Middle Eastern Jewish surnames. Last names according to price list. Jewish surname - what is it?

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 could have been given by local officials, which is why 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 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 rare exceptions, such as the surname Pichkhadze.

Last names of rabbis and 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 long 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), Zvi (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 about the reason why they received such surnames, but, for example, it is known 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.

Ilyin

The surname Ilyin comes from the Russian form Ilya of the Jewish male name Eliyahu, which means “He &mda

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Let's dive into history. The history of Jewish surnames is rich and interesting. In general, in everyday life, Jews did not feel a strict need for surnames. For what? In all major acts requiring recording, such as birth, marriage and, accordingly, divorce, other acts of a religious nature were often especially documented. They indicated the name of the person, and then the name of his father, with rare exceptions - his mother. And that's it, the problem is solved. After all, you and I know that the majority of all surnames in all races and countries are formed with the help of a patronymic, that is, the father’s name. And such a simple system, like that of the Jews, completely replaced the surname, and the need for it disappeared. True, such surnames as Lurie, Colonimus and Schif already existed in the Middle Ages. Moreover, they existed as surnames in the full understanding of this word, with transmission by inheritance and through marriage. Why was this necessary? Well, historians generally believe that the surnames of such famous families were closer to the symbols, coat of arms and similar insignia that retained the family honor.

The situation changed dramatically at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth centuries. It is no secret that the basic needs of the state are the presence of a powerful financial and military base. And the basis for the formation of these two areas is, respectively, taxation and recruitment. In order to stabilize and systematize, and therefore increase productivity, these processes, the state needed strict accounting of each person. And the easiest way to solve this problem is, of course, to enter an identifier, which was the last name. From that moment on, Jews, and indeed all citizens, began to receive surnames en masse.

The meaning of Jewish surnames

Jewish surnames were obtained in different ways. They could either be chosen or invented by the Jews themselves, or appropriated by local officials. That is why we can observe both beautiful surnames and directly degrading ones. The meaning of Jewish surnames is wide and varied, as is the geography of settlement of the Jewish people themselves.

For example: Alweis is translated as omniscient, Geld as a hero, Seelenfroid - this can be translated as the best, close friend, Rosenzweig - a branch or branch of a rose, Rubinstein is a ruby stone, Muterperel can be interpreted as a sea pearl, Immerwahr - always faithful and the like.

You can also find offensive surnames, for example: Tol can be translated as mad, Feig, the most suitable meaning is cowardly, Oberschmukler is translated as the main smuggler, it is not difficult to guess why a person was given such a surname, Hasenfus literally translates as hare's paw , from which we can conclude that these are most likely symbols of a cowardly person, Totenkopf - a skull, Spatzenkopf - a sparrow's head, Vetergan - a weather vane or opportunist, and so on.

As already mentioned, in the main body, Jews received their surnames by patronymic, that is, on behalf of their parents. For example: Mendelson, Shmulovich, Urizon, respectively, from the names Uri, Shumlya and Mendel.

Jewish surnames formed from places of residence were also common, just like among many other nationalities: Aleman, Bayer, Litvak, Luxemburg and others.

In Russia, Gavriil 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, Levievi, 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, with Kogan in second place. 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.

By dad

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.

By mom

On the territory of the Russian Empire, it was also customary to give surnames using the mother’s name as a basis and adding “IN” at the end. As a result, we got something like son so-and-so. Malkin (Whose? Malki), Dvorkin, Dobkin, Elkin, Raikin and so on.

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.

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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.

Classification of Jewish surnames

Conventionally, all Russian-speaking Jews can be divided into nine large groups. The gradation is based on their national and linguistic affiliations. After all, even though we call them Russian-speaking, this is not entirely true. So what are these groups?

The first group is a group with Russian-Jewish surnames, the second - with Ukrainian-Jewish surnames, the third - with Polish-Jewish surnames, the fourth - with Baltic-Jewish surnames, the fifth - with German-Yiddish surnames, the sixth - with Georgian-Jewish surnames, the seventh with mountain surnames, the eighth - with Bukharian surnames and, finally, the last group - with Sephardic surnames. Let's take a closer look at each of these groups.

