish kings.
Dov - " bear”, the personification of strength and dexterity.
Zerah- “radiance”, son of Judah.
Israzl- “fighting with God”, the following options are acceptable: Yisroel, Israel.
Isaac -“preparing to laugh,” the son of Abraham, whom he was preparing to sacrifice. Options - Itzik, Isaac.

The list of Jewish male names includes the most common ones, without borrowed ones.

Yehoshua- “God as salvation,” disciple Moshe, conquered the lands of Israel.
Yosef (Joseph)- “God”, son of Jacob, sold into slavery in Egypt.
Jonathan -"given by God" , friend of David.
Kalev- “heart”, a scout sent to the land of Israel.
Leib- “lion” is a symbol of Yehuda.
Menachem- “comforter”, Jewish king.
Michael- “like God,” a messenger of God called to protect the Jewish people.
Moshe- “saved from water”, the greatest prophet. Options - Moishe, Moses.

Second part of the alphabet

Nahum- “comforted”, minor prophet. Option - Nakhim.
Nachshon- “soothsayer”, son-in-law of Aaron, who was the first to enter the Red Sea.
Noach- “peace”, a righteous person saved from the flood.
Ovadya- “God’s servant”, minor prophet. Options - Obadiah, Obadiah.
Passover- "missed", the name of Easter.
Pinchas- “snake mouth”, grandson of Aaron, who turned away God’s wrath from the Israelites.
Rafael -"healed by God", angel of healing.
Tanhum- “consolation”, sage of the Talmud.
Uriel- “my light is God,” the name of an angel.
Fievel- “breastfed” in Yiddish. Options - Fyvish, Fayvel, Feyshiv, Fyvish.

The list of Jewish male names for the last letters of the alphabet is the most significant, so we should focus on the most important ones.

Hagai- “celebrant”, minor prophet, grandson of Jacob. Option - Hagi.
Hanan- “pardoned”, the tribe of Benjamin began with him.
Hanoch- “sanctified”, son of Cain.
Zadok- “righteous”, who pacified the rebellion against David.
Zion- “superiority”, used as a synonym for Jerusalem.
Cefania- “hidden by God”, minor prophet.
Shalom- “peace”, king of Israel. Shimon- “heard by God”, son of Jacob. Option - Simon.
Shmuel- “name of God”, prophet.
Ephraim- “fruitful”, grandson of Jacob.
Yaakov -“overtaken”, forefather. Options - Jacob, Yakov, Yankee, Yankel.

Borrowed names

Are there any borrowed Jewish male names? The list can be supplemented by those that appeared in use while the Talmud did not play an important role. By naming children after relatives, Jews contribute to their spread. The names came from the Hebrew language: Meir, Menucha, Nechama. The Babylonians brought Mordechai, Chaldeans - Atlaya And Bebay. Greek rule gave the Jews the name Alexander(option - C ender). Georgian Jews acquired: Irakli, Guram; at Tajik - Bovojon, Rubensivi, Estermo.

Their feature is small distribution area. There are names that appeared due to beliefs. So, all newborns were called Alter (“old man”), but after a month it was changed. It was believed that it protects from evil spirits.

Jewish surnames

The list of Jewish male names is very important, because until the beginning of the 19th century they did not have surnames (they appeared in the Austrian Empire at the end of the 18th century). How were they created?

On behalf of the father or biblical characters: Benjamin, Israel, David, Abram.
From female names: Riveman(Riva's husband) Tsivyan(name Tsivya), Mirkin(Mirka).
From the appearance or character of the owner: Schwartz("black"), Weisbard(“white-bearded”).
From profession: Rabinovich("rabbi"), Dayan("judge").
From geographical names: Lifshits(“Silesian city”), Gurevich(Czech town).
From any things that happen in life. They are called decorative: Bernstein("amber"), Yaglom("diamond").

As we have seen, the origin of the surnames is Jewish male names, a list of which is presented in the text.

Jews are a nation whose roots go back to the ancient kingdoms of Judah and Israel. The people, who existed without their own state for more than two thousand years, are today scattered across many countries of the world.

Thus, according to official data, 43% of Jews live in Israel, 39% in the USA, and the rest in various parts of the world. Many of them live very close to us. Do you know how to recognize a Jew among Russians, Germans, Caucasians and other peoples of the world? What features of appearance and character distinguish this ancient and mysterious nation?

Ask

So, how to recognize a Jew? Ask him about it directly. Most Jews are proud of who they are and do not hide their origins. Many half-breeds do not even ask themselves which half to prefer: Jewish or Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian... And even a drop of blood is priceless for them. This, by the way, is a normal human reaction. After all, Jews are an ancient people with a rich history and cultural characteristics. So why not be proud of it? Ask them yourself.

