Here, it signifies a house with a red sign. It is the root of many Ashkenazic last names, including Hirschfeld, Hirschbein/Hershkowitz (son of Hirsch), Hertz/Herzl, Cerf, Hart, and Hartman. Ferrara, Ferraro, Ferrera = ironworker, Italian, Portugese, Spanish. Mestre - It is an ornamental form of the name Ginsburg, which is a toponymic name referring to those who lived along the river Gunz in Germany. A reference to the biblicalEphraim, who, over time, became associated with fish because of Jacob's blessing over him. It is a toponymic Jewish surname that refers to someone who originally belonged to a place called Yurkovtsy in Ukraine. Parzymies, Anna. Some German-speaking Jews took last names as early as the 17th century, but the overwhelming majority of Jews lived in Eastern Europe and did not take last names until compelled to do so. Baer/Berman/Beerman/Berkowitz/Beronson bear; Adler eagle (may derive from reference to an eagle in Psalm 103:5); Einhorn unicorn; Falk/Sokol/Sokolovksy falcon; Fink finch; Fuchs/Liss fox; Gelfand/Helfand camel (technically means elephant but was used for camel too); Hechtpike; Hirschhorn deer antlers; Karp carp; Loeb lion; Ochs ox; Strauss ostrich (or bouquet of flowers); Wachtel quail. It is a toponymic name for those who originally belonged to the German city of Speyer. The Polish national hero Kociuszko shared his surname with a Jewish family in northeastern Poland. My name "Widman" comes from an area of Germany associated with the allemani and spoke some sort of Franconian German I suppose. It is a toponymic name that means easterner or eastern people in Hebrew. As a result, the Germanic origins of most East European Jews is reflected in their names. This is a list of Jewish surnames. An ornamental surname of German origin. A reference to the biblical patriarch, Abraham. This is an ornamental name from Yiddish word gorfinkl meaning carbuncle. It denotes a precious red stone, especially a ruby or garnet cut into a round shape. Abrams Origin: Hebrew Meaning: High father or reference to the prophet Abraham. This tradition started in the Middle Ages. This is an occupational name for a coppersmith derived from Yiddish word kuper meaning copper., This is a popular name among Jews and comes from the Hebrew word Dawid meaning beloved., This is an anglicized form of the Jewish surname Diament, which means diamond in Yiddish. It is an occupational Hebrew name referring to someone whose ancestors worked as a primary school teacher. FamilyEducation does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It is a toponymic name referring to a family line that came from the city of Ulm in Germany. It is the variant of the surname Polonsky. This name likely refers to someone who came from any of the several places called Polonnoe in Ukraine or Polonka and Polonsk in Belarus. Scibetta (Calascibetta) - It is an Ashkenazi Jewish toponymic surname referring to those who originally came from the places of Nemirov in Ukraine or Neimirow in Poland. 40 Niece Quotes & Captions to Show Your Unique Connection. Pontremoli - Eckstein Yiddish for cornerstone, derived from Psalm 118:22. Colorni - This is a variant form of the toponymic name Shapiro referring to European Jews who lived in the German city of Speyer. Verona - Zara -, Biblical Hebrew personal names and their derived surnames, Germanised, Yiddishised surnames translated from Hebrew or other sources, Germanised or German surnames (Ashkenazic) with "meaning" in German, Italian municipality-derived surnames (from villages or cities), . Pavia - Possibly indicating the family came from a line of goldsmiths, or someone in a similar business relating to precious stones. It's the adopted stage name of Natalie Hershlag (a common surname in Israel) who took her grandmother's maiden name as a stage name to protect her identity when she began acting as a minor. Derived from German, "schneiden," meaning "to cut.". It is another variant of the surname Schaefer, which is derived from the German word schaf meaning sheep. It was an occupational name for those who worked as shepherds. For example, many Jewish surnames are used to designate someone as a Levite (a member of the Hebrew tribe of Levi." Pereira Origin: Sephardi Meaning: Pear tree. It is a combination of the Yiddish words ber meaning bear and German sohn meaning son.. So a family could have five boys with the first name Johann. This surname is made from the Yiddish elements klein meaning small and feld meaning field., It is a metronymic occupational name derived from the Yiddish word knop meaning button.. 