Jewish surnames in Russia. Russian Jewish surnames

As a rule, these are surnames ending in –ov, –in, or –ovsky. As in the Russian surnames in this group of Jewish surnames, they seem to answer the question “whose?” and represent one or another affiliation. For the most part, these are surnames belonging to the section of surnames formed from patronymics. And of course, it also depends on the area of residence. The Russian Empire, like other European countries, registered people en masse for the purpose of tax accounting. Around the end of the nineteenth century, this process was finally completed.

Ukrainian-Jewish surnames

Ukrainian surnames, or rather Jewish surnames derived from the Ukrainian language, are probably one of the most interesting. In most surnames, their species or generic affiliation is indicated either by an ending or a suffix. This group of Jewish surnames is all the more interesting, since there are no special suffixes or special endings in it. What is there? Nothing! These surnames were based on the person’s professional affiliation and, without further ado, they called a shoemaker - Shoemaker, and a weaver - Weaver. This is how these, no doubt, to some extent, even funny surnames appeared.

Polish-Jewish surnames

This group is in many ways similar to the group of Russian-Jewish surnames with its own twist. They are also largely formed from the names of the father or mother, that is, from the patronymic or from the names of cities or regions of residence of a particular person. True, surnames formed from any Polish words also stand out in this group. The most common endings in this group of surnames are: -skiy or – ivich.

Baltic-Jewish surnames

Surnames of this language group are common not only among Russian-speaking Jews, but also among English-speaking, Northern European and German Jews. These are like surnames belonging to a clan, with endings in -son, such as Mikhelson (son means “son”), and others, but in smaller numbers.

German-Jewish surnames

The ancestors of people bearing the surname of this group come from German-speaking countries. After all, in Europe, the assignment of surnames began earlier than in Russia, and people from this group have a clearly defined meaning in their surnames, if translated from German. That is, in the main array these are surnames consisting of German phrases. They are formed using the suffix - er, as well as using different endings, such as: - kind, -man or - kind.

Georgian-Jewish surnames

Georgian surnames are not very diverse; the main endings are: -shvili and –dze. It is this lack of diversity that has transferred to Georgian-Jewish surnames, only even narrower, since the ending -dze is not found among Jews at all.

Mountain surnames

At the end of the nineteenth century, the final annexation of the Caucasus to the Russian Empire took place. And Russian officials, of course, enthusiastically took up the process of registering Caucasian Jews. They do not have any significant distinctive features; they are still the same patronymic surnames, with endings in -ov.

Bukhara surnames

The same Russian ending -ov, or -ev. These are Jews from Central Asia, and since its annexation took place quite late, they were almost the last to receive surnames.

Sephardic surnames

The origin of these surnames has its roots in distant Spain. They gradually spread throughout Europe, finally reaching the borders of the Russian Empire.

Well, that’s practically the whole history of Jewish surnames in brief. As we could see, the modification of surnames did not leave them for a moment throughout their entire path of distribution and formation.

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 like Jewish, resembling in sound either German or native Russian. 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 person 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
of this type make 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.

Jewish surnames

ABOUT! I can always distinguish Jews from non-Jews by their last name, another expert will say.

How? - we ask.

Their last names end with - tsky or - skiy: Berezovsky, Trotsky...

“...Bogdan Khmelnitsky,” we will continue the series.

Uh... no, he doesn't. Jew. Their last names end with - dream.

For example, Admiral Nelson, we agree.

No, he seems to be English. But they often have endings - matte And - berg.

This means that the commander Wallenstein and the leader of the Third Reich Rosenberg were Jews?

Do you all remember any exceptions? - the expert will finally become indignant. - In your opinion, there are no purely Jewish surnames?

It happens, we will reassure the expert. - It’s almost impossible to distinguish them from non-Jewish ones with the help of endings, suffixes and other formative elements.

Jews began to acquire surnames in different countries at different times, but mostly around the beginning of the 19th century. In France, for example, Napoleon urgently ordered Jews to take on surnames. By this time, each country had already developed its own fundamental features of the formation of surnames, and officials in each country tried to adhere to them.

