Leib is a given name, and (less often) a surname usually of Jewish origin. ''Leib'' often stems from לייב (''leib''), the

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 ...

word for

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

"heart" לב (lev, leb) and with the diminutives Leibel/Leibl and Leibele, or from the Yiddish word for "lion". The

Standard German Standard High German (SHG), less precisely Standard German or High German (, , or, in Switzerland, ), is the umbrella term for the standard language, standardized varieties of the German language, which are used in formal contexts and for commun ...

word for lion is ''Löwe''; other – partly dialectal – German forms of the word are ''Löw'', ''Loew'', ''Löb'', ''Leb'' and ''Leib''.

Surnames derived from the name

" Leib" may itself be a surname. There are a number of

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

surnames derived from the name and its variants based on East Slavic

patronymic suffix A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

''-ich/-icz''. * Labovich, Lebovitz, Leibovich, Leibovici, Leibovitch/Leybovitch, Leibovitz * Lebowitz, Leibowitz, Lejbowicz,

Libowitz Libowitz is a surname. People with the surname include: People * Nehemiah Samuel Libowitz (1862–1939), Hebrew scholar and author * Sig Libowitz (born 1968), American lawyer and actor Fictional characters * Mr. Libowitz, one of the characters in ...

, Liebowitz

Given name

* Aryeh Leib, multiple persons * Leyb ben Oyzer (died 1727), shamash ha-kehilla (beadle or sexton of the congregation), trustee, and secretary or notary, of the Jewish community in Amsterdam *

Isaac Leib Goldberg Isaac Leib Goldberg (, 7 February 1860 – 14 September 1935) was a Zionist leader and philanthropist in both Ottoman Palestine and the Russian Empire, and one of the principal founders of Rishon LeZion, the first Zionist settlement founded in ...

(1860–1935), Lithuanian-Israeli Zionist leader and philanthropist * Leib Gurwicz (1906–1982), Lithuanian-British rabbi * Leib Kvitko (1890–1952), Soviet poet *

Leib Langfus Leib Langfus, or also Leyb Langfus, was one of the victims of Auschwitz-Birkenau. A rabbi and Dayan (rabbinical judge) in Maków Mazowiecki, he was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1942, where he was forced to work as a Sonderkommando. After th ...

(died 1944), Polish rabbi and Auschwitz victim *

Yehuda Leib Maimon Yehuda Leib Maimon (; 1 January 1875 – 10 July 1962, also known as Yehuda Leib HaCohen Maimon) was an Israeli rabbi, politician and leader of the Religious Zionist movement. He was Israel's first Minister of Religions. Biography Yehuda L ...

(1875–1962), Israeli rabbi * Leib Milstein (''Lewis Milestone'', 1895–1980), Moldovan-American film director * Yehudah Leib Pinsker (''Leon Pinsker'', 1821–1891), Polish political activist and physician *

Leib Sarah's Leib Sarah's (''Aryeh Leib the son of Sarah'') (1730–1791) was a Chassidic Rebbe and a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov Israel ben Eliezer (According to a forged document from the "Kherson Geniza", accepted only by Chabad, he was born in Octobe ...

(''Aryeh Leib the son of Sarah'', 1730–1796), rabbi *

Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman (), also Shtainman or Steinman (November 3, 1914 – December 12, 2017), was a Haredi Judaism, Haredi rabbi in Bnei Brak, Israel. Following the death of Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, Yosef Shalom Elyashiv in 2012, he wa ...

(1913–2017), Israeli rabbi *

Zalman Leib Teitelbaum Yekusiel Yehuda Teitelbaum (III), known by the Yiddish colloquial name Zalman Leib (born 23 December 1951), is one of the two Grand Rebbes of Satmar. He leads the dynasty's Williamsburg, Brooklyn faction, which is based at the community's cent ...

(born 1951), American rabbi * Leib Tropper (born 1950), American rabbi * Leib Weissberg (1893–1942), Croatian rabbi * Leib Yaffe (died 1948), Israeli poet and journalist

Surname

* Ethan Leib (born 1975), American law professor * Gary Leib (1955–2021), American cartoonist and animator * Günther Leib (1927–2024), German baritone and voice professor *

Michael Leib Michael Leib (January 8, 1760December 22, 1822) was an American physician and politician from Philadelphia. He served as a surgeon in the Philadelphia Militia during the American Revolutionary War. He served as a Democratic-Republican member of t ...

(1760–1822), American politician * Georg Leib (1846-1910), Royal Councillor of Commerce and German philanthropist

References

{{given name, type=both Given names Surnames

Surnames derived from the name

Given name

Surname

See also

References