Genealogy of Jewish surnames. "What's in a name

Alexander Lokshin

The topic “Jewish names and surnames” is vast and vast. In this article we will touch only on some Jewish surnames common among European Jews - Ashkenazim. Their surnames in their own way reflected the historical destinies of the people who found themselves in different countries, who spoke different languages and surrounded different cultures and peoples.

The most common Jewish surnames

The inextricable connection of Jews with their religious tradition is fully reflected in Jewish surnames. The high status of a kohen - a representative of the priestly family of the descendants of Aaron, whose members performed services in the Temple in ancient times; high position among the Levites - the servants of the Temple. And when Jews began to take surnames (either voluntarily or as prescribed by the laws of the countries where they lived), many descendants of the Kohanim and Levites received the surname Cohen or Levi. As a result of numerous migrations, Jews belonging to this tribe began to bear the surname Cohen, Cohn, Kahn and the like in different countries.

IN Russian Empire the Slavic endings “ovich”, “ov” or “sky” were used. Hence such surnames as, for example, Kogan, Kaganovich, Kaganov, Kagansky.

Another group of surnames containing an indication of the kohen status of the bearer are abbreviated surnames, the decoding of which contains the Hebrew word “kohen”. These are the surnames Katz (an abbreviation of “kohen-tzedek”, that is, “righteous Kohen”), Kazhdan (originally it was Kashdan, an abbreviation of the Aramaic expression “Kaganei shluhey di-rahamana ninhu,” that is, “Cohens are (they are) messengers of the Merciful.”

Among the Levites, the surname derived from their title could take the form Levi, Levit, Levita. From these variants the surnames Levitin, Levitan, Levin, Levinsky, Levinson, Levites, Levitansky, etc. could later be formed. There are also abbreviated surnames indicating origin from the Levites: Segal (with variations Chagall, Sagal, Seagal and derivatives Sagalovich, Chagalov, etc.) This is an abbreviation for “segan levia,” that is, “assistant Levite.”

Surnames derived from the titles Kohen and Levi are the most common among Jews. And the surname Levin is the most common among Jews former USSR. The second most common name is Kogan. And the surname Cohen is the most common (2.52% of the total population) among Israeli Jews. The surname Levi is in second place (1.48%).

Surnames of Jews in Europe. The end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century

Most Jews in Eastern and Central Europe did not have hereditary surnames until the end of the 18th century. The need to streamline the collection of taxes and recruitment services led to the fact that at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, laws were passed in Austria-Hungary, the Russian Empire and the German states obliging the Jewish population to adopt hereditary surnames.

Over 90% of all European Jews lived in these countries, so the vast majority of modern surnames of Ashkenazi Jews go back to that era.

The first state to introduce mandatory surnames for Jews was the Austrian Empire. In 1787, Joseph II passed a law requiring all Jews in the empire to have surnames. At the same time, they had to be approved by local officials. If a Jew did not choose his own surname, then it was assigned forcibly - at the choice of the official himself. In remote Galicia, this right of officials to assign names at their own discretion has become a source of abuse. Jews were extorted from bribes for the right to receive a euphonious surname, and those who did not have the means for this were assigned surnames with offensive or comical meanings - such as Krautkopf (“cabbage head”), Drachenblut (“dragon’s blood”), etc. ., up to completely offensive ones, like Kanalgeruh (“gutter stench”) or Bleder (“imbecile, stupid”).

Most surnames were formed from the words German language. Some of them indicated the occupation of the bearer, other surnames reflected characteristics, character traits or appearance traits. However, most of the new surnames were arbitrarily formed from various German words: Hertz (“heart”), Frisch (“fresh”), Ehrlich (“honest”), etc.

Jewish surnames in the Russian Empire

In Russia, mandatory surnames were introduced by the Regulations on Jews in 1804. However, implementation of this article was slow. And the authorities were forced to again include a similar article in the new Regulations on Jews of 1835. And according to the law of 1850, Jews were prohibited from changing their last name even when converting to another religion.

Many of the new surnames were of geographical origin, with the formant “s(ts)ki(y)”, sometimes with a shift in emphasis relative to the original toponym or alternation: Byaloblotsky, Urdominsky, Warsaw...