This does not mean that Jews did not have surnames before this. For the first time, Spanish Jews (Sephardim) began to acquire surnames in the modern sense. Take for example the surname Benvenisti (Benvenisti), which roughly means “welcome.” It has been known since the 11th century. And here are other common surnames of Sephardic Jews: the Latinized Albo - “white”, the Arabized Abulafia - “father of health”. Surnames were formed from names, nicknames and places of residence - Ibn Chaim (Arabicized “son of Chaim”), Perez (“bearded man”, from the name of the bearded vulture bird), Cordovero (Cordovan, from Cordoba), Toledano (Toledan, from Toledo). British prime minister of the 19th century. bore the surname Disraeli (from Israel).

NOTE

Ashkenazim (German Jews), unlike Spanish Jews, were referred to by personal names and patronymics for centuries, even when a significant proportion of their non-Jewish neighbors already had surnames. For example, when Isaac ben Yakov’s son Moishe (Moses) was born, in official documents he was named Moishe ben Isaac (son of Isaac), and Isaac’s grandson (son of Moishe) became Leizer ben Moishe. In everyday life, the same person could be called differently: Moishe Brokhes, that is, Moishe, Brokha’s husband, or Leib Nehamkes, that is, Leib, the son of Nechama.

In a number of countries, Jews were limited in their choice of surnames. In Austria-Hungary and France it was forbidden to appropriate the surnames of high-ranking families. In Hungary they were not allowed to take on the surnames of noble families. In Galicia, for the purpose of profit, a special “price list” was introduced: the most expensive names were those associated with the names of flowers and precious metals, such as: Rosenthal, Blumenkranz, Goldberg, Goldstein; simpler surnames were cheaper, for example Aizen (“iron”), Eisenberg (“iron mountain”), Eisenstein (“iron stone”), Stahl (“steel”); anyone who wanted to get a surname for free could register as Fuchs (“fox”), Green (“green”) or Schwartz (“black”). Surnames like Lebenbaum (“tree of life”), [Utvetter (“good weather”), Morgenbesser (“tomorrow is better”), etc. make you smile. But you can also find surnames meaning: “louse”, “mucus”, “piss”, “stench”, “robber”, “monster”, “trouble” and even “spoiler of fabric”. They say that such names were given to those Jews who did not bother to appear before the commission with a pre-selected option. However, it seems that personal hostility towards the poor guy who sewed a crappy suit or otherwise did not please another member of the commission could also be mixed in.

In Europe, among the Western Slavs and Ukrainians, the “zero” form of the surname did not cause any particular protest: a noun is simply taken - and without endings, without suffixes, without any tricks, it turns into a surname: here you have Stein (“stone”) and Stern (“star”) "), but then there is also Melnik or Borscht.

European ending - er, usually denoting a profession, among Jews it took on the meaning of “where a person came from” - Berliner, Posner (“from Poznan”) or Pevzner (“from Pilsen”).

Similarly, they spread in the eastern lands - skies And - tskie: Berezovsky (“from Berezov”), Mozyrsky (“from Mozyr”) or Slutsky (“from Slutsk”). Russian peasant or priestly surnames were formed in exactly the same way (not often, but it happened: he came from Davydovka - Davydovsky, from Kozino - Kozinsky). Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Polish noble or gentry surnames in -skiy And - Tsky, as a rule, they indicated that this is the most

Davydovka or Kozino belongs to this nobleman. So there is no fundamental difference: Berezovsky can be a Jew, but he can also be Russian, Ukrainian or Belarusian.

NOTE

Because the surname Rabinovich exists, surnames with - ich, quite common in the Slavic world, did not become Jewish. The meaning of this Jewish surname is transparent: it is an ordinary patronymic - the son of a rabbi.