But there are cases when people try to hide their Jewish origin. And that's not normal. For example, during the distant years of perestroika, TV presenter Lyubimov was directly asked about this. And the showman swore live in front of the whole country that neither he nor his parents were Jews. Characteristic features, however, were present both in his appearance and behavior. And the surname spoke for itself: Lyubimov is derived from Liberman.

Look in your passport

What surnames do Jews have? Characteristic features of Jewish surnames are the German suffixes “-man” and “-er”. However, you need to be careful here. After all, both Germans and Latvians themselves have such surnames. For example, Blucher was pure and got his German surname from an ancestor who participated in the war with Napoleon. It was a reward for courage and service to the fatherland - to bear the name of a famous German commander.

There is one more feature of Jewish surnames. So, this may be a kind of “geographical stamp”. Many Jews, moving to Russia from Poland, changed their surnames in such a way that they could understand where they came from. For example, Vysotsky (Vysotsk village in Belarus), Slutsky, Zhitomirsky, Dneprovsky, Nevsky, Berezovsky (Berezovka village), Donskoy, etc.

They can also be formed from diminutive female names. After all, unlike Russians, they trace their ancestry through the maternal line. Example: Mashkin (Mashka), Chernushkin (Chernushka), Zoykin (Zoyka), Galkin (Galka), etc.

But remember that a surname is not a distinctive feature of Jews. Mashkin and Galkin may turn out to be real Russian men, and the seemingly standard Ivanov and Petrov may turn out to be Jews. So it’s too early to draw conclusions based on the last name alone.

Choosing names

With names, everything is much more complicated - they can be anything. Of course, there are purely Jewish ones. For example, Leo (derived from Levi), Anton (from Nathan), Boris (from Boruch), Jacob, Adam, Samson, Mark, Abram (from Abraham), Moses, Nahum, Ada (Adelaide), Dinah, Sarah, Esther ( from Esther), Faina and others.

But there is also a separate category of names that are of Israeli origin, but Russian people wear them even more often than the Jews themselves. The characteristic features of such names are the ending -il (Daniel, Michael, Samuel, Gabriel), as well as the biblical meaning (Mary, Joseph, Ilya (Elijah), Sophia).

Nose

So, what are the characteristic facial features of Jews? The first thing people always pay attention to is the nose. Moreover, many believe that this sign alone is enough to consider a person a Jew. The famous “Jewish shnobel” begins to bend from the very base. Thus, the Israeli anthropologist Jacobs described this phenomenon in detail: “the tip bends down, resembling a hook, and the wings are raised.” If you look from the side, the nose resembles the number 6 extended upward. People call this nose the “Jewish six.”

However, based on this feature alone, it is impossible to say with certainty that a person is a Jew. If you look at it, it turns out that almost all of them had big noses: Nekrasov, Gogol, Karamzin, and even Turgenev. But it is known for certain that they were not Jews.

In fact, Israelis can have a wide variety of noses: fleshy “potato” noses, narrow ones with a hump, straight ones, long ones with high nostrils, and even snub noses. So, the nose alone is far from an indicator of “Jewishness.”

Common Mistakes

There is an opinion that there are certain signs that only Jews possess (characteristic facial features) - a huge nose, black eyes, thick lips. We've already dealt with the nose. As for dark eyes, these are the most common negroid characteristics. And the Negroid admixture is characteristic not only of Jews, but also of people of other nationalities. For example, as a result of the union of a Mongoloid and a Negro, the same traits can be obtained. This admixture is often observed among Greeks, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians, Arabs, Armenians, and Georgians.

Another popular misconception is that Jews have dark, curly hair. Everything is the same here. The Negroid trait is obvious. On the other hand, the biblical Jew David was blond. This is already a Nordic admixture. And look at the Russian singer Agutin - a typical Jew, but by no means dark-haired.

Sign number one

And yet, how can one distinguish a Jew from a Slavic-Russian by his face? Are there reinforced concrete signs? Answer: yes.

If you doubt who is in front of you: a Jew or not, first of all pay attention to the racial trait - the Mediterranean admixture. Even Caucasians do not have it, who are often confused with Jews because of their fleshy noses, thick lips and curly hair. The Mediterranean admixture is very characteristic and clearly expressed even with great inbreeding. What is it?