Another row consisted of patronymic surnames, that is, those derived from male personal names - with the formant “ovich/evich”: Abramovich, Yakubovich, Levkovich, etc.

Patronymic surnames

Patronymic surnames were not the largest group of Jewish surnames (as in many other nations), inferior to toponymic surnames and surnames formed from the names of professions or occupations.

As a surname, not only the so-called sacred names could be used (this term is understood as biblical or some other Hebrew in origin), but also a small number of names borrowed by Jews in the biblical or Talmudic era, such as the Greek - Alexander - or the Babylonian Origin: Mordechai. In Hebrew, such a name was called shem ha-kodesh, which translates precisely as “sacred name”, and in Yiddish - oyfruf nomen, from the verb “oyfrufn” - “to call”, since this was the name that was used when a Jew was called to reading in the synagogue Torah.

But along with these “sacred names”, “everyday names” were also used in the Jewish environment. Such a “household name” (in Hebrew called kinnuy, in the plural - kinnuim, in Yiddish - ruf nomen, from the verb rufn - “to call”) was used in parallel with the “sacred name” (in Hebrew “shem kodesh”) both in the family, and in contacts with non-Jewish surroundings.

As a common name, diminutive, shortened forms of the “sacred name” were used (for example, Axelrod from Alexander); forms of biblical names accepted among the Christian environment (Solomon, Moses, Abraham), phonetically consonant names of non-Jewish neighbors (for example, the name of Latin origin Marcus was common among German Jews as a kinnuy for the name Mordechai, and the name Man, or Mandel - as a kinnuy for the name Menachem) or translation of the meaning of the “holy name” into the language of the corresponding country.

As an example, let us point out such Ashkenazi names as Gottgilf (translation into German name Eliezer, that is, “help of God”), Gutman (literally “ good man”, approximate translation of the name Tobias), Friedman (“peaceful man”, translation of the name Shalom/Shlomo), etc.

Another large group of kinnuim were words that, for one reason or another, were associated in the Jewish tradition with the names of biblical heroes. In particular, such associations were based on the “Blessing of Jacob” (Genesis 49), in which some of the patriarch’s sons are compared to certain animals: Yehuda to a lion, Benjamin to a wolf, Naphtali to a deer. Accordingly, for example, among German Jews the name Lewe (meaning “lion”) was used as a kinnuy for the name Yehuda, the name Wolf as a kinnuy for the name Benjamin, and the name Hirsch as a kinnuy for the name Naphtali.

Issachar in this biblical text is compared to a donkey, symbolizing strength and perseverance, but since in European culture the donkey has a negative connotation, the name Ber (meaning “bear”) was established as a kinnui for the name Issachar. Among other stable associations with the names of biblical characters, we note the pairs Joseph - "bull" ("Ox" in German), Yehoshua - "falcon" (Falk) and Ephraim - "fish" (Fish). In the latter case, also instead of the name Fish, which simply meant “fish,” another name was often used - kinnuy, Karp.

All of these kinnuim listed above could at some stage be used to form surnames. This is precisely the origin of the Ashkenazi surnames Marx (a German dialect form of the Latin-derived Christian name Marcus, which was used as a kinnuy to the name Mordechai), Gotgilf, Gutman, Fried and Friedman, Hirsch, Behr, Fish, Oks (for some speakers it coincides with the German and a Yiddish word meaning "lamb" - an associative kinnuy for the name Asher), Karp (and the diminutive form Karpel).

Many personal names fell out of use by the 19th century and were preserved only as surnames. These are the surnames Axelrod and Bondi. (But the names Ber, Hirsch, Wolf are still used among religious Jews in Israel and America today.) When at the beginning of the 19th century Jews in the Pale of Settlement received surnames, these names were artificially taken from the biblical text and accepted as hereditary surnames

Among the Jews who lived among the Slavic peoples, patronymic surnames were often formed using the suffix “ovich/evich” (Abramovich, Khaimovich, Davidovich, Elyashevich, Gershevich, Shmulevich, etc.), often from diminutive forms (Itskovich - from Itzko, Berkovich - from Berko). The Russian ending “ov” was used less frequently (Abramov, Davydov, Osherov, Leizerov). In cases where, with the help of these suffixes, a surname was formed from a biblical name that was also common among the Slavs (for example, Abram, David), such a surname could coincide with a common Slavic surname (for example, among bearers of the surnames Abramov or Davydov, the majority are Russians), and bearers of surnames such as Abramovich and Davidovich can be of both Jewish and Slavic origin.

