Identify a Jew by last name. Jewish surnames: history of origin and diversity

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 faith.

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 former USSR the most common surname is Levin, in second place is 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 professional activity. 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 “ 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. They usually formed from the roots 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 name 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.

Generic names whose bearers are Jews are called Jewish. They can be divided into several types. The most numerous variant of their formation is considered geographical names. Next type – characteristics or external data of a person. Especially interesting option the emergence of Jewish surnames is an artificial creation.

Jewish names and surnames

The currently popular Israeli names are very diverse. No nation can boast of so many beautiful generic names. AllJewish names and surnamesare unique, and each has its own meaning and origin. The history of most of them fits into just three centuries, because ancient people was scattered all over the world and did not need identification and a system for a long time. In Russia, Western and Eastern Europe the process began only after the corresponding laws were adopted at the state level.

Until the 18th century, Jews who lived in Russia and Europe did not have generic names.Origin of Jewish surnamesbegan in the Russian Empire, when a law was passed obliging people to have their own gender names. They were created hastily, which explains their diversity in modern world. Officials sometimes came up with a name for a person in their own way, depending on appearance, weather conditions and mood. Sometimes Jews came up with family names on their own. The second option was used by wealthy Jewish families, because appropriation cost a lot of money.

Meaning

The names of the male founders of the clan gave rise to many surnames around the world. Often Jews did a simple thing: they took their or their father’s first or patronymic name and made it a nickname. The most common name of the genus is Moses (Moshesa, Moses). IN difficult cases an ending or suffix was added to the proper name: Abrahams, Israels, Samuels. Anothermeaning of Jewish surnames: When they end in “son”/”zon”, then the bearer is the son of a particular person. Davidson means he is a descendant of David. Abramson is the son of Abram, Yakobson is the son of Jacob, and Matison is the son of Mathis.

Beautiful Jewish surnames

Jews often pray for their loved ones, calling them by their mother's name. This religious factor played a big role in the fact that the ancient people perpetuated both male and female names who performed an important political or economic mission in its history. The mostbeautiful Jewish surnames- these are those that arose on behalf of the mother. And there are many of them:

Riva – Rivman;
Gita - Gitis;
Bayla - Beilis;
Sarah - Sorison, etc.

As already mentioned, beautiful Jewish surnames were created by wealthy representatives of the ancient people. The dictionary contains many examples. List of the most popular ones in alphabetical order:

Goldenberg – golden mountain;
Goldenbloom - golden flower;
Hartmann is a solid (strong) person;
Tokman is a persistent person;
Muterperel - sea pearl;
Mendel is a comforter;
Rosenzweig - rose branch;
Zuckerberg is a sugar mountain.

The first place in the ranking is occupied by the Rabinovichs and Abramovichs. Not lesspopular Jewish surnameswho have German roots - Katzman, Urgant, Bleistein, Brull. Family names associated with religion are also often found among Jews: Shulman (synagogue minister), Soifer (text writer), Levi (priest assistant), Cohen (priest). In the list of popular genus names, the third ones are those that are formed on a professional basis:

Kravets (tailor);
Melamed (teacher);
Shuster (shoemaker);
Kramer (shopkeeper);
Shelomov (helmet maker).

funny

As modern Jews joke: “Funny Jewish surnamesunder certain circumstances can be formed from any word in the dictionary.” Subject names of the genus include such as Hat, Rag, Footcloth, Starch, Peat. Mothballs, Medallion, Barrier, Penthouse, Sole, Nagler are considered cool. The list is complemented by funny generic names related to flora and fauna: Gelding, Lysobyk, Tarantula, Haidak (microbe).

Russian Jewish surnames

On the territory of Russia, mass emigration of Jews occurred after the annexation of Poland during the reign of Catherine II. Trying to infiltrate society, representatives of the ancient people sometimes took Russian generic names for themselves. Usually,Jewish surnames in Russiaended in “ovich”, “ov”, “on”, “ik”, “sky”: Medinsky, Sverdlov, Novik, Kaganovich.

Common

Jewish immigrants chose their generic names based on the city, region or country from which they came. This distinguished them from other members of the community for identification purposes. Stillcommon Jewish surnamescorrespond to the place of residence of their ancestors, for example, Poznery, Warsaw, Byaloblotsky, Urdominsky. Another row consists of frequently heard generic names, which are derived from male personal names: Yakubovich, Levkovich.

Famous

Currently, many Jews occupy prestigious positions in Russian politics and show business.Famous Jewish surnamesamong politicians: Avdeev, Lavrov, Dvorkovich, Shuvalov, Sechin, Shokhin, Sobchak. The list can be continued for a very long time, because it started a long time ago, with V.I. coming to power. Lenin, who did not hide his Jewish origin. Today, according to unofficial data, the number of Jews in the Russian government is 70%. On the Russian stage, many favorite musicians are also representatives of the ancient people:

Varum;
Agutin;
Linnik;
Galkin;
Gazmanov;
Milyavskaya;
Valley (Kudelman);
Moiseev and many others.

Video

If you ask a person who does not live in Israel what is the most common Jewish surname in our country, then most likely the answer will be “Rabinovich”, “Chaimovich” or “Shapiro”. With a high degree of probability, characters with such surnames will also be among the heroes of Jewish jokes.