Both straight and in profile it is a very narrow long face. It does not expand upward, unlike typical Slavic-Russian faces. Only Jews have this head shape with a narrow and elongated nape. Characteristic features can be seen in photographs by Louis de Funes or Sofia Rotaru. Russian Jews are a mixture of Mediterraneans and Western Asians (Caucasians, Armenians). Ideal examples are Boris Pasternak and Vladimir Vysotsky.

So, the main distinguishing feature of Jews is a very narrow, long face that does not widen towards the top. If, due to some impurities, such a face has expanded, then anywhere, but not in the forehead area. A Jew's forehead is always narrow, as if it were squeezed in a vice. In other places, in principle, the head can expand. And after you have seen this sign, you can pay attention to the nose, lips, eyes, last name and everything else that distinguishes Jews.

Character Traits

The main character traits of any Jew are self-confidence, absolute self-esteem and any lack of shyness and timidity. There is even a special term in Yiddish that combines these qualities - “khutzpa”. There are no translations of this word into other languages. Chutzpah is a kind of pride that causes a desire to act, without fear of being underprepared or incapable.

What is “chutzpah” for Jews? Courage, the ability to change your destiny, to fight its unpredictability. Many Jews believe that the very existence of their state of Israel is sacred, and this is an act of chutzpah.

As mentioned above, there are no analogues or translations of this concept in other languages. But in non-Jewish society, chutzpah has a negative connotation and is identified with the concepts of “arrogance,” “intolerance towards other people,” “shamelessness,” etc.

Indirect signs

It is worth considering some more Slavs and Jews. So, for example, facial cleanliness. Jews, unlike most Russians, often have a cluster of birthmarks in the area of the nose, mouth and chin. Moles are a sign of aging and degradation of the body. The later they form on the human body, the stronger the body. Jews, as a rule, are formed in childhood.

We continue to name the characteristic features of the Israelis - very naked. This is very rarely observed among Slavic-Russians. Jews often have a fairly sparse and asymmetrical dentition, unlike the Slavs, who are characterized by dense lower and upper teeth.

Burr as a speech defect is often considered an indirect sign. In principle, it is characteristic of some Jews. But only to a minority. Most Israelis pronounce the letter "r" very clearly. And they even teach this to Russians. But still, burring is a rare sign, because many of the Jews who had such a defect worked hard with a speech therapist. And any Russian child can have this pronunciation from birth.

Nationality

All peoples of the world do not have mandatory and strict laws that regulate nationality. There is freedom of choice: either the nationality of the mother or the father. The only exceptions are Jews. They have a strict and inviolable law: only those born of a Jewish mother can be considered a Jew.

And this law is strictly observed throughout the entire existence of the nation.

The ancient Jews did not have surnames; they made do with first names, patronymics and nicknames. We found out where Jews got their surnames, what the Coens and Levins, the Schusters and the Sandlers have in common.

No surnames

Jews, like other peoples of the Middle East, never had surnames. The nomination was made by name and patronymic. The name was appended with the word “ben” (son) or “bat” (daughter). Every self-respecting Jew had to remember the names of his ancestors at least up to the seventh generation.

Since the names could be repeated often, for a more accurate representation, geographical landmarks were used (ha Romi - from Rome, Iuerushalmi - from Jerusalem), the name of the profession (Sandalar, Sandler - shoemaker, Sofer - scribe). In addition, Jews often had nicknames (Shapiro - handsome, Ioffe - handsome), which also added specifics to recognition.

Jews began to receive surnames only at the end of the 18th century. In 1787, Emperor Joseph II of the Austrian Empire passed a law requiring all Jews to have hereditary surnames. Their receipt immediately began to become overgrown with a web of corruption: for good, euphonious surnames, Jews were demanded money; in case of refusal, they could assign surnames that were far from euphonious and honorable. Such as Krautkopf (cabbage head) or Ochsenschwanz (ox tail).

In Russia, Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin proposed assigning surnames to Jews. At the same time, he insisted that they should sound “in the Little Russian way” and reflect not only the character of the person, but also the attitude of the authorities towards him. The secretive ones received the surnames Zamyslovaty or Zamyslyuk, the controversial ones in the case - Shvydky. The “Regulations on the Jews,” which stipulated the mandatory assignment of surnames to Jews, was approved on December 9, 1804. In 1850, Jews were also prohibited from changing their surnames, even if they converted to another religion.

Cohens and Levy

The first and to this day the most common Jewish surnames are Cohen and Levi. Cohens are the Jewish class of clergy, Levis are assistant clergy. These statuses among Jews were passed down through the paternal line, so they began to be perceived by other peoples as a family nickname.