But if such a surname is based on a Jewish name that is not found in the calendar (like the surnames Khaimov, Khaimovich) or is formed from a phonetic version of a biblical name that exists only among Jews (like the surname Leizerov or Osherov), then such a surname indicates Jewish origin carrier.

Some patronymic surnames of Russian Jews represent diminutive form personal name with the suffix “chik”: Abramchik, Rubinchik (from the name Ruven), Vigdorchik (from the name Avigdor), etc.

About other Jewish surnames reflecting personal characteristics, character properties or appearance traits of the bearers, derived from personal female names, professions, and about the so-called artificial surnames, as well as more about abbreviated surnames, we will talk another time.

Alexander LOKSHIN, Russia

No nation can boast of such a variety of surnames as the Jews.

A Jewish surname does not always serve as proof of kinship with Jews. But each of them is unique, as it has its own origin and meaning.

The history of most Jewish surnames spans three centuries. After all, this ancient people was scattered all over the world, and for the time being did not need specific identification. Even in Eastern and Western Europe, Russia, where quite a lot of Jews lived, such a process began after the relevant laws were adopted at the state level. It was these laws that already obliged Jews to have their own surnames.

Jewish surnames were created hastily in those days, and their diversity in modern world This is partly explained. Sometimes officials assigned a nickname in their own way, sometimes Jews chose it for themselves during the next census. And yet, like any nationality, in most cases, Jews of the twenty-first century have their own specific surnames.

First Jewish surnames

Previously, Jews never used surnames. It was enough to give the name and patronymic. And every respecting Jew also receives 7 names of ancestors.

Only a few well-born rabbinical families had a surname that passed from generation to generation. Here is a small list of Jewish surnames:

Kalonymous Lurie Schiff

Assigning surnames to Jews

Previously, the Jewish people got along well without surnames. The same cannot be said about European countries.

At the end of the 18th century, they decided to assign surnames to Jews and all citizens. This was done to better account for the living population.

Some Jews chose their surname themselves, others were assigned by local authorities depending on their mood, weather conditions, and appearance.

1. Surnames chosen independently. Only rich Jews enjoyed this right, because surnames denoting the name of flowers or precious metals cost a lot of money:

Rubinstein (ruby stone); Goldstein (gold bar); Rosenthal (valley of roses) and others.

The comparison between man and animal is found in one of the oldest Jewish books, the Torah. The progenitor of the Jewish people, Jacob, calls his children by the names Judah, Dann, Naphtali, Issachar. It literally translates as lion, serpent, doe, strong donkey. Such comparisons among names are not uncommon. For example, Dov comes from the name bear, Arie from the name lion, Rachel from the name sheep. Later these names became the basis for Jewish surnames.

During the period of mass assignment of surnames, many artificial surnames arose. This is a very interesting group of nicknames, the first root of which was dominated by the elements “glik” - happiness, “rose” - rose, “gold” - gold. This was followed by the ending “stein” - stone or “berg” - mountain. This is the history of the Jewish surnames Rosenberg, Rosenbaum, Goldman, Glikberg, Glickstein. If it was necessary to quickly assign a surname to a Jew, officials very often used exactly this method.

2. Offensive Jewish names. Disobedient Jews who evaded adopting surnames received punishment from the Austrian authorities. Poor people were no exception.

Ezelskopf - donkey's head; Wilder – savage; Urin - urine; Tol - mad and others.

3. Jewish surnames from the father's name:

Male names gave rise to many surnames of many peoples of the world. Jewish surnames were no exception. Sometimes what they did here was very simple: they took given name and made it a nickname. We know their simplest surnames: Solomon, Benjamin, as a variant of Moses - Moses or Moses...

In more difficult cases they took their own name and added a suffix or ending to it. In Russia, for example, it’s like this How did the surnames come about? Petrov, Sidorov, Ivanov. To the Jews - Abrahams, Samuels, Israels. When a surname ends in “zon”, it means that the bearer is the son of a specific person. Davidson is the son of David, Jacobson is the son of Jacob, Abramson is the son of Abram.