I’ll tell you more: there are enough Jewish surnames formed with completely Russian endings - ov, - ev And - in. Is Abramov a Russian surname or a Jewish one? Or Simonov? Or Galkin? Moreover, a person may turn out to be a Jew whose surname is formed from a name that was not traditionally used among Jews: Tarasov - not because the ancestor was Taras, but because he came from Tarasov. If we recall Kunin’s amusing story “Ivanov and Rabinovich, or ai goutu Haifa,” then it is easy to come to the conclusion that a Jew (and even a Russian, as we discussed earlier) can have any surname. There are even Jews with the last name Russian - again because the ancestor came from Russa.

When it comes to whether a surname should be classified as Jewish or Russian, Polish, German and others (and this is a fairly common question when people want to know their origins), it would not be amiss to trace how names have changed over several generations. patronymic, occupation, place of residence of a person’s ancestors.

No one will deny that the Jews are an ancient people. However, they do not have nobility and aristocracy in the European sense of the word. But in Jewish surnames there is a relatively clear stratification by clan or even clan. This is, firstly, a group of surnames like Kogan (Kon, Cohen, Cohen, etc. - depending on how the middle sound of this word was pronounced in the area where the surname was given). They are descendants of the prophet Aaron and the priests of the Jerusalem Temple. In addition to variations around the stem "Cohen" (Kaganovich, Kokhanovsky, etc.), the surnames of this group can be quite different: Kaplan (compare Catholic "chaplain, priest"), created as a truncation of the surname Katz (Katzman).

The second group is surnames like Levi, they are from the “tribe of Levi”, their ancestors served in the Jerusalem Temple. Here we can find the surnames Levin, Levi, Levit, Levitin, Levitan, but also Segal, Segalovich and Singal.

NOTE

However, not all Cohens and Levis are Jews and descendants of temple priests. For example, an Irish name meaning “puppy” was anglicized and spelled Quan, and then, many decades later, became the surname Cohen. And Levitov and Levitsky are Russian priestly surnames.

Since the Jews lived quite separately, they knew everyone in their circle, and the priestly title was passed on from generation to generation, it is completely unthinkable that an impostor from the people of Israel would take a surname like Kogan.

In the early Middle Ages, rabbinical families arose, where responsibilities were passed on by inheritance, as well as deep respect surrounding the descendants of famous rabbis.

The descendants of the rabbi - and the rabbis themselves too - retained the genealogical line in the name, but when signing, the rabbi always indicated the city so that he could be distinguished from an ancestor, say, with the same name, who headed a completely different community. Many rabbinical surnames are based on the names of German cities: Auerbach (Averbuch), Bachrach (Bacharach), Bloch, Epstein, Günzburg (Ginzburg), Mainz (Mintz), Katzenellenbogen, Landau (Landa). Over time, geographical names became direct surnames.

By the way, the surname of the first Nizhny Novgorod rabbi Boris Zakhoder (the poet’s grandfather) was formed from a nickname that meant “a man from the West,” a Westerner, since he was from Belarus (Belarusians can easily recognize the word “Zakhad” - West).

Rashap is an abbreviation of the name of a prominent expert on Judaism, Rabbi Shlomo Pinsker (Rabbi Solomon from Pinsk).

NOTE

If a person has the surname Varshavsky, then this does not necessarily mean his homeland. It is very possible that the first Varshavsky often traveled to this big city on business. It is also not necessary that all Eastern European Englanders or Londoners come from England or its capital. It is very likely that the ancestors of these families maintained trade relations with England or London. The Turetsky family does not come from Turkey, but from Belarus, where there was such a place - Turets.

There is a very large (even exorbitant) number of surnames from the names of mothers - Rivin, Rivkin, Rives, Rivas, Rivlin, Rybkin, Malkin, Malkes, Gitin, Gutin, Gitlik, etc. Here, obviously, the great social activity of women affected: they are quite often played the role of the main breadwinners and supported not only children, but also husbands, “busy” with the pious study of Scripture. Husbands could also be absent because they went to work.

A person moving from Austria (and it began not so far from Zhmerinka) could receive the surname Oistrakh, Ostreicher (Austria in Yiddish); from Lithuania (which included Belarus, Smolensk region, etc.) - Litvak, Litvin, Litvinov; from Germany - Tayts (Germany in Yiddish), Ashkenazi (Germany in Hebrew), Nemchik.