From the Cohens and Levis, as the Jews settled, many variations of Jewish surnames were formed (Kogan, Kon, Kan, Koganovich, Kaganov, Levin, Levitan, Leviev, etc.). Additionally, even if a Jewish surname is not similar to the original "kohen", it may be related to it. Like, for example, the surname Katz (an abbreviation for “kohen-tzedek”, that is, “righteous Kohen”).

Surnames derived from “Cohen” and “Levi” are still the most common Jewish surnames today. Among the Jews of the former USSR, the most common surname is Levin, followed by Kogan. In Israel, 2.52% of the population bear the surname Cohen, 1.48% - Levi.

Where are you from?

A large number of Jewish surnames have a toponymic etymology, which is not surprising, given the fact that Jews often ended up as immigrants in other places. So, a person who arrived from Austria could receive the surname Oistrakh (in Yiddish “Austria”), who arrived from Lithuania - Litvin, Litvak, Litvinov, and so on. There are also surnames formed simply from the names of cities: Livshits, Landau, Berlin.

Toponymic Jewish surnames were often formed using the suffix “-sk” (Gomelsky, Shklovsky), the suffix “-ov”. For example, the Jewish surnames Sverdlov and Lioznov are formed, respectively, from the name of the towns of Sverdly and Liozno in the Vitebsk region, Sarnov - from the name of the town of Sarny in the current Rivne region).

Close in toponymy are ethnonymic Jewish surnames, such as Deitch (German), Nemets (as options - Nemtsov, Nemtsovich, Nimtsevich), Polyak and others.

What is your profession?

Many Jewish surnames come from names of professional activities. So, for example, the surnames Portnov, Khayat, Schneider and Schneiderman are related, since they came from the same word “tailor”; surnames such as Shuster, Sandler, Shvets came from “shoemaker”. The Jewish surname Melamed translates as “religious teacher”, Mogel - “master of circumcision”, Shadkhan - matchmaker.

Men, women

Patronymic and matronymic surnames, that is, formed respectively from personal male and female names, are common among Jews, but not as widespread as, for example, surnames formed from the names of professions. The simplest form of forming a patronymic surname is to use one’s own personal name. Hence such surnames as David, Israel, Adam, etc.

A large group of Jewish surnames consists of surnames formed from “kinnuy” - everyday names (Jews also have a “holy name”, which is called “shem kadosh”). So, for example, the surname Marx is a German form of the name Marcus, used as a kinnuy for the name Mordechai, the surname Lobroso is a kinnuy for the name Uriah, Benveniste is a kinnuy for the name Shalom.

In addition, surnames could be formed from the names of close relatives on the paternal and maternal lines, as well as from the name of the wife. Patronymic surnames could be formed using the formants “-shtam” (trunk) or “-bein” (bone). For example, such surnames as Mandelstam or Fishbein. Also, surnames could be formed using the suffixes “-chik” (Rubinchik), “-ovich/-evich” (Abramovich), prefixes (Ben-David) and various formants.

Surnames-abbreviations

If we talk about the purely Jewish tradition of forming surnames, then we need to highlight abbreviated surnames. They contain information about their carriers in a special way.

For example, the surname Zak stands for “zera kadoshim,” that is, “seed of the saints,” the surname Marshak is an abbreviation for “Morenu Rabenu Shlomo Kluger,” which translates as “our teacher, our lord, Solomon the Wise,” the surname Roshal is an abbreviation for “ Rabbi Shlomo Luria."

Decorative surnames

Not all Jewish surnames are related to a person’s place of residence, profession, or kinship. So-called decorative or ornamental surnames are also often found. Usually they were formed from the roots of the German language or roots from Yiddish. Jews were very fond of forming surnames from the word “gold” (Goldbaum (golden tree), Goldstein (golden stone), etc.), from the word “rose” (rose) - Rosenbaum (rose tree), Rosenblum (pink flower).

Many surnames were derived from the names of precious stones and materials for jewelry work. Finkelstein is a sparkling stone, Bernstein is amber, Perelstein is pearl, Sapir is sapphire, Edelstein is a precious stone.

Not everyone could afford to get an ornamental surname; often they were simply bought for substantial money.

Since about half of all the world's Jews lived in the Russian Empire and there is a huge variety of surnames among Russian-speaking Jews (most of which are of Jewish origin), it must be clarified that having a Jewish surname is not direct evidence of Jewishness.

It should also be noted that there are many surnames whose bearers are both Jews and non-Jews. In this brief review we will try to talk only about the main types of Jewish surnames of Russian-speaking Jews. For more information on the topic of Russian-speaking Jewish surnames, we recommend looking at the book by Alexander Bader “Dictionary of Jewish surnames of the Russian Empire” (http://www.avotaynu.com/books/DJSRE2.htm).