The endings “-bein” and “-shtam” mean “bone” and “trunk” in Yiddish, respectively) - Fishbein, Hirshbein, Mendelssohn, Mandelstam. Here we also see an indication of a certain genus. IN Tsarist Russia In purely Slavic fashion, they also acted this way: they took the name of a Jew and added the suffix “-ovich/-evich” to it. This is how the Jewish families of Berkevich, Abramovich, and Gershkovich arose. Definitely Polish ending "-ski", with light hand officials turned a specific Jew from Rabinovich into Rabinovsky. Despite all their differences, they were united general basis- male names from which they originated.

4. Jewish surnames on behalf of the mother:

If a Jew prays for one of his loved ones, as a rule, he calls him by his mother’s name. Perhaps this religious factor played a role in the fact that some Jews have surnames derived from women's names. Or the Jewish people thus decided to perpetuate the names of representatives of the fairer sex who played an important economic or political role in its history. And there were enough such women.

From Riva came the Jewish surname Rivman, from Sarah - Sorison, Beyla - Beilis; Gitis (son of Gita); Beilis (son of Beila), etc.

5. Last names from the locality. The most common type of Jewish surnames at present is the type formed from the name of a locality, town, city, region. An additional suffix was added to them. This is how the surnames Birnaum, Rubinstein and Rosenthal arose. There were especially many of their bearers in Tsarist Russia and Western Europe.

A city in Italy called Padua gave birth to the surname Padua, Lvov - Lemberg, Gomel - Gomelsky. Among the Jews there are many Sverlovs, Teplitskys, Volinskys, whose surnames are derived from the names of the corresponding settlements.

Vileikin (the city of Vileika, which borders Belarus and Lithuania); Berliner (Berlin is a city in Germany); Turkish (city of Turets in Belarus).

6. Last names by occupation. List of Jewish surnames of this type can be divided into 2 types:

– originating from professions:

In all surnames in the world there are those that originate from the profession of their ancestors. If you are Kuznetsov, then you can be one hundred percent sure that your ancestor was once engaged in blacksmithing. Jewish surnames derived from the profession of the bearer are also not uncommon. At first it meant an occupation, and over time it evolved into a stable nickname, which was firmly established. Many Jews bear the surname Rabiner, Rabinovich, Rabinzon, Rabin, which indicates religious activity and was formed from the word rabbi.

The Jewish surname Shulman means “servant in the synagogue,” Kantorovich is the one who leads the process of worship in the synagogue, Soifer is the copyist of sacred texts.

There are also those among Jewish surnames that are formed from simple professions. A tailor in Hebrew means schneider, hence Schneiderov, a shopkeeper means kramer, hence Kramerov. Traders were called Gendlers, shoemakers were called Schusters.

– related to religion:

Shulman is a minister in the synagogue; Rabinovich - rabbi; Soifer is a writer of sacred texts.

Two titles were especially popular: Cohen - sacred priest and Levi - assistant priest.

These statuses were inherited only through the male line.

The surnames Cohen and Levi are considered the most ancient, since at first they simply indicated a person’s class affiliation.

Kogan, Kaganovich, Kaplan, Koganov, Katz, Kon, Kaganman - all this is a derivative of the surname Cohen. No fewer Jewish surnames gave birth to the nickname Levi. Let us recall, for example, the famous Levitan. And there were and are Levinson, Levinsky, Levin, Levit, Levitansky. All of them are reminiscent of the ancient tribe of Levi and everything connected with it in Judaism.

The Jewish surname Levin, for example, in the former Soviet Union was the most common among this people. After her, Kogan was in second place. When Jews were allowed to leave for Israel, the Soviet “Levins” and “Kohans” went there en masse along with everyone else. Apparently this factor also influenced the fact that three percent of the citizens of this country bear the ancient Jewish surname Cohen, and the second most common nickname was Levi.

Jewish surnames derived from the appearance or character of the bearer

Jewish surnames very often indicate a person’s character; sometimes they emphasize some characteristic feature appearance. The Shvartsmans were all black from birth, the Shtarkmans were strong, the Fains were beautiful. Jews of the Russian Empire bore the surnames Gorbonos, Belenky, Mudrik, Zdorovyak.