There were especially many names of professions. Let's list some of them:

Kravets (this is a tailor in Ukrainian), Kravtsov, Kravchenko, Kravchuk, Kravchun, Krovets, Portnov, Portnoy, Chait (a tailor in Hebrew), Shvets (in Ukrainian), Shnader, Schneider, Shnaid, Schneiderman, Shnaiman (in Yiddish) , Igolkin, Igolnikov, Nudelis, Nudel, Nudelman (same as Igolkin, but in Yiddish) and Fudim (translated from Yiddish - Nitkin), Tkach, Tkachev;

Shoemaker, Sapozhnikov, Sandler (shoemaker in Hebrew), Shister, Shuster, Shusterman, Shusterman, Shuste-ris, Shusterovich, Shustorovich (also shoemakers, but in Yiddish);

Carpenter, Joiner, Stolyarov, Stolyarsky, Spichnik, Spichnikov;

Bondarev, Bondarevsky, Bondarenko, Bondar, Bocherov;

Gerber (leatherworker, tanner);

Kotlyar, Kotlyarenko, Kotlov, Kotler, Kotlyarevsky;

Kuznets, Kuznetsov, Schmidel, Schmidt, Shmitberg, Shmitov;

Blekher (tinsmith), Blyakher, Blekherov, Blekhman and Blyakhman;

Bulkin, Pekarev, Pekarsky, Pekarevsky, Baker, Peker, Pecker;

Glazer (glazier), Ilizer, Sklyansky, Steklov, Steklyar, Shklyar;

Krupetsky, Krupin, Krupman, Krupko, Krupnik, Krupnikov;

Malyar, Malyarevich, Farber;

Cooper (literally “copper” in Yiddish), Kuperberg, Kuperman, Kupershlak, Kupershlif, Kupershmid, Kuperstein, Kupershtokh, as well as Mednik, Mednikov;

Melnik, Melnikov, Melnikovsky, Melman, Keimakh (in Hebrew - “flour”);

Melkis (from the Yiddish word “melken” - to milk), Milkman, Molochnikov;

Voskov, Voskoboynik;

Beekeeper;

Shepherd, Pastukhov;

Sadovnikov;

Peltz (in Yiddish - casing), Peltsak, Peltzmacher (making casing);

Water carrier, Water carrier;

Rybakovs, Rybalov, Rybshtein, Fisher, Fishman, Fisherman;

Zeiger, Zeigerman (watchmaker);

Teller, Telerman, Telermacher (plate manufacturer);

Master, Maister, Craftsman, Maistruk;

Tobah (cook);

Tokar, Tokarsky, Tokar;

Tsirulnik, Tsirulnikov, Tsirulnitsky, Sher, Sherer, Sherman, Shern, Sherlis, Sherker (hairdresser);

Shlyapnikov, Shlyapin, Shlyapintokh;

Feldman (meaning "man working in the field");

Pharmacist, Doctor, Doctorovich;

Teacher.

From the “professional” list it is clear that there are not so many names associated with trade - there are much more names of artisans.

Separately, purely Jewish occupations should be noted: Melamed - “religious teacher”, Shadkhan, Shadkhen - “matchmaker”, Cantors, Kantorovichs, Khazans, Khazanovichs - “choristers, cantors in the synagogue”, Lamdins and Lamdmans - “students of the Torah”, Shulmans - “ synagogue regulars, active believers.” The surnames Shamis, Shames said that their ancestors were servants in the synagogue, Reznik, Reznikov, Shoikhet, Sheikhatovich - specialists in the ritual slaughter of livestock and poultry. Menakers inherited their surname from specialists in cleaning meat from forbidden fat, tendons, bruises in muscles, etc., Bodek - “meat quality checker,” and the surname Shub was an abbreviation that combined the two professions mentioned above: shoykhet u bodek.