Early Jewish surnames. Assignment of Jewish surnames

Jews, in principle, did not use surnames in their permanent lives. Both at birth, and when concluding a marriage contract, and when writing a letter of divorce, and when calling to the Torah, and in the inscription on a gravestone, it is customary to indicate the name of the person himself and the name of his father (when praying for health or recovery - the name of the mother). But already in the Middle Ages we find in Europe several noble Jewish families - mainly rabbinical ones, such as Kalonymus, Lurie, Schiff and others - owners of surnames “in their pure form,” i.e. passed from generation to generation over many centuries. For example, these are the descendants of the Rappoport (Rapaport, Ropoport) clan of many thousands. Despite the fact that the bulk of Jews (as well as non-Jews) in European countries did not have surnames, nevertheless, by the 18th century (early 19th), in almost all European countries, the mass assignment of surnames to both Jews and others began citizens. This was caused by the need of Russia, Austria-Hungary, the German principalities and other countries for a complete census of the population for collecting taxes and recruiting services.

Thousands of Jewish surnames are stored in city archives of the former Russian Empire

Surnames were chosen either by the bearers themselves, or they could have been given by local officials, so we find unusually euphonious surnames, such as Muterperel (sea pearl), or Rosenzweig (rose branch), or Rubinstein (ruby stone). We also find, for example, in Austria-Hungary, the assignment of offensive surnames to Jews.

As a rule, surnames were given by the names of the parents: Aizikson (son of Aizik), Gitis (son of Gita), Minkin (son of Minka), Malis (son of Mali); by the name of the locality where the person was from: Eisenstadt (a native of the German city of the same name), Brisk (a native of the city of Brest-Litovsk, which was called Brisk in Yiddish), Vileikin (a native of the town of Vileika on the border between Belarus and Lithuania) quite often surnames arose on the basis of nicknames: Orphan, Babin, Deaf; by profession: Hayat (Tailor), Sandlyar (Shoemaker); by occupation: Reznik, Kantor, Soifer; by origin: Katz, Kagan, Levin, Levinsky, etc.

In addition to Jewish surnames formed in Russian, we find a huge number of German and Yiddish surnames. Obviously, the ancestors of the bearers of these surnames came to Russia with them.

National-linguistic features of Russian-speaking Jewish surnames

Among Russian-speaking Jewish surnames, several types can be distinguished according to their national-linguistic origin. For example:

German-Yiddish surnames

German-Yiddish surnames, as a rule, came to Russia from Germany and Austria-Hungary and are German words or phrases, such as: Klein (small), Groys (big), Miller (Melnik), Berman (literally - bear man, in Russian - Medvedev), Nuremberg (a city in Germany), etc. They often end with the endings “-man”, “-berg”, “-kind”, etc., and the suffix “-er”. It can be assumed with great confidence that since the formation of surnames in Russia occurred later than in Central Europe, the ancestors of the bearers of such surnames came from German-speaking countries: Zalkind.

Russian Jewish surnames

Russian Jewish surnames, as a rule, have the ending “-in”, sometimes “-ov”, “-ovsky”, such as: Pyatigorsky (from Pyatigorsk), Sverdlov (from the town of Sverdly). The assignment of Jews to the Russian Empire began at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries with the goal of enumerating the entire population and especially in the recently annexed Eastern regions of the Kingdom of Poland. It is important to note that among Ashkenazi Jews in Russia, surnames formed by the name of the father or mother with the addition of the suffix “-ov” are extremely rare, with the exception of Mountain and Bukharian Jews.

Polish Jewish surnames

Polish Jewish surnames are formed by Polish words, such as Zholondz (acorn) or, as a rule, are based on the name of the locality or parents with the addition of the ending “-owicz”, “-ivich” or “-ski”, such as , Grzhibovsky.

Ukrainian Jewish surnames

As a rule, they reflect the occupation of the person himself, without ending, such as Weaver, Tailor.

Baltic Jewish surnames

Sephardic surnames

Their origin begins with the Jews of Spain and Portugal, who, through Holland and Italy, Byzantium and Turkey, spread throughout the world, including in Eastern Europe, for example, Tsiyuni (from Zion), Luria, Toledano (from Toledo).

Bukhara surnames

Russian authorities began to give surnames to Bukharian Jews after the annexation of Central Asia to the Russian Empire. It was a rather long process - from the mid-19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. As a rule, with rare exceptions, Bukharan Jews can be recognized by their surname, composed of the name of the father or mother (in Sephardic-Russian pronunciation, as Russian officials heard it) with the addition of the Russian ending “-ov” or “-ev”, for example, Yakubov , Pinkhasov, Gulkarov, Abramov, Moshaev, Leviev, Gavriilov.