Peculiarities of Jewish surnames in the Russian-speaking environment

Jews migrated en masse to the territory of Tsarist Russia after Poland annexed it. This happened during the reign of Catherine II. And before that, not so many of them lived here. And almost all Jews until the nineteenth century were mentioned in various historical documents only by name.

In 1804, Emperor Alexander I approved a Decree, which legally obliged Jews to have a surname. Officially, this was explained by the need to improve their civil status, protect property and conveniently resolve all kinds of disputes between representatives of the Jewish people.

Later, when the government of the USSR allowed its citizens to change their surnames, Jews began to do this too. Sometimes they even took Russian surnames. So some tried to infiltrate society as the majority of the nation. Others simply pursued a career. Although many Jews did not change their traditions and retained not only their Jewish roots, but also Jewish surnames, which came to us unchanged from past centuries.

1. Russian Jewish surnames

Gavrila Derzhavin was the first in Russia to propose that Jews receive a surname. In his opinion, it should reflect the character of a person.

For example, Zamyslyuk is intricate, Koval and others.

Nobles whose last name ended in “-ko” added the letter “v”: Pfepenkov.

Jewish surnames, obtained in Russia, end in “-on”, “-ov”, “-ovsky”:

Warsaw;

Sverdlov;

Pyatigorsky.

2. German-Yiddish surnames

They came to Russia from German-speaking countries. When translated, the result is a word or phrase in German:

Wald - forest; Wolf - wolf; Seelendfreund is a spiritual friend.

Very often, surnames can end with the suffix “-er-” and the endings “-man” (man), “-berg” (mountain), “-baum” (tree):

Fishman – fisherman; Strassberg is a city in Germany; Zwergbaum is a dwarf tree.

3. Surnames of Mountain Jews

Mountain Jews received their surnames after the union of the Caucasus with Russia.

What were Russian officials guided by? They added the suffix “-ov” to the parent’s name and received surnames for Mountain Jews:

Shaul - son of Shaul; Ashurov - son of Asher; Ilizarov is the son of Ilizar.

4. Surnames of Bukharian Jews

After Central Asia joined the Russian country, the process of issuing a surname began.

Bukharan, like Mountain Jews, were given patronymic surnames after their father’s name, adding only the suffix “ov-ev”: Musaev, Yusupov.

But Bukharan Jews have surnames that belong only to their people. The surname Leviev indicates their Levitical status, because they had kohanim and Levites.

5. Georgian Jewish surnames

When Georgia reunited with Russia, some Georgian Jews already had their own surnames. Most of which resemble Georgian ones. Through their structure, Georgian-Jewish surnames can be divided into 2 types:

1. With the addition of the suffix “dze” (son), there is only one surname - Pichkhadze;

2. With the addition of the suffix “-shvili” (child, descendant):

From personal names: Khananashvili, Aronashvili;

From nicknames and phrases: Kosashvili, Sepiashvili; From Georgian surnames: Papiashvili from Papashvili, Tsitsiashvili from Tsitsishvili.

6. Surnames of modern Israel

In connection with the revival of Hebrew, a massive replacement of old surnames with new ones based on Hebrew began.

Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who previously bore the surname Perelman, was the first to decide.

The Israeli government called on all law-abiding citizens to change their surnames. By what principle were Israeli surnames formed?

1. For my own reasons:

Galili - Galileo; Dror – freedom; Amichai - my people live.

2. Through life events:

Shaul Meirov became Avigur; Zvi-Hirsh - Ben-Zvi; Schneider - Sarid (survivor).

3. Due to the habit of the old surname:

Halperin - Har-El; Berlin - Bar Ilan; Jacobzon - Jacobi.

4. The old surname was translated into Hebrew:

Friedman changed to Ish-Shalom; Rosenberg - on Har Shoshanim; Eisenberg - to Barzilai.

Genealogy of Jewish surnames

Every nation has its own history. The history of Jews can be told by their surnames, which contain secrets of origin and meaning.

Many Jews try to find their namesakes, hoping to find a large family of distant relatives.

And some are working on compiling a family tree, trying to find their roots. To find more information on Jewish genealogy, as well as find out which Jewish surnames are on the list, the Avoteinu and

It should also be noted that there are many surnames whose bearers are both Jews and non-Jews. In that brief overview we will try to tell 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”().

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 a clan of many thousands (Rapaport, Ropoport). 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.

