Jewish names, specifically one's given name, have varied over time and by location and

ethnic group An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

. Other types of names used by Jewish people include the

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

and the religious name known as the Hebrew name.

Given names

Given names, also known as "first names," have a range of customs within different Jewish ethnic groups. Common given names, however, remain similar in many parts of the Jewish community, with many of them based on figures in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

Ashkenazi customs

In stark contrast to Sephardi customs, Ashkenazim have a longstanding

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

about naming a child after a living person. Instead, only a deceased relative's name may be used. According to this superstition, naming a child after a living person could appear as though you are waiting for that person to die. This practice is rooted in Jewish custom and has no standing in Jewish law. While not many Jewish people necessarily believe in the superstition per se, the lack of precedence makes practices such as a (living) father naming his son after himself an unusual occurrence for Ashkenazim. A peculiarity of

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

names for

Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium CE. They traditionally speak Yiddish, a language ...

was recording legal names in diminutive form. These diminutive forms could be either

hypocoristic A hypocorism ( or ; from Ancient Greek ; sometimes also ''hypocoristic''), or pet name, is a name used to show affection for a person. It may be a diminutive form of a person's name, such as '' Izzy'' for Isabel or '' Bob'' for Robert, or it ...

s (pet names) or deprecative. This tradition was more widespread for female names rather than for male names. There was a wide variety of suffixes added to a normative form of the name. Depending on the country of residence, the suffixes were borrowed into Yiddish, e.g., from German, Russian, Polish, Belarusian, etc. languages. In many cases these suffixed were used to create nicknames from regular words.5.2. YIDDISH NAMES
from the project "GIVEN NAMES, JUDAISM, AND JEWISH HISTORY" of

JewishGen JewishGen is a non-profit organization founded in 1987 as an international electronic resource for Jewish genealogy. In 2003, JewishGen became an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York ...

Some examples: Leiba, Leibuța (Romanian-language) from Leib, Berele or Bereleyn from Berl/ Berel, Khaytsi, Chayka from Chaya, Rivka from Riva which itself was from

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

, Motke, Mordkhe, or Mordka from

Mordechai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is the cousin and guardian of Esther, who became queen of Persia under the reign of Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). Mordecai's loyalty and ...

, Feygele, Faygele from Feigl/Foigl ("bird", which could also be used as a female name), etc. ''See also'' Bilingual Hebrew-Yiddish tautological names

Surnames

While many surnames are associated with Jewish people in the United States, there are only three surnames rooted in ancient Jewish culture:

Kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

(or Cohen), Levy, and

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. These names originate with the Israelite tribes which bear the same name. Variations on these names are common and most often reflect different ways of

transliterating Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus '' trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → and → the digraph , Cyrillic → , Armenian → or La ...

the Hebrew version. Apart from these original surnames, the surnames of Jewish people of the present have typically reflected family history and their ethnic group within the Jewish people.

Sephardic Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

communities began to take on surnames in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

(specifically c.10th and 11th centuries), and these surnames reflect the languages spoken by the Sephardic subset of the Jewish diaspora, including Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

Ashkenazi Ashkenazi Jews ( ; also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim) form a distinct subgroup of the Jewish diaspora, that Ethnogenesis, emerged in the Holy Roman Empire around the end of the first millennium Common era, CE. They traditionally spe ...

communities of Northern and Eastern Europe, however, did not take on surnames until later (c.14th and 15th centuries). As with many other European communities, it was not unusual for a surname of this time period to reflect patrilineal relationships (e.g. Abraham's son --> Abramson, Abramsohn, etc.).

Hebrew name

The Hebrew name is a Jewish practice rooted in the practices of early Jewish communities and

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

. This Hebrew name is used for religious purposes, such as when the child is called to read the Torah at their

b'nei mitzvah A ''bar mitzvah'' () or ''bat mitzvah'' () is a coming of age ritual in Judaism. According to Halakha, Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, the parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age ...

. The baby's name is traditionally announced during the ''

brit milah The ''brit milah'' (, , ; "Covenant (religion), covenant of circumcision") or ''bris'' (, ) is Religion and circumcision, the ceremony of circumcision in Judaism and Samaritanism, during which the foreskin is surgically removed. According to t ...