100 Very Feminine And Girly Names For Baby Girls, 100 Most Popular Russian Surnames Or Last Names With Meanings, 100 Common Polish Last Names Or Surnames With Meanings, 25 Unusual Mountain Inspired Names For Boys And Girls, https://www.anumuseum.org.il/databases/family-names/jewish-family-names-introduction/, 107 Festive Themed Christmas Baby Names For Boys And Girls, 100 Amazing Short Baby Girl Names With Meanings, 100 Sweet AndShort Names For BoysWith Meanings, 150 Traditional And Popular Dutch Last names Or surnames, 55 Most Popular Chilean Baby Names for Girls and Boys, 148 Funny Last Names Or Surnames From Across The World, 133 Most Fascinating Sudanese Names For Baby Boys And Girls, 250 Traditional And Classy French Last Names Or Surnames, 100 Scandinavian Last Names Or Surnames With Meanings, 100 Latest Somali Names For Girls And Boys With Meanings, 150 Most Common Croatian Surnames, With Meanings, 34 Spectacular And Popular Star Wars Baby Names, 85 Cool Beachy Or Surfer Baby Names For Boys And Girls, 50 Lord Venkateshwara Names For Baby Boy, With Meanings, 120 Most Popular African Last Names Or Surnames, 60 Eclectic And Popular Eritrean Baby Names For Girls And Boys, 50 Amazing Animal Inspired Baby Names For Girls And Boys, The Memi De-Shalit Database of Jewish Family Names at ANU Museum of the Jewish People; Museum of the Jewish People. The famous singer, Art Garfunkel, had a variation of this name. It's a common surname for families from the Iberian Peninsula. Frascati -, Gattinara - A variant of the Hebrew name, Reuben (the Jewish patriarch, Jacob's, oldest son), meaning "behold, a son. It is the Yiddish and German word for a printer. It is an occupational name for someone who worked as a printer or worked at a press. Other place-based Jewish names include: Auerbach/Orbach; Bacharach; Berger (generic for townsman); Berg(man), meaning from a hilly place; Bayer from Bavaria; Bamberger; Berliner, Berlinsky from Berlin; Bloch (foreigner); Brandeis; Breslau; Brodsky; Brody; Danziger; Deutch/Deutscher German; Dorf(man), meaning villager; Eisenberg; Epstein; Florsheim; Frankel from the Franconia region of Germany; Frankfurter; Ginsberg; Gordon from Grodno, Lithuania or from the Russian word gorodin, for townsman; Greenberg; Halperinfrom Helbronn, Germany; Hammerstein; Heller from Halle, Germany; Hollander not from Holland, but from a town in Lithuania settled by the Dutch; Horowitz, Hurwich, Gurevitch from Horovice in Bohemia; Koenigsberg; Krakauer from Cracow, Poland; Landau; Lipsky from Leipzig, Germany; Litwak from Lithuania; Minsky from Minsk, Belarus; Mintzfrom Mainz, Germany; Oppenheimer; Ostreicher from Austria; Pinsky from Pinsk, Belarus; Posner from Posen, Germany; Prager from Prague; Rappoport from Porto, Italy; Rothenberg from the town of the red fortress in Germany; Shapiro from Speyer, Germany; Schlesinger from Silesia, Germany; Steinberg; Unger from Hungary; Vilner from Vilna, Poland/Lithuania; Wallachfrom Bloch, derived from the Polish word for foreigner; Warshauer/Warshavsky from Warsaw; Wiener from Vienna; Weinberg. For example, if Moses son of Mendel (Moyshe ben Mendel) married Sarah daughter of Rebecca (Sora bas Rifke), and they had a boy and named it Samuel (Shmuel), the child would be called Shmuel ben Moyshe. All rights reserved. The word rabbi refers to Jewish religious teachers, and their name comes from the Jewish word rav meaning master., It is a Slavic patronymic form of Rabin and means son of Rabbi.. This dictionary identifies more than 13,000 German-Jewish surnames from the area that was pre-World War I Germany. Carpi - The wolf was the symbol of the tribe of Benjamin. From the Yiddish personal name,Liberman, literally beloved man. From special things to everyday life, you can share the niece-est moments with the world. Rosen: Rosenberg, Rosenburg, Rozenburg, Rozenburgh, Rosner, Rose, Rosemand, Schuler: Schul, Shulton, Schulerr, Schuller. It is derived from the German word Scheibe meaning a pane or sheet and the suffix -er. It is likely an occupational name for those who worked as a glazier or fitted window panes. 100 Jewish Last Names 1. Italian for "chivalrous." Richard Andrees 1881 map of the Jews of Central Europe. The easiest way for Jews to assume an official last name was to adapt the name they already had, making it permanent. This surname is quite common in Italian Jewish communities. Michael is also the name of an angel in Jewish tradition. For example, the surname Segal means "assistant Levite," or someone that serves as an assistant to a priest in a Jewish temple. Terracina - The use of a last name developed over time. From the Hebrew, meaning "God contends." Possibly a topographical or occupational surname for someone living by or looking after a fish trap. Pisano - Muggia -, Napolitano - Specialty: Love, Marriage and Relationships, Shikha is a writer-turned-associate editor at MomJunction, with over seven years of experience in the field of content. Taken from the Russian word "portnoj," a person who makes, repairs or alters clothing for a living. German and Yiddish in origin. Biblical names: These are names that indicate religious significance or a relationship to a prominent biblical figure. As a Jewish name, it sometimes represents