Sarfati ( he, צרפתי; , variously transliterated and spelled Sarfatti, Sarphati, Serfaty, Sarfate, Sarfaty, Sarfity, Zarfati, Tsarfati, Tsarfaty, Tzarfati, Serfati) is a
Sephardic Jewish
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
surname.
The surname literally means "French" in the
Hebrew language
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
, and is derived from the Biblical placename
Tzarfat
Tzarfat ( he, צרפת) is a Biblical placename that may refer to Sarepta in Lebanon. In later times, it came to be identified with France. It is still the name of France in Modern Hebrew
Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít � ...
which in later times was identified in Jewish tradition as
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...
.
The term "Tzarfati" ( he, צרפתי) was frequently applied in rabbinical literature to Jews of French birth or descent.
Origin
One account places the origin of the surname as being linked to
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compr ...
by way of his grandson
Rabbeinu Tam
Jacob ben Meir (1100 – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz)), best known as Rabbeinu Tam ( he, רבינו תם), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists, a leading ''halakhic'' authority in his generation, and a gr ...
, but the connection, although anchored in the Ketubot traditions has never been fully proven due to a seven generations gap in the genealogy after Jews were expelled from France by
Philippe le Bel
Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (french: Philippe le Bel), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre as Philip I from 12 ...
in 1306.
At any case, numerous bearers of this name (whose ancestors came from France) lived in various parts of the
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
during the 14th-15th centuries: they appear in Spanish and Portuguese documents under the spellings Sarfati and Çarfati. During the 15th century and especially after the expulsion of Jews from these countries (1490s) some branches migrated from the Iberian Peninsula to
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
,Beider, A. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Maghreb,
Gibraltar, and Malta, New Haven, CN: Avotaynu, 2017 while others to the city of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
and the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
List
Notable people with the surname include:
Sarfati
*
Diana Sarfati
Diana Sarfati (born 1967/1968) is New Zealand's Director–General of Health and a public health physician and health services researcher. She was formerly head of Te Aho o Te Kahu, the Cancer Control Agency in New Zealand.
Career
Sarfati wa ...
, New Zealand public health doctor and epidemiologist
* Georges-Elia Sarfati, philosopher, linguist, poet, and an existentialist psychoanalyst
*
Jonathan Sarfati
Jonathan David Sarfati (born 1 October 1964) is a young Earth creationist who writes articles for Creation Ministries International (CMI), a non-profit Christian apologetics ministry. Sarfati has a PhD in chemistry, and was New Zealand nation ...
(born 1964), Australian–New Zealander chess player and creationist author
* Lea Michele Sarfati (born 1986), American singer and actress, Broadway performer and star of TV show "Glee"
* Lise Sarfati (born 1958), French photographer
*
Lydia Sarfati
Lydia Sarfati is a Polish-born American esthetician, entrepreneur, consultant and author. She is credited with having introduced seaweed-based skin treatments in the United States. In 1980, she founded the Sarkli-Repêchage, a seaweed-based cosmeti ...
, Polish-born American esthetician, entrepreneur, consultant and author
* Samuel Sarfati (died c. 1519), Italian physician to
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
s
Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI ( it, Alessandro VI, va, Alexandre VI, es, Alejandro VI; born Rodrigo de Borja; ca-valencia, Roderic Llançol i de Borja ; es, Rodrigo Lanzol y de Borja, lang ; 1431 – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Churc ...
and
Julius II
Pope Julius II ( la, Iulius II; it, Giulio II; born Giuliano della Rovere; 5 December 144321 February 1513) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1503 to his death in February 1513. Nicknamed the Warrior Pope or the ...
and leader of the Jewish community in Rome
* Semah Sarfati (1624–1717) Tunisian rabbi who was chief rabbi of Tunisia
* Sonia Sarfati (born 1960), French author and journalist
*
Tzedi Tzarfati
Tzedi Tzarfati, Tsadi Tsarfati, or Tsedi Sarfati ( he, צדי צרפתי, also transliterated as , , and ; born 16 January 1941) is an Israeli television presenter, director, and former actor.
Early and personal life
Tzedi Tzarfati was born Zad ...
(born 1941), Israeli television presenter and theatre director
* Yitzhak Sarfati, 15th century Ottoman rabbi
Sarfatti
* Anna Sarfatti (born 1950), Italian writer of children's books
* Jack Sarfatti (born 1939), American theoretical physicist and writer
*
Margherita Sarfatti
Margherita Sarfatti (née Grassini; 8 April 1880 – 30 October 1961) was an Italian journalist, art critic, patron, collector, socialite, and prominent propaganda adviser of the National Fascist Party. She was Benito Mussolini's biographer as w ...
(1880–1961), Italian journalist and lover of
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...
*
Riccardo Sarfatti
Riccardo Sarfatti (April 3, 1940, Milan – September 9, 2010, Tremezzo) was an Italian architect, entrepreneur and politician.
Life
Sarfatti was married and had three children, He graduated in architecture from Politecnico di Milano in 1965, ...
(1940–2010), Italian architect and politician in Lombardy
Gretta Sarfaty Marchant
Gretta Sarfaty, born Alegre Sarfaty, is also known as Gretta Grzywacz and Greta Sarfaty Marchant, also simply as Gretta. is a painter, photographer and multimedia artist who earned international acclaim in the 1970s, from her artistic works rela ...
(born 1947), British-Brazilian artist and curator
* Regina Sarfaty (born 1934), American operatic mezzo-soprano
Sarfatty
* Bouena Sarfatty (1916–1997), Greek-Jewish World War II partisan and poet
Sarphati
* Samuel Sarphati (1813–1866), Dutch physician and city planner
Mayor of Gibraltar
The Mayor of Gibraltar is the ceremonial official of the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The mayor is appointed by the elected Members of ParliamentChristine Daure-Serfaty (1926–2014), French-Moroccan activist
* Dan Serfaty (born 1966) is a French entrepreneur and businessman
* Isaac Chocrón Serfaty (1930-2011), Venezuelan playwright
* Rosalinda Serfaty (born 1969), Argentine-born Venezuelan actress
*
Sylvia Serfaty
Sylvia Serfaty (born 1975) is a French mathematician working in the United States. She won the 2004 EMS Prize for her contributions to the Ginzburg–Landau theory, the Henri Poincaré Prize in 2012, and the of the French Academy of Sciences in ...
, French Mathematician, winner of the 2004 EMS Prize for her contributions to the
Ginzburg–Landau theory
In physics, Ginzburg–Landau theory, often called Landau–Ginzburg theory, named after Vitaly Ginzburg and Lev Landau, is a mathematical physical theory used to describe superconductivity. In its initial form, it was postulated as a phenomenol ...