'' (circumcision ceremony) for male babies, typically on the eighth day after his birth. Female babies may also have a naming ceremony, known by several different names, including ''

zeved habat ''Zeved habat'' ( - ''Gift of the Daughter'') or ''Simchat Bat'' (Hebrew: - ''Celebration of the Daughter'') is the Jewish naming ceremony for newborn girls. The details of the celebration varies somewhat by Jewish community and will typically ...

, b'rit bat'', and ''b'rit chayim''. This may be held between 7 and 30 days after her birth. The Hebrew name follows a particular format that reflects gender: * Male: ebrew given name''ben'' arents' Hebrew given names** Example: Abraham ''ben'' David ''v''Sarah * Female: ebrew given name''bat'' arents' Hebrew given names** Example: Leah ''bat'' David ''v''Sarah * Neutral: ebrew given name''mibeit'' or ''mimishpachat'' arents' Hebrew given names** Example: Lior ''mibeit'' David ''v''Sarah OR Lior ''mimishpachat'' David ''v''Sarah The chosen Hebrew name can be related to the child's secular given name, but it does not have to be. The name is typically

Biblical The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) biblical languages ...

or based in

Modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew (, or ), also known as Israeli Hebrew or simply Hebrew, is the Standard language, standard form of the Hebrew language spoken today. It is the only surviving Canaanite language, as well as one of the List of languages by first w ...

. For those who convert to Judaism and thus lack parents with Hebrew names, their parents are given as

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

and

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...

, the first Jewish people of the Hebrew Bible. Those adopted by Jewish parents use the names of their adoptive parents.

References

Bibliography

* * * * G. Buchanan

Gray Grey (more frequent in British English) or gray (more frequent in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning that it has no chroma. It is the color of a cloud-covered s ...

, ''Hebrew Proper Names'', London, 1898; * T. Nöldeke, in ''Cheyne and Black, Encyc. Bibl.'' (with extensive bibliography). Talmudic: Schorr, in '' He-Ḥaluẓ'', vol. ix.; * Hirsch Perez Chajes, ''Beiträge zur Nordsemitischen Onomatologie''; *

Bacher Bacher is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adam Bacher (born 1973), South African cricketer *Ali Bacher (born 1942), South African cricketer and cricket official *Dominik Bacher (born 2002), German footballer *Edvard Bacher (187 ...

, in ''R. E. J.'' xiv. 42–47. Modern: ''Andræe, Zur Volkskunde der Juden'', pp. 120–128; * Zunz, ''Namen der Juden'', in Ges. Schriften, ii. 1-82; *

Löw Löw (or Loew) is a surname of German or Yiddish origin. Another romanization of the Yiddish name לייב is Leib. It may refer to: People * Benjamin Wolf Löw (1775–1851), a Polish-Hungarian rabbi * Franklin M. Loew (1939–2003), a veterina ...

, ''Lebensalter'', pp. 92–109; * ''Orient, Lit.'' vi. 129–241; vii. 42, 620; *

Steinschneider Moritz Steinschneider (; 30 March 1816 – 24 January 1907) was a Moravian bibliographer and Orientalist, and an important figure in Jewish studies and Jewish history. He is credited as having invented the term ''antisemitism.'' Education Mo ...

, in ''Hebr. Bibl.'' pp. 556, 962; ** idem, in ''Z. D. M. G.'' xxxii. 91; * Hyamson, ''Jewish Surnames'', in ''Jewish Literary Annual'', 1903, pp. 53–78; * M. Sablatzky, ''Lexikon der Pseudonymen Hebr. Schriftsteller'', Berdychev, 1902. * ''What’s in a Name? 25 Jewish Stories''.

Jewish Museum of Switzerland The Jewish Museum of Switzerland in Basel provides an overview of the religious and everyday history of the Jews in Basel and Switzerland using objects of ritual, art and everyday culture from Middle Ages, the Middle Ages to the present. Hist ...

, 2022, ISBN 978-3-907262-34-4

External links

List of Hebrew given names at Wiktionary

GABIN List of Jewish surnames, from a Polish Business Directory

Family Names of the Jews of Ethiopia - The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot

My Hebrew Name Database

Origins of a number of Ashkenazi Jewish surnames
{{Personal names by culture *Name Name Jewish society Jewish genealogy