Russian Jewish surnames starting with the letter a. Jewish surnames. Jewish surnames in Russia. Common Jewish Surnames. Georgian Jewish surnames

Alexander Lokshin

Topic " Jewish names and surnames" is extensive and immense. In this article, we will touch on only some of the Jewish surnames common among European Jews - Ashkenazi Jews. Their surnames in their own way reflected the historical fate of the people who found themselves in different countries who spoke in different languages and surrounded by different cultures and peoples.

The most common Jewish surnames

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

In the Russian Empire, the Slavic endings "ovich", "ov" or "skiy" were used. Hence such surnames as, for example, Kogan, Kaganovich, Kaganov, Kagansky.

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

Among the Levites, the surname formed from their title could take the form of Levi, Leviticus, Levita. From these options, the surnames Levitin, Levitan, Levin, Levinsky, Levinson, Levites, Levitansky, etc. could later be formed. There are also surnames-abbreviations indicating their origin from the Levites: Segal (with variations of Chagall, Sagal, Sigal and derivatives Sagalovich, Shagalov, etc.) This is an abbreviation for “segan leviya”, that is, “assistant Levite”.

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

Surnames of Jews in Europe. Late 18th - early 19th century

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

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

The first state in which the obligatory assignment of surnames to Jews was introduced was the Austrian Empire. In 1787, Joseph II issued a law requiring all Jews in the empire to have surnames. At the same time, they had to be approved by local officials. If a Jew did not choose his own surname on his own, then it was assigned by force - at the choice of the official himself. In Galicia, which is far from the center, this right of officials - to assign surnames at their discretion - has become a source of abuse. Bribes were extorted from Jews for the right to receive a euphonious surname, and those who did not have the means for this were assigned surnames with offensive or comic meaning - such as Krautkopf ("cabbage head"), Drachenblut (" dragon blood”), etc., up to completely offensive ones, like Kanalgerukh (“ditch stink”) or Bleder (“moonhead, dumbass”).

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

Jewish surnames in the Russian Empire

In Russia, the obligatory nature of surnames was introduced by the Regulations on Jews in 1804. However, the implementation of this article was slow. And the authorities were forced to include a similar article in the new Statute on the Jews of 1835. And according to the law of 1850, Jews were forbidden to change their surname even when switching to another religion.

Many of the new surnames were of geographical origin, with the formant "s(c)ki(y)", sometimes with a shift of stress relative to the original toponym or alternation: Byaloblotsky, Urdominsky, Varshavsky...

Another series was made up of patronymic surnames, that is, those derived from male personal names - with the formant "ovich / evich": Abramovich, Yakubovich, Levkovich, etc.

Patronymic surnames

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

As a surname, not only the so-called sacred names could be used (this term is understood as biblical or any other Hebrew in origin), but not a large number of names borrowed by Jews in the Biblical or Talmudic era, such as the Greek - Alexander - or the Babylonian in origin - Mordechai. In Hebrew, such a name was called shem ha-kodesh, which translates exactly as “sacred name”, and in Yiddish - oifruf nomen, from the verb “oifrufn” - “to call”, since it was this name that was used when a Jew was called to read in the synagogue Torah.

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

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

As an example, let's point to such Ashkenazi names as Gotgilf (translation into German of the name Eliezer, that is, "God's help"), Gutman (literally " good man”, an approximate translation of the name Tobiah), Friedman (“peaceful person”, translation of the name Shalom / Shlomo), etc.

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

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

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

Many personal names XIX century fell into disuse and survived only as surnames. These are the names of Axelrod and Bondy. (But the names Ber, Hirsch, Wolf are common among the religious Jews of Israel and America today.) When at the beginning of the 19th century the Jews of the "Pale of Settlement" received surnames, these names were artificially taken from the biblical text and accepted as hereditary surnames.

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

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

Some patronymic surnames of Russian Jews are a diminutive form of a personal name with the suffix "chik": Abramchik, Rubinchik (on behalf of Ruven), Vigdorchik (on behalf of Avigdor), etc.

We will talk about other Jewish surnames that reflect personal characteristics, character traits or appearance traits of carriers, descended from personal female names, professions, and the so-called artificial surnames, as well as more about abbreviated surnames, we will talk another time.