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 (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), (son of Minka), Malis (son of Mali); by the name of the locality where the person was from: (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) surnames arose quite often based on 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 great amount 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 in German words or phrases, such as: Klein (small), Groys (big), Miller (Melnik), Berman (literally - bear man, in Russian - Medvedev), Nuremberg (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 surname formation in Russia occurred later than in Central Europe, then the ancestors of bearers of such surnames came from German-speaking countries: .

Russian Jewish surnames

Russian Jewish surnames, as a rule, have the ending “-in”, sometimes “-ov”, “-ovsky”, such as: (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 a complete census of the population and especially in the newly annexed Eastern regions 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 Polish words, as, for example, (acorn) or, as a rule, are based on the name of the locality or parents with the addition of the ending “-ovich”, “-ivich” or “-skiy”, 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

They have Yiddish endings with the meaning of belonging “-is”, “-es”, such as Malis (son of Mali), “-son” is translated as “son” (these surnames are also common among English-speaking and Northern European Jews, as well as among Germanic Jews, for example, Jacobson,).

Sephardic surnames

Their origins begin 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 (from Zion), Luria, Toledano (from Toledo).

Bukhara surnames

Bukharan Jews began to be given surnames Russian authorities 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, 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), (from the name of Zadok), 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 very rare exceptions, such as the surname Pichkhadze.

The names of rabbis and the titles of their books

As a rule, the names of prominent Jewish sages, for greater ease of use, especially in books, are written as abbreviations, such as: , - or they are called by the name of those famous books and commentaries of the Torah that they wrote. As, for example: (Thirsting for Life, the title of the book by Rav Yisroel Meir HaCohen of Radzin), . In rare cases, these names are passed on to descendants, such as the famous Russian children's writer Jew Samuil, a descendant of Moraine 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: (married yeshiva student), (Parnas - the rich leader of the community who supports it), Rabinovich (son of a rabbi, as well as other similar formations of this surnames: 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 - ), (teacher in Yiddish), Gabai - Gabbe (synagogue elder).

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 (, Kushner, Kushnerov, Kushnerenko ), (jeweler), (scabbard maker), (glazier).

As a rule, the ending of the surname clearly indicates geographical origin, for example: surnames with the ending “-man” - 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, .

Abbreviations

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

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 Varshavsky with the Russian suffix “-ov”, like Sverdlov (from the town of Sverdly), or with the Yiddish with the ending “-er”: Mirer (from Mir), Logover (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

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 Hebrew language of Jews against spoken language The vast majority of Jews of that time spoke 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 it for himself new surname, which was an abbreviation for 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, the father, Rabbi Benzion Tsiyuni, changed his surname to Zilber in 1916 when moving from Latvia to Russia.

Therefore, unfortunately, the surname is not an accurate proof of either kinship or origin, for example, from the tribe of Levi or from the Cohens, or even Jewishness. For more information about the origin of your surname, please contact our consultant.

Until the 18th century, most Jews living in the Russian Empire and in Western and Eastern Europe did not have surnames. While at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries a law was passed in the Russian Empire that required everyone to have a surname, this also affected Jews. Today there are a lot of Jewish surnames, and all because at that time government authorities obliged all residents of the empire to urgently acquire surnames.

Among Jewish clergy, two titles were common - Cohen and Levi. These titles were passed down the male line from father to son. Over time, this became a family nickname, which formed the majority of Jewish surnames.

The largest type of formation of Jewish surnames is considered to arise from a geographical name. Suffixes were added to the names of cities, towns and other settlements, resulting in the formation of 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.”

The next type of formation is a surname, named after external or characteristic features person.

Many people who had pronounced shortcomings or advantages received a surname automatically. At first it took root as a nickname, then it grew into a surname. For example: Fain - handsome (by the way, have you noticed the "nod" towards the Belarusian language and the word "fainy", meaning "good", "beautiful", "glorious"?), Shtarkman - strong. Also, surnames of this type are often found among Jews born on the territory of the Russian Empire: Gorbonos, Gruborot, Zdorovyak (a dictionary of Jewish surnames will give more information to anyone interested).

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, Jews forcibly and quickly had to decide on a surname, many began to artificially create a surname for themselves by adding the following roots: “rose” - rose, “gold” - gold, “ bloom" - flower, "stein" - stone. The list of these surnames is very large; among their bearers there are often respected and popular people.