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From the book The Jewish World [The most important knowledge about the Jewish people, their history and religion (litres)] author Telushkin Joseph

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Arina Vardi Your name and destiny Jewish names About Jewish and Israeli names Names popular in Israel can be divided into three types: - tanakhic (biblical) - such as Abraham, Rivka, Dvora, etc.; - coinciding with a certain word Hebrew language and

As you know, in ancient times people did not have surnames - only first names. The exception is the Holy Roman Empire, where noble people received surnames. In the Middle Ages, surnames were the prerogative of aristocrats and public people. However, this stratum covered a tiny part of the population, which did not affect the general trend of insignificant identification of the main mass of people.

Surnames arose in parallel with the emergence of an administrative mechanism that required more precise identification of a specific person. It is noteworthy that each nation has its own special tradition of forming surnames. Note that the word “nation” was used here for a reason. The phenomenon of giving a person a surname undoubtedly has its own historical, social and lexical roots. In fact, this topic is quite extensive. Therefore, in this article we will limit ourselves to briefly reviewing the most common Jewish surnames.

Since the end of the 18th century, the Jews of Europe received surnames

Most Jewish surnames (EF) arose following the Western European tradition, starting from the end of the 18th century (and this is precisely the time of the final formation of nations). States began to conduct censuses of their subjects. The official recording of Jewish surnames in Austria-Hungary began in 1797. In Germany, this process took place between 1807 and 1834.

However, some Jewish families were already using family surnames at that time. This exception was the nobility.

In the Middle Ages, representatives of the aristocracy and the scientific elite already had surnames. The well-born surnames of rabbis are known (Lurie, Kalonymus, Schiff). This state of affairs was facilitated by the clan traditions of the nobility associated with the genealogy of the clan.

However, the majority of Jews did not have surnames. For example, in France, until the reign of Bonaparte, no one obliged them to choose a surname for their identification. The mass “acquisition” of this personality requisite began precisely in those times. The meaning of Jewish surnames was consistent with the way of life of the people and their traditions.

Surnames of Jews in Russia

Jewish surnames appeared in Russia later than in France. According to documents, this process took place in the period 1804-1860. Often the basis for the formation of a surname was the person’s professional affiliation translated into Yiddish (for example, Melamed is a teacher, Schneider is a tailor). However, the classic pronunciation of the word was often distorted by various Yiddish dialects. In addition, the clerks, who were unfamiliar with this language, introduced their own errors into the classical name of the specialty named by the petitioner. So, for example, Malamet and Malamud could appear. A professional sign was not the only way to create a surname... We will return to this issue and consider it in more detail in this article.

Jewish surname - what is it?

Now it would be appropriate to present to your attention some extremely broad definition that would explain the concept of “Jewish surnames” in understandable language. It will be short.

So, these are surnames whose direct bearers are Jews, provided that they are not pseudonyms.

Thus, EFs have an integral feature: they indicate Jewish origin, this is important for understanding the essence of the topic! Following this logic, we cannot classify the surname of the writer Kaverin as Jewish, but we can classify his family surname - Zilber! At the same time, the surnames of Kissinger and Sverdlov are Jewish.

Groups of Jewish surnames

Having defined the phenomenon of EF, it would be logical to present some classification of them.

The first group includes common Jewish surnames that are unique to Jews: Chagall, Marshak, Etkind, Luzzatto. Obviously, they (these surnames) could not have arisen among non-Jews.

However, we are still forced to present other sets of surnames. After all, it is known that the carriers of the majority of EFs are both Jews and non-Jews. This is the second group of the EF. This includes, for example, Abramovich, Adler, Abulafia.

Also worth mentioning separately is a group of surnames of non-Jewish origin, the bearers of which, for the most part, were Jews (Novikov, Kravets).

The fourth group of EF includes those that, although they have the origin of Jewish surnames (in the classical sense), however, at present their carriers, for the most part, are non-Jews (Abramov, Romanov, Konstantinov). This group of surnames is quite numerous.

Concluding our brief classification of EFs, we should, as usual, mention exceptions to the rules. After all, you can make a mistake when you hear a person’s surname similar to a Jewish one. Despite the similar pronunciation, it is important to understand the pattern: those that carry Muslim or Christian semantic content in their content (Uspensky, Rozhdestvensky, Magomedov) cannot be classified as EF.