Alexander LOKSHIN, Russia

The study of Jewish surnames should begin with the history of their origin, origin and formation. Until about the 18th century, most of the Jews who lived on the territory of the Russian Empire and in Western and Eastern Europe did not have surnames. The process of the appearance of surnames among Jews was actively developed after, at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries. in a number of European countries, as well as in the Russian Empire, laws were passed that obligated Jews to have surnames without fail. The variety of Jewish surnames is currently so great, because state authorities they pushed the Jews to urgently acquire surnames, for some they were appointed by officials, some during the census they themselves chose to choose a surname for themselves. In the article, we intend to consider the main types of Jewish surnames, raise questions of their origin, the history of formation, and also give a list, a list of popular Jewish surnames.

Jewish surnames derived from kohen andlevy

In the estate of Jewish clergy, two titles were common - Cohen and Levi. These statuses were passed from father to son, through the male line, as a result of which, over time, he began to be unambiguously perceived as a family nickname, from which many Jewish surnames Levi and Cohen were formed. These surnames Levy and Cohen turned out to be the initial product for the formation of a number of other Jewish surnames. The following Jewish surnames originated from the Jewish surname Cohen: Kaganer, Kogan, Kagan, Kon, Kaganman, Kan, Kaganovich, Koganovich, Kaganov, Koganov, Kagansky, Kaplan, Katz, etc. ". The ancient Jewish surname Levi, in turn, gave rise to many other Jewish surnames: Levinson, Levit, Levin, Levitin, Levitan, Levita, Levinsky, Levitansky. The meanings of all these Jewish surnames also come down to the title "Levi" in Judaism.

This group of Jewish surnames, along with the group of Jewish surnames formed from geographical names, has become the most common. According to statistics, the surname Levin was the most common among the Jews of the USSR, while the surname Kogan occupied the honorable second place in the Soviet Union in terms of prevalence among Jewish surnames. In the modern state of Israel, the surname Cohen has more than 3% of the Jewish population, and it is the most common in Israel , the surname Levi is in second place in modern Israel in terms of prevalence, its carriers are 1.6% of the Jews of Israel.

Jewish surnames derived from male names

Jewish surnames derived from female names

Jewish surnames derived from the profession

Jewish surnames derived from the names of animals

Jewish surnames formed from place names

Jewish surnames formed from the appearance or character of the carrier

The ancient Jews did not have surnames, they managed with names, patronymics and nicknames. We found out where the Jews got their surnames from, what is common between the Cohens and the Levins, the Shusters and the Sandlers.

No surnames

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

Since the names could often be repeated, 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, the Jews often had nicknames (Shapiro - handsome, Ioffe - handsome), which also added specifics when recognizing.

Jews began to receive surnames only at the end of the 18th century. In 1787, Emperor Joseph II of Austria issued a law requiring all Jews to have hereditary surnames. Their receipt immediately began to grow into a web of corruption: they demanded money from the Jews for good sonorous surnames, in case of refusal they could assign surnames far from euphony and honor. Such, for example, as Krautkopf (cabbage head) or Oksenschwanz (oxtail).

In Russia, it was Gavriil Romanovich Derzhavin who proposed to give Jewish surnames. At the same time, he insisted that they should sound “in a Little Russian way” and reflect not only the character of a person, but also the attitude of the authorities towards him. Secretive received the names Intricate or Zamyslyuk, disputed 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 forbidden to change their surnames, even if they converted to another faith.

Coens and Levy

The first and to this day the most common Jewish surnames are Cohen and Levy. Cohanim - the Jewish class of clergymen, levi - assistants to clergymen. These statuses were passed on to the Jews through the paternal line, so they began to be perceived by other peoples as a family nickname.

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

Surnames formed from "cohen" and "levi" are still the most common Jewish surnames today. Among the Jews of the former USSR, the most common surname is Levin, followed by Kogan. In Israel, 2.52% of the population have the surname Cohen, 1.48% Levi.

Where are you from?

A large number of Jewish surnames have a toponomic etymology, which is not surprising, given the fact that Jews often found themselves settlers in other places. So, a person who arrived from Austria could get 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" (Gomel, Shklovsky), the suffix "-ov". For example, the Jewish surnames Sverdlov and Lioznov are formed respectively from the names of the towns of Sverdly and Liozno in the Vitebsk region, Sarnov - from the name of the town of Sarny in the present Rivne region).

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

What is your profession?