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, as mentioned above, in 1802 legislation obliged Jews to have surnames; for this purpose, the Committee even created and approved by Alexander 1 “Regulations on Jews”.

The reasons stated in this Regulation were established “for best device their civil status, for the most convenient protection of their property and for the settlement of litigation between them.” Later, another opportunity to find a surname to your liking was provided by legislation Soviet Union. According to it, all citizens were allowed to change their surnames, which also applied to Jews. Some of them decided to change their surname to Russian in order to more easily adapt to Russian society and build a career, but most did not do this.

Beautiful Jewish surnames

Jews have a lot of beautiful surnames, here are a few examples that the dictionary of Jewish surnames contains, 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, women have always been and to this day remain leaders. For example, nationality is inherited exclusively through the maternal line. This is also evidenced by the fact that in Judaism, in many prayers, it is customary to call the person for whom a person is praying, mainly by the name of the mother.

Jewish surnames were formed from the names of girls by adding a suffix or ending to the name. For example: a surname popular among Jews is Rivkin, derived from female name Rivka. There are many such examples.

Jewish surnames derived from male names

The most simple form This type is the use of a man's name as a surname without changing it. For example: Solomon Moses.

The origin of Jewish surnames is in most cases associated with male names.

Another option was with the addition to male name ending or suffix. The most popular endings for forming a surname: “son-zon” (translated as son), “strain” (trunk), “bein” (bone), suffix “ovich-evich”. Surnames of this type make up 50% of their total number, according to the Dictionary of Jewish Surnames.

Interesting and unusual Jewish surnames

For a Russian-speaking person most of 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, Abramovich and Rabinovich undoubtedly hold first place. Common Jewish surnames are also Azar and Atlas, Baru and Barshai. The completely Russian-speaking Baran also made it onto this list. Bloch, Blau, Bruck, Brüll and Blaustein are a reference to German roots. Zaks, Zatz, Katz, Katzman and Katsenelson will tell you more reliably about the nationality of the holder than a passport. But Cat and Leo simultaneously belong to both Jewish and Russian surnames.

Among the famous owners is Samuil Marshak, known to every Soviet child. Boris Burda is a TV presenter who can talk about any dish so deliciously and simply that you want to drop everything and rush to the kitchen to produce a culinary masterpiece. And even if it doesn’t turn out as beautiful as the master’s, it won’t affect the taste.

Video: Jewish surnames

edited by Z. Shklyara (Russia)
Source: http://www.sem40.ru

Surnames of Jews before 1917. Historical sketch

In Muscovite Rus' and the Russian Empire, until the last quarter of the 18th century, the number of Jews was very small and their admission to Russia was limited. The massive appearance of Jews in Russia dates back to the end of the 18th century, when, in connection with the three partitions of Poland (in 1772, 1793 and 1795), the Belarusian, Lithuanian and Ukrainian voivodeships, in which a large number of Jews lived, were annexed to Russia. In only two provinces - Mogilev and Polotsk, which arose in the territories annexed to Russia in 1772, over 40,000 Jewish families lived. New lands were organized into provinces in accordance with Russian class legislation. The new Jewish subjects were recognized as “foreigners,” and they were prohibited from living in the “native” Russian provinces. Thus the “Pale of Settlement” was established.
To collect taxes and involve in conscription, it was necessary to record and organize everything tax-paying population. Therefore, immediately after the annexation of the lands of Eastern Belarus to Russia as a result of the first partition of Poland, Catherine II, by order of September 13, 1772 ordered the Belarusian Governor-General Chernyshev to organize a complete census of the Jewish population, list it according to the kagals (the bodies of Jewish self-government operating in Poland), and establish a poll tax for Jews in the amount of one ruble per head. The census of the Jewish population and its registration with the kahals was entrusted to the latter, and to ensure timely and tax-free receipt of the poll tax, mutual responsibility of the kahals was established for all members of the Jewish community. TO early XIX century includes massive assigning hereditary surnames to Jews .