Exceptions also include purely Russian surnames with the ending -y, -them, characteristic of the Siberian ethnic group, such as: Deaf, Black. They are a product of the Siberian ethnic group.

In the future, we will focus on the characteristics of the first above-mentioned group of EF, which is characteristic specifically for the Jewish environment.

Beautiful Jewish surnames

Traditional, purely Jewish surnames are those that indicate the class characteristics of ancient Jewish society. As you know, there were three such classes: priests or priests (kohanim), flock (levevim) and am Yisrael - the rest of the people. This social division is a deep and revered tradition of the Jewish people.

Hence the surnames Cohen and Levi. Historically, in ancient times, there were always relatively few carriers of such EFs (after all, it is obvious that temples required a limited number of priests).

Belonging to the Cohen family later transformed into a much wider range of surnames: Koganov, Kaganovich, Kaganov, etc.

Another class also gave birth to a whole series of EFs: Levis, Levitans, Alevis, Levins. The meaning of these Jewish surnames is associated with national tradition. These are beautiful surnames. Often the fathers of Jewish families proudly tell their descendants that they are Leviim or Am Yisrael.

Surnames derived from the names and nicknames of parents

These EFs form a separate group. Some of them, as if in themselves, are the answer to the question that sounds incomparably in Russian: “Whose will you be?” The one who is asked answers: “Abramson,” that is, “son of Abram.” Similar Jewish surnames have a fairly simple design. The endings in them indicate kinship.

However, EFs are most often tied to the mother’s name. The reason is the distribution of work responsibilities in the average Jewish family of the 19th century. Traditionally, all household and economic issues were entrusted to the wife’s shoulders; she communicated a lot and resolved public issues. The Jewish woman worked endlessly, and at the same time her husband studied the Talmud after work.

Thus, the communicative function of the Jewish family with society was absolutely dominated by women. Accordingly, it was more natural for neighbors to determine the gender of their child by the mother’s name. If a woman’s name was Rivka, then, accordingly, both the son and the husband received the Rivkina surname as a “gift”. A whole series of surnames were created in a similar way: Malkins, Eskins, Leins. However, the mother’s child named Esther could well have been given the surname Esterkind (using the word “kinder” - child).

That is, kinship on the mother’s side is reflected by Jewish surnames, the endings of which are - in or -kind.

When creating the EF, personal epithets were also included. In everyday communication, they most often reflected existing street nicknames, given, for example, for the external differences of a person (family). Families prone to being overweight could well have received the surname Dicker (fat man) in the 19th century. Red-haired, freckled families - Roitman.

Geographical names in Jewish surnames

Often Jewish immigrants (and under conditions of persecution this was not uncommon) chose a surname based on the city or country from which they came. After all, this distinguished them from other members of the community, and therefore was in demand for identifying a person. Naturally, people living in a certain area were not given surnames corresponding to it. After all, the idea of a surname is to identify, not to generalize. Thus, the Polish-Jewish surnames were replenished with Posners - Jews who left Poznan, Warsawers - former residents of the capital of Poland.

Often such surnames sound in the Russian manner.

However, such logic is not always correct. For example, EF Engleder most likely indicates that its owner was trading with the British.

Jewish surnames based on profession

Jews have always taken an active social position, including production, trade, science, medicine, etc. A person who was a master of his craft was often given a surname corresponding to his professional skills. Most EFs of professional significance have a Russian or German basis. For example, Schumacher (shoemaker), Shkolnik (as the servant was called in the Ukrainian Orthodox Church).

However, there are Jewish surnames based on the Yiddish language. A list of some of them is given below.

	Person inspecting meat for kosher
	Synagogue elder
Balagula	Cab

	Kozhemyaka
Bronfman	Vodka producer
	Shoemaker
Eisenkremer	Ironmonger
Bibulnik	Manufacturer or trader in paper
	Cutter, tailor
	Shop owner, shopkeeper
	Speculator, trader

Non-Yiddish Jewish surnames are even more common. The list of them includes associations with various professions presented 150-200 years ago in the countries where Jews lived.