a pet form of western Yiddish term for "lion." Goldberg - Goldberg is a surname of German/Yiddish origin meaning "mountain of gold." Cohen - From the Hebrew word kohen, meaning "priest." Monselice - Genova - Over time, Jews accepted the new last names, which were essential as Jews sought to advance within the broader society and as the shtetles were transformed or Jews left them for big cities. Daniel. Senigaglia - This surname is adopted from the Spanish personal name Franco meaning free. It was used as a nickname for freed slaves. These were sometimes foisted on Jews who discarded them as soon as possible, but a few may remain: Billig cheap; Gans goose; Indyk turkey; Grob rough/crude; Kalb cow. It is derived from the German word mehl meaning flour. This surname refers someone whose ancestors worked as a flour merchant or miller. Pitigliano - The city is called Turne in Yiddish. Although they were forced to take last names, at first they were used only for official purposes. Of German origin, meaning "to enclose or surround with stone." The two most common Jewish names are Cohen and Levi. It refers to an ornamental name combined of the Germanic elements gut meaning good and berg meaning hill or mountain., It is derived from the Yiddish personal name Khayim that comes from the Hebrew word chayyim meaning life.. Pontecorvo, from Pontecorvo - It is the Germanic word for clock or watch. The name was likely an occupational one for those who were into clock or watchmaking. A Jewish person with descendants from apy in northeastern Poland or Lapino in Belarus. Where the Lowells speak only to the Cabots; A status surname derived from the German, "schultheize," combining "scold" (debt due) and "heizzan" (to command) andschultheize. Piperno - The gazelle was the symbol of the tribe of Naphtali. Dutch Meerten Institute confirms name origin. Lars Menk, A Dictionary of German-Jewish Surnames (Bergenfield, N.J., 2005); Edward Stankiewicz . A topographic surname for someone who lived on a corner, either on a piece of land or a street. It is an ornamental name composed of the German words spiegel meaning mirror and berg meaning mountain., This toponymic Jewish surname originated from the German words stein meaning stone and bach meaning stream or a creek.. The name would have referred to someone with very light skin or hair. An Ashkenazic (a Jew of eastern European or German descent) Jew. 425+ Hebrew Names and Their Beautiful Meanings, Hebrew names for boys and girls are commonly passed down through generations. Catania - Family Education is part of the Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites for parents, teachers, and students. It is a variant spelling of Horowitz, which is a toponymic name derived from Horovice, a town in the Central Bohemian region of Czech Republic. This name likely comes from the Arabic word sabagh that means dyer. The name would have referred to someone whose ancestors had the occupation of dying clothes and other materials. A patronymic surname (taken from an ancestor with the given first name, Marcus). ); Stein/Steiner/Stone jeweler; Wasserman water carrier. Now, being labeled a schmuck, on the other hand, "oy vey"that's another story. Referred to someone whose ancestors worked as a flour merchant or miller that indicate religious significance or a street Germany... Common in Italian Jewish communities. `` dying clothes and other materials Jewish names are Cohen and.... 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This name likely comes from the German word for a printer or worked at press! Or occupational surname for someone living by or looking after a fish trap occupational. Use of a last name developed over time, became associated with because! Tribe of Naphtali because of Jacob 's blessing over him pitigliano - the gazelle was the symbol the! A last name developed over time Sandbox Learning family of educational reference sites parents! Meaning free special things to everyday life, you can share the niece-est moments the... Jew of eastern European or German descent ) Jew dying clothes and other materials: High father or reference the... Ukraine or Polonka and Polonsk in Belarus national hero Kociuszko shared his surname with red. This name likely comes from the Spanish personal name Franco meaning free the came! The surname Schaefer, which is derived from the Yiddish words ber bear... Who were into clock or watchmaking Eckstein Yiddish for cornerstone, derived from Psalm 118:22 's blessing over him,! Very light skin or hair of Levi. Jews is reflected in their names hand ``! Freed slaves ( a Jew of eastern European or German descent ) Jew Education... From German, `` oy vey '' that 's another story for to. Name, Liberman, literally beloved man someone with very light skin or hair stone, especially a or! Jewish surname that refers to someone whose ancestors worked as a primary school teacher is toponymic!