Mountain surnames

Surnames for Mountain Jews were given by Russian officials in the second half - late 19th century after the annexation of the Caucasus to the Russian Empire. As a rule, with rare exceptions, she composed the name of the father or mother with the addition of the Russian ending “-ov”, for example, Ashurov (son of Asher), Sadykov (on behalf of Tzadok), Shaulov (son of Shaul), Nisimov (son of Nissim).

Georgian Jewish surnames

Georgian Jewish surnames are formed by adding the suffix “-shvili”, like Georgians, for example, Isakoshvili. Formation with the suffix “-dze” is not found among Jews with rare exceptions, such as the surname Pichkhadze.

The names of rabbis and the titles of their books

As a rule, the names of outstanding Jewish sages, for greater ease of use, especially in books, are written as abbreviations, such as: Rambam, Ramban, - or they are called by the name of those famous books and commentaries of the Torah that they wrote. Like, for example: Chafetz Chaim (Thirsting for Life, the title of the book by Rav Yisroel-Meir HaKohen of Radzin), Chazon Ish. In rare cases, these names are passed on to descendants, such as the famous Russian Jewish children's writer Samuil Marshak - a descendant of Morain ve-Rabbeinu Shmuel (MaRShak).

Surnames associated with Jewish religious activities

Since religious life is inseparable from the Jewish way of life, among Jews the proportion of such surnames is very high, such as: Avrekh (married yeshiva student), Parnis (Parnas is the rich leader of the community who supports it), Rabinovich (son of a rabbi, as well as others like that). formations of this surname: Rabin, Raber, Rabiner), Melamed (Jewish teacher of small children), Shames (synagogue servant), Reznik (cattle cutter, and the same in Hebrew - Shoichet), Menaker (carcass skinner), Liner, Kantorovich ( son of a cantor or with a Hebrew root - Khazankin), Lerner (Yiddish teacher), Gabai - Gabbe (synagogue elder).

Famous and wealthy Jews could afford
perpetuate your surname with a family coat of arms

Surnames associated with the qualities of their first owner

This includes surnames that reflect the external qualities of a person, such as Schwartz (Black), Weiss (White), Yaffe, Joffe (handsome), Weisburd (white beard), Kosoburd (oblique beard), Nosik, Superfin (very handsome), or with the inner qualities of a person, such as Hasid, etc.

Surnames derived from professions

As you know, many Jews were engaged in crafts, and therefore Jewish surnames often indicate the type of activity of our ancestors: for example, Shoemaker or Shoemaker (Sandlyar in Hebrew, Sandler in Yiddish, Shuster or Shusterman in German), Skornyak (Kushnir, Kushner, Kushnerov, Kushnerenko), Zlotnik (jeweler), Shleifman (scabbard maker), Sklyar (glazier).

As a rule, the ending of the surname clearly indicates the geographical origin, for example: surnames with the ending “-man” are of German or Austrian origin, such as Furman, Schneiderman, Zuckerman; Ukrainian with the endings “-ovich”, “-uvich”, Baltic with the ending “-on”, “-en”, Moldavian with the endings “-esku”, “-usku”, etc.

Surnames associated with origin

As you know, Jews attach great importance to their origin, therefore, for example, the descendants of the tribe of Levi or a special family in the tribe of Levi - the Cohens - add Ha-Levi or Ha-Kohen to their name, i.e. an indication of its origin. Therefore, some of the most common Jewish surnames - not only in the Russian Empire, but throughout the world - are: Kagan, Kogan, Kaganovich, Katz, Kaan, Kaganov, Barkat, Kazhdan, Levi, Levit, Levitan, Levinsky, Levinson, Levitansky, Segal, etc.

Surnames formed from the name of the father or mother

As a rule, census takers did not think twice and gave surnames after the name of the father or mother, such as, for example, on behalf of the father: Abramovich, Pinkhasovich, Yakobzon, Davidzon.

A huge number of surnames of Russian Jews are formed from the name of the mother. For example, Malkin, Raikin, Gitlin, Sorkin, Vitkin.

Abbreviations

As you know, Hebrew often uses abbreviations, which we also find in the surnames: Katz, Shub, Shatz, Albats, Shah, Patlas, Tsatskis.