	Shoemaker (German)
	Bricklayer (German)
	Carver (German)
Zimmerman	Carpenter (German)
Headman	Village headman (Ukrainian)
	Saddler (German)
Shaposhnik	Manufacturer of hats (Russian)
Dyers	Painter (Russian)
	Oil press (Belarusian)
Sapozhnikov	Shoemaker (Russian)
	Tailor (Hungarian)
	Butcher (German)

German Jewish surnames, as we see from the table, are quite common.
This is explained by the geographical settlement of Jews at the beginning of the 19th century (when surnames were assigned to people). Based on this logic, a third of the Jewish population lived in German countries. Jewish surnames in Germanic countries most often end with -man. For example, Zilberman (silver man), Goldman (this EF, obviously, was appropriated by officials to wealthy people). It was in this way, at the discretion of the official, that German Jews were “rewarded” with surnames. It is obvious that the level of decency of the EF was equivalent to the bribe received by the official.

After all, those who did not pay the bribe could receive quite offensive surnames as a gift: Schnapser (drunkard), Knoblauch (garlic), etc.

Jewish surnames in Russia are not uncommon. We will only introduce famous financiers: Evgeniy Ashkenazi, Evzel Gintsburg, Samuil Polyakov.

Compound abbreviated surnames

Jews have used abbreviations since ancient times. Moreover, this was natural not only for farming, but also in human relations. Thus, the traditionally long ancient names of outstanding people who worked in the Middle Ages were initially shortened. Perhaps a surname created in this way is the most Jewish surname. Why? Yes, because it distinguished the family of a great man at a time when the plebeians used only names in their identification.

Let us give examples: philosopher, doctor, writer Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon (Spain, 12th century) is identified by the surname Rambam.

Likewise, a respected Jewish priest could earn the surname Katz (Kohen Tzedek, righteous priest).

“Well, it’s far away and also a long time ago!” - the Russians will say. However, this point of view is wrong. Who in Russia knows the children's poems of Samuil Marshak? What do you think is the origin of this surname? This is an abbreviation. It consists of a number of words: Moreinu (our teacher), Rabbi; Shlomo (name), Qaidany (city where the rabbi lived).

Surnames of Russian Jews

Some researchers believe that the Slavic suffix included in the surname during its formation -sky(and -ich) distinguishes Russian Jewish surnames. However, it is not. In this case, we are dealing with EFs of Polish and Ukrainian origin.

In fact, when Jews came to Russia, they changed their surnames, assimilating to the absolutely predominant Russian language. For this they used other - “Russian” - suffixes: -in, -ev, -ov. In particular, the surname Arlazorov was created in a similar way (obviously a derivative of the name Elazar). However, in Russia there was an administrative practice of “mandatory” introduction of such suffixes for immigrants.

Surnames and Hebrew

It is obvious that such EFs as the Rabinskys and Rabinoviches appeared in a family where the ancestor was a rabbi (in Hebrew, rabbi). However, traditional Jewish surnames were often chosen by people familiar with literacy.

So, in particular, EF Yoffe translated into Hebrew means “beautiful” (if we remember the Russian academician who bears this last name, then it is worth mentioning his obvious fame as a heartthrob).

The surname Bernes identifies a person literate in Hebrew and Aramaic. Bar (aram) means son, and nes (Hebrew) means miracle. Indeed, the famous Soviet singer was characterized by the miracle of heartfelt communication with people. He was so sincere that it was impossible not to believe the words of his songs.

And EF Rachmaninov owes its origin to the Hebrew “Rahman” (merciful - one of God’s names). Indeed, isn’t the music of the composer crowned with this name divine!

Instead of a conclusion

Jewish surnames contain a lot of interesting information. From them one can determine the circumstances of the family’s life. Where did he come from, what social stratum should he belong to.

Let us provide some statistical information directly on the topic of this article. Recent studies conducted by the Israeli Ministry of Internal Affairs found that the most common EF in the country is Cohen (1.93% of the population), then Levi (1.12%). The third most common name was taken by the surname Mizrahi.

The trend in changing the surnames of repatriates from the USSR was the replacement of the process of Hebrewization of surnames by replacing them with double ones, which also included the Soviet version of the surname.

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