Meanwhile, an official list of the most common surnames in Israel exists, with an exact indication of the number of Israelis bearing each of them. Not long ago, the Israeli website Ynet talked about the most popular surnames in Israeli, based on a report containing data on the 500 most common surnames of Israelis and published by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics based on data for the end of 2013.

50 Jewish surnames

We decided to limit our review to the fifty most popular Jewish surnames in the country, and divide it into two parts, the first of which will consider the top ten. To begin with, a table indicating the Hebrew spelling, community affiliation and prevalence of surnames.

Writing in Hebrew	Russian transcription	Number of inhabitants of Israel	Share in the country's population	Community affiliation
	Kohen (Kogan)


				from euro name


				from euro name

The Cohens and Levy are ahead

So, the palm in the ranking of the most common Israeli surnames, with a noticeable separation from others, is held by Cohen (Cohen / Cohen - 1.93%) and Levi (1.12%), which trace their ancestry to the names of the priestly classes of Kohanim and Levites who served in the Jerusalem Temple . According to tradition, both come from the tribe of Levi, and both surnames are naturally common to both Ashkenazim and Sephardim. The total number of Israelis wearing them is very significant and today amounts to almost 268 thousand people. By the way, it is these surnames that are perceived as the most Jewish, so when you need to name three abstract Israelis, then in correspondence with the Russian “Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov” in Hebrew they will say “Cohen, Levi, Israel.” It is appropriate to add that from the point of view of synagogue worship, the division into Kohanim, Leviim and Israelim, where the latter means all other Jews, is still quite relevant today.

Mizrahi - from the word “east”

The third place with a share of 0.33% is occupied by the Jewish surname Mizrahi. The word “Mizrahi” is translated from Hebrew as “eastern”, and the overwhelming number of bearers of this surname belong to the Sephardic community, that is, they belong to the descendants of Spanish Jews from Morocco to Turkey.

In fourth place is the Jewish surname Peretz (0.32%), which comes from a personal name. Many surnames are based on Jewish name. According to experts, surnames of this type, for example, Avraham, Isaac, Yaakov or David, are common among both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, but are more popular among the latter. In the summary table, the communal affiliation of such surnames is indicated “from Heb. name."

In fifth place is the Sephardic surname Biton (0.30%), most of whose carriers come from Morocco and Tunisia. Interestingly, it is etymologically related to Spanish and comes ultimately from the Romance vita - "life", which, in turn, is a translation from the Hebrew word "chaim", this is also a common Hebrew name with the same meaning.

In sixth place in the number of speakers in Israel is the Sephardic surname Dahan (0.23%), derived from the Arabic “dealer of oil or medicinal drugs.”

In seventh place is a Jewish surname, derived from the Jewish personal name Avraham (0.22%). As we have already mentioned, such surnames are common among both Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, but are more popular among the latter. It is appropriate to note here that one of the variations of surnames formed from personal names are quite numerous surnames with the component Ben- (i.e. son), for example, Ben-David, Ben-Sason, etc. In meaning, Ben-Avraham corresponds surnames Abramson or Abramovich or even Abramov, that is, a descendant of Abraham.

Rabinovich? Here comes Friedman!

The most common exclusively Ashkenazi surname is in eighth place, and this surname is not Rabinovich at all, but Friedman (0.21%). The surname Friedman is of Yiddish origin and means “peaceful,” in full accordance with its Hebrew version - Shlomi.

Next on the table is the common Sephardic surname Malka (0.19%), derived from the Hebrew for “king/queen.” It is characteristic that the female Jewish name Malka sounds the same. Some researchers also believe that a number of bearers of this surname owe it to the Spanish city of Malaga.

Azoulay blue-eyed

Rounding out the top ten is another Sephardic Jewish surname – Azulai (0.19%). The author of the 1997 directory of Israeli surnames “Sefer Ha-shemot” Avraham Ariel gives three options for its origin: from the Berber ayzil, “good”, from the toponym Buzulay or Tazulay in Morocco, or from the Spanish azul, “blue”, after the eye color of the ancestors of numerous Israeli bearers of this surname.

So, the bearers of the ten most common Jewish surnames in Israel amount to over 443 thousand people, and more than half of them, about 268 thousand, bear exclusively the common surnames Cohen and Levi.

Let us note that, according to experts, the popularity of certain Jewish surnames does not reflect the demographic ratio of communities in the country. Today in Israel, the Ashkenazi and Sephardic communities are represented approximately equally. The fact that the number of bearers of popular Sephardic surnames is much larger than Ashkenazi ones is explained by the fact that there are much more surnames of Ashkenazi origin in our country than Sephardic ones.

To be continued.

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 the most different corners planets. 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, the Jews are an ancient people with 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 live swore 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 distinguishing feature 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 separate category 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 character traits Jewish faces? 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. Concerning dark eyes and 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 mass misconception - Jews have dark hair 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 an accumulation 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.

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 the modern world is partly explained by this. 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 complex 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 of appearance. The Shvartsmans were all black from birth, the Shtarkmans were strong, the Fains were beautiful. Jews 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