Many Jewish surnames come from the names professional activity. So, for example, the surnames Portnov, Hyatt, Schneider and Schneiderman are related, since they originated from the same word “tailor”, such surnames as Schuster, Sandler, Shvets originated from “shoemaker”. The Jewish surname Melamed is translated as "religious teacher", Mogel - "master of circumcision", Shadkhan - matchmaker.

Men, women

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

A large group of Jewish surnames are surnames formed from "kinnui" - household names (Jews also have " holy name”, which is called “shem kadosh”). So, for example, the surname Marx is the German form of the name Markus, used as kinnui for the name Mordechai, the surname Lobrozo is kinnui for the name Uria, Benveniste is kinnui for the name Shalom.

In addition, surnames could be formed by the names of close relatives on the paternal and maternal lines, as well as by 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 the formation of surnames, then it is necessary to single out abbreviated surnames. They contain information about their carriers in a special way.

For example, the surname Zak stands for “zera kadoshim”, that is, “the seed of the saints”, the surname Marshak is an abbreviation for “Morenu Raben 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 the place of residence, profession or kinship of a person. Often there are also so-called decorative or ornamental surnames. Usually they were formed from the roots of the German language or the roots of Yiddish. The 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 have been derived from the name precious stones and materials for jewelry. Finkelstein - sparkling stone, Bernstein - amber, Perelstein - pearl, Sapir - sapphire, Edelstein - precious stone.

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

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

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

The largest type of formation of Jewish surnames is considered to be the occurrence of a geographical name. Suffixes were added to the names of cities, towns and other settlements, as a result such popular surnames were formed as: Rosenthal, Birnbaum, Lemberg, Sverdlov, Klebanov, Podolsky. Some of them do not even sound like Jewish, reminiscent of the sound of the German, the original Russian. But the dictionary of Jewish surnames is stubborn: all of the above are exclusively the surnames of the "sons of Israel."

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

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

Artificial creation of surnames

This type of origin of Jewish surnames is particularly interesting. Surnames that have arisen with the help of this type are distinguished by consonance and beautiful meaning.

A bit of history. While on the territory of the Russian Empire and in Europe, Jews forcibly and quickly needed to decide on a surname, many began to artificially create a surname for themselves by adding such roots: "rose" - rose, "gold" - gold, " bloom" - flower, "matte" - stone. The list of these surnames is very large, among their carriers there are often respected and popular people.

Jewish surnames in Russia

Until the 18th century, there were actually no Jews on the territory of the Russian Empire, they began to appear during the time of Catherine 2. Until the 19th century, Jews mentioned in Russian historical documents were simply marked with personal names. But, as mentioned above, in 1802 the legislation obliged the Jews to have surnames, for this the “Regulations on the Jews” was even created by the Committee and approved by Alexander 1.

The motives prescribed in this Regulation were established "for the better arrangement of their civil condition, for the most convenient protection of their property and for the resolution of litigation between them." Later, another opportunity to find a surname to your liking was provided by the legislation of the Soviet Union. According to it, all citizens were allowed to change their surnames, which also applied to Jews. Some of them decided to change their surname to Russian in order to better adapt to Russian society and build a career, but most did not.

Beautiful Jewish surnames

Jews have a lot of beautiful surnames, here are a few examples that the dictionary of Jewish surnames contains, they are the most popular:

• Stern is a star;
• Zweig - branch;
• Bloom is a flower;
• Zeev - wolf;
• Arye - lion;
• Dov - bear;
• Schwartz - black;
• Weiss - white;
• Yoffe - beautiful;
• Superfin - very beautiful;
• Muterperel - sea pearl;
• Rosenzweig - rose branch;
• Rubinstein - ruby ​​stone;
• Goldenberg - golden mountain;
• Goldenblum is a golden flower.

Female Jewish surnames

Among all Jewish surnames, there is a type that was created on the basis of female names. AT Jewish people women have always been and still are leading. For example, nationality is inherited exclusively through the maternal line. This is also evidenced by the fact that in many prayers in Judaism it is customary to call the one for whom a person is praying, mainly by the name of the mother.

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

Jewish surnames derived from male names

The simplest form of this type is to use a male given name as a surname without changing it. For example: Solomon Moses.

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

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

Interesting and unusual Jewish surnames

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

Among the famous owners is Samuil Marshak, known to every Soviet child. Boris Burda is a TV presenter who knows how to talk about any dish so tasty and simply that you want to drop everything and rush to the kitchen to produce a culinary masterpiece. And let it turn out not as beautiful as the master's - it will not affect the taste.

Video: Jewish surnames