Until the 19th century, Russian Jews, with rare exceptions, did not have hereditary surnames. Those few Jews who are mentioned in Russian historical documents are referred to only by personal names. But already in the documents relating to the trial of the head of the Lithuanian Hasidim, the famous rabbi Shneur-Zalmen ben Borukh from the Liozno borough, initiated at the end of the 18th century and lasting until 1811, the accused is named Zalman Borukhovich, and his opponent, the Pinsk rabbi, is named Avigdor Chaimovich. The patronymic name is used here in the meaning of a patronymic surname. The author of the first Russian-Jewish journalistic work, “The Cry of the Daughter of Judah” (1803), signed himself Leib Nevakhovich after the name of his father Noach, in Russian transcription Novakh, which later became his and his descendants’ hereditary surname.

Obligation of Jews to adopt a hereditary surname was legally established by the Statute on Jews, developed specifically for this purpose, created in 1802 Committee and approved by Alexander 1 by Nominal Decree of December 9, 1804. For the reasons given in paragraph 32 of this Regulation, the assignment of surnames to Jews is established “for the better organization of their civil status, for the more convenient protection of their property and for the settlement of litigation between them.” The assignment of surnames to Jews - an undeniably progressive phenomenon - stemmed from the “liberal” ideas that permeated the legislation of the first years of the reign of Alexander I .

The right to a hereditary nickname was one of the civil rights of the individual, along with his right to universally engage in trade and any trade, to study in all educational institutions. In this regard, the “Regulation on the Jews” met the economic needs of the country. Jews were recognized as personally free in all states (Articles 12 and 42), they were recognized with the right to own, use and dispose of property, the right to freely engage in all kinds of trade and handicrafts, except for wine, with registration to the appropriate classes.

The Senate, by Decree of February 24, 1808, ordered a special census of all Jews to be carried out, obliging them to “fit into one of the states provided for by the Regulations and certainly take a well-known surname or nickname, if this has not already been done. Upon entry of the Jews into one of the mentioned states and upon acceptance their surnames, oblige them to stock up on the types, rank and surname of each meaning ".

The “Regulations on Jews” of 1804 prohibited Jews from changing their assigned surnames.

Assigning surnames to Jews in the Kingdom of Poland(ten Polish provinces that made up the Grand Duchy of Warsaw until 1815), annexed to Russia after the Patriotic War of 1812, proceeded somewhat differently. The obligation of Jews to choose hereditary surnames was imposed on them by a decree of the Governor of the Kingdom of Poland, Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich, from March 27, 1821. According to this decree, Jews were required to register their names and surnames with city magistrates and district administrations, and those without surnames were to elect them. When after some time it became clear that many Jews did not comply with the decree, an order was given to the city authorities to assign surnames to the Jews who evaded this. This, by the way, explains the presence among Polish Jews of a significant number of surnames created artificially and sounding in the German style, and a small number of surnames from the Hebrew language. In 1844, Jewish kahal self-government was abolished in Russia, the kahals were dissolved, and the Jewish population was administratively subordinated to city administrations. At the same time it was decided: “Every Jew, the head of the family, is informed by what name and nickname he is recorded according to the audit, included in the family and alphabetical lists and must be named in passports and in all documents. Those who change this name or nickname are dealt with on the basis of general rules.” volume of laws." This legal provision was later included in the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. Article 954 of Part I of Volume IX of the Code of Laws, in force until February Revolution 1917, read: “Jews will forever retain their adopted surname or nickname, without change, with the addition of a name given by faith or birth.”

It is characteristic that by a special law issued in 1850 and also included in the code of laws, Jews were forbidden to change their surname even when converting to another religion. As a sanction against violators of this ban, a special article 14161 was included in the Penal Code, which established criminal liability for a Jew bearing a name and surname that was not assigned to him.

At the end of the last century, some Jews who received a secular education began to use names in their Russian or German transcription in everyday life and in business relations: Abram, Isaac, Arkady, Efim, etc. instead of Avrum, Itsek, Aron, Chaim. This was seen as an unacceptable violation of the law. The opinion of the State Council, approved by the highest authority on April 23, 1893, decreed that Jews should be named in passports and in all documents only by the names under which they are recorded in the registry books, under penalty of criminal liability.

Soviet legislation allowed all citizens to change their surnames at will. Jews also changed their surnames, sometimes for reasons of national mimicry. However, most pre-revolutionary surnames remained unchanged. Mostly Jewish surnames have been preserved in the form in which they were adopted by their first bearers at the beginning of the last century.