Toponymic surnames

Perhaps the largest group of Jewish surnames is associated with the area of residence. Either these are surnames without any suffixes, such as Mints, Landau, Berlin, Auerbach, or with the Russian suffix “-iy”, such as Zarudinsky, Varshavsky with the Russian suffix “-ov”, like Sverdlov (from the town of Sverdly), or with the Yiddish ending “-er”: Mirer (from Mir), Logovier (from Logovoy). Sometimes - according to the country of previous residence, such as: Pollak (Polyakov), Deutsch (Nemtsov), etc.

Surnames - names of animals

Already in the Torah we find comparisons of Jews with various animals. So, for example, Yaakov compares his children: Judah - with a lion, Issachar - with a powerful donkey, Dan - with a serpent, Naphtali - with a doe, etc. We especially see this comparison of Jews with animals in personal names: Zeev (wolf), Tzvi (deer), Aryeh (lion), Yael (capricorn), Rachel (sheep), Dov (bear), Ber (bear - Yiddish), etc. .d.

Apparently, this is the reason for the frequent use of animal names in Jewish surnames, for example: Nightingale, Bull, Cancer, Bear, Crow, Magpie, Hare, Bunny and derivatives from them, such as Solovyov, Rakov, Medvedev.

Artificially formed surnames

They are, as a rule, of German-Austrian origin and arose during the mass assignment of surnames to the Jews of these countries without fail. As a rule, they have two roots conjugated into one word, such as: Rosenzweig, and have roots: Gold (gold), Berg (mountain), Mann (man, man), Baum (tree), Boym (tree - Yiddish ), Stein (stone), Stern (star), Stadt (city), Zweig (branch), Blum (flower), etc. It is interesting that these roots can also be separate Jewish surnames.

Russian surnames among Jews

Sometimes we meet pure Jews with purely Russian surnames. We can only guess at the reason why they received such surnames, but, for example, we know that the majority of Jews who were forcibly conscripted into the cantonist service were forcibly given Russian surnames or were sold into the recruiting service instead of some other people whose surname they received. For example: Romanov, Slizenev, Chesakov.

Newly formed surnames in modern Israel

Many repatriates changed
their surnames in Hebrew

After the beginning of a new wave of settlement in Eretz Israel, around the end of the 19th century, many immigrants changed their surnames to Hebrew ones. This movement was started by the revivalist of modern Hebrew, Ben-Yehuda (Perelman), who actively fought for the revival of the spoken language of the Jews against the spoken language of the vast majority of Jews of that time - Yiddish. After the formation of the state, its “founding fathers” changed the “Galut” surnames to Hebrew ones.

Therefore, for example, Shifman became Ben-Sira, Golda Meerovich became Golda Meir, Utesov became Bar-Sela, Mirsky - Bar-Shalom, Brook - Barak, Yakobzon - Jacobi, Zilberberg - Ar-Kesef. The leader of the labor movement, Shneur-Zalman Rubashov (whose name was given in honor of the first Lubavitcher Rebbe), especially stood out. He took a new surname, which was the abbreviation Shazar. The surname of Ariel Sharon's parents, for example, was Sheinerman, and the surname of the first Israeli president Ben-Gurion was Green.

Jewish surnames and genealogy

Many modern Jews are actively interested in their genealogy, compiling family trees, looking for the graves of their ancestors, their distant relatives, and thanks to this, some of them are returning to their roots and to their Tradition. There are very large sites dedicated to Jewish genealogy, such as Avoteinu and Jewishgen.

But it should be noted that due to the fact that in the Tsarist Empire from the beginning of the 19th century, Jews were forcibly taken into the army, except for those who had the only son in the family, therefore many Jewish families enrolled many of their children under different surnames. There are also numerous cases of surname changes during emigration to America, Israel, and other countries. For example, Rav Yitzchak Zilber's father, Rav Benzion Tsiyuni, changed his surname to Zilber in 1916 when moving from Latvia to Russia.

Maltsev

The surname Maltsev came either from the name of the village Maltsy, or from the word “small”, or from Yiddish with

There are a lot of Jewish surnames, and all because at that time state
the authorities obliged all residents of the empire to urgently
get surnames.

Among Jewish clergy, 2 titles were common - Cohen and
Levi. These titles were passed down the male line from father to son. With time
this became a family nickname that formed most of the Jewish
surnames

The largest type of formation of Jewish surnames is considered
occurrence by geographical name.

Suffixes were added to the names of cities, towns and other settlements, as a result
such popular surnames as:
Rosenthal, Birnbaum, Lemberg,
Sverdlov, Klebanov, Podolsky.
Some of them don’t even sound Jewish, resembling either German or native Russian in sound. But the dictionary of Jewish surnames is stubborn: all of the above are exclusively the surnames of the “sons of Israel.”
Many people who had pronounced shortcomings or advantages
received a last name automatically. At first it stuck as a nickname,
after that it grew into a surname. For example: Fine is beautiful (by the way, we noticed
are you “curtsying” towards the Belarusian language and the word “fayny”, meaning
“good”, “beautiful”, “glorious”?), Shtarkman - strong. Also surnames
this type is often found among Jews born on the territory of the Russian Federation
Empires: Gorbonos, Gruborot, Big Man (more information for anyone
A dictionary of Jewish surnames will be given to those who wish).
Artificial creation of surnames
This type of origin of Jewish surnames is particularly interesting.
Surnames created using this type are distinguished by their consonance and beautiful meaning.
A little history. While on the territory of the Russian Empire and in
Europe and the Jews had to forcefully and quickly decide on
surname, many began to artificially create a surname for themselves using
adding the following roots: “rose” - rose, “gold” - gold, “bloom” -
flower, "stein" - stone. The list of these surnames is very large, among them
Respected and popular people are often found as carriers.

Jewish surnames in Russia

Until the 18th century, there were virtually no Jews on the territory of the Russian Empire; they
began to appear during the time of Catherine 2. Until the 19th century, Jews mentioned in
Russian historical documents were simply marked with personal names. But how
As stated above, in 1802 legislation obliged Jews to have surnames.

The next type of education is the surname,
named after external or characteristic features
person.
Surnames for this purpose were even created by the Committee and approved by Alexander 1
"The Regulations on the Jews."
The motives spelled out in this Regulation were established “for a better arrangement
their civil status, for the most convenient protection of their property and for
settlement of litigation between them." Later, another opportunity to find a surname by
the soul was provided by the legislation of the Soviet Union. According to him, everyone
citizens were allowed to change their surnames, which also applied to Jews.
Some of them decided to change their surname to Russian to make it easier
adapt to Russian society and build a career, but most
they didn’t do this.
Beautiful Jewish surnames
Jews have a lot of beautiful surnames, here are some examples that
contains a dictionary of Jewish surnames, they are the most popular:
Stern is a star;
Zweig - branch;
Bloom - flower;
Zeev - wolf;
Arie - lion;
Dov is a bear;
Schwartz - black;
Weiss - white;
Joffe - handsome;
Superfin - very beautiful;
Muterperel - sea pearl;
Rosenzweig - rose branch;
Rubinstein - ruby stone;
Goldenberg - golden mountain;
Goldenbloom - golden flower.
Female Jewish surnames
Among all Jewish surnames, there is a type that is created on the basis of female
names Among the Jewish people there have always been women and to this day remain
leading. For example, nationality is inherited exclusively by
maternal line. This is also evidenced by the fact that in Judaism in many
In prayers it is customary to name the one for whom a person is praying, mainly by
mother's name.
Jewish surnames were formed from the names of girls, by adding to
suffix name or ending. For example: a surname popular among Jews
- Rivkin, derived from the female name Rivka. There are many such examples.
Jewish surnames derived from male names
The simplest form of this type is the use of a male name in
as a surname without changing it. For example: Solomon Moses.

Another option was to add an ending or suffix to the male name.
The most popular endings for forming a surname: “son-zon” (translated
means son), “strain” (trunk), “bein” (bone), suffix “ovich-evich”. Surnames
this type makes up 50% of their total number, according to the dictionary
Jewish surnames.
Interesting and unusual Jewish surnames
To a Russian-speaking person, most Jewish surnames will seem, if not
interesting, then at least unusual.
In the Jewish environment these include:
Berg - mountain;
Mann - man, man;
Baum - tree;
Boym - tree;
Zvi - deer;
Yael - Capricorn;
Stadt is a city;
Stein - stone;
Weisburd - white beard;
Kosoburd - oblique beard;
Rachel is a sheep;
Ber is a bear.
Popular Jewish surnames
Among the most popular Jewish surnames, undoubtedly, the first place
held by Abramovich and Rabinovich. Common Jewish surnames
also Azar and Atlas, Baru and Barshai. The completely Russian-speaking Baran also ended up in
this list. Bloch, Blau, Bruck, Brüll and Blaustein - a reference to the German
roots Zaks, Zatz, Katz, Katzman and Katsenelson about the nationality of the owner
They will tell you that passports are more reliable. But the Cat and the Lion at the same time refer to
Jewish and Russian surnames.
Among the famous owners is Samuel Marshak, known to everyone
Soviet child. Boris Burda is a TV presenter who knows how to taste something so tasty and simple.
talk about any dish that makes you want to drop everything and rush to the kitchen
produce a culinary masterpiece. And let it not turn out as beautiful as it did
master - it will not affect the taste.