Sarfati (, ), variously transliterated and spelled Sarfatti, Sarphati, Serfaty, Sarfate, Sarfaty, Sarfity, Zarfati, Tsarfati, Tsarfaty, Tzarfati, Serfati, is a

Sephardic Jewish 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 ...

surname. The surname literally means "French", and is derived from the Biblical placename

Tzarfat Tzarfat (, ) is a Biblical placename that may refer to Sarepta in Lebanon. From Medieval Hebrew and into Modern Hebrew, it has come to be identified with France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Weste ...

which in later times was identified in Jewish tradition as

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The term ''tzarfati'' 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 (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

by way of his grandson

Rabbeinu Tam Jacob ben Meir (1100 – 9 June 1171 (4 Tammuz)), best known as Rabbeinu Tam (), was one of the most renowned Ashkenazi Jewish rabbis and leading French Tosafists, a leading '' halakhic'' authority in his generation, and a grandson of Rashi. K ...

, but the connection, although anchored in the

Ketubot A ketubah (; ) is a Jewish marriage contract. It is considered an integral part of a traditional Jewish marriage, and outlines the rights and responsibilities of the groom, in relation to the bride. In modern practice, the ''ketubah'' has no a ...

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 (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip I from 1 ...

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 ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

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 (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of 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 Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

List

Notable people with the surname include:

Sarfati

* Diana Sarfati, New Zealand public health doctor and epidemiologist * Georges-Elia Sarfati, philosopher, linguist, poet, and an existentialist psychoanalyst * Jonathan Sarfati (born 1964), Australian–New Zealander chess player and creationist author * Adam Sarfati (born 1984), Australian entrepreneur * Lea Michele Sarfati (born 1986), American singer and actress, Broadway performer and star of TV show "Glee" *

Lise Sarfati Lise Sarfati (born 1958) is a French photographer and artist. She is noted for her photographs of elusive characters, often young, who resist any attempt to being pinned down. Her work particularly explores the instability of feminine identity. M ...

(born 1958), French photographer * Lydia Sarfati, Polish-born American esthetician, entrepreneur, consultant and author * Samuel Sarfati (died c. 1519), Italian physician to

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Kingdom of Valencia, Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death ...

and

Julius II Pope Julius 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, the Battle Pope or the Fearsome ...

and leader of the Jewish community in Rome *

Semah Sarfati Semah Sarfati (1624–1717) was a Tunisian rabbi who was chief rabbi of Tunisia and was a member of the Bet din of Tunisia. At the end of his life, he moved to the Holy Land, dying in Jerusalem in 1717. Following a schism between the Granas a ...

(1624–1717) Tunisian rabbi who was chief rabbi of Tunisia *

Sonia Sarfati Sonia Sarfati (born May 29, 1960) is a Canadian author and journalist born in France and living in Quebec. The daughter of a Tunisian father and an Italian mother, she was born in Toulouse. She moved to Montreal with her family at the age of ten. ...

(born 1960), French author and journalist *

Tzedi Tzarfati Tzedi Tzarfati ( , also transliterated as Tsadi Tsarfati, Tsedi Sarfati, or , , and ; born 16 January 1941) is an Israeli television presenter, director, and actor. Early and personal life Tzedi Tzarfati was born Zadok Zarfati in Tel Aviv, pres ...

(born 1941), Israeli television presenter and theatre director *

Yitzhak Sarfati Yitzhak Sarfati also spelt Tsarfati (Hebrew: יצחק צרפתי) was a German-born, Ashkenazi rabbi who settled in the Ottoman Empire prior to the fall of Constantinople, and served as the Chief Rabbi of Edirne. Biography Born in Germany someti ...

, 15th century Ottoman rabbi

Sarfatti

Anna Sarfatti Anna Sarfatti (born 1950) is an Italian writer of children's books. Biography Sarfatti was born in Florence. She has taught in nursery and primary school for many years. Some of her books have been written in order to help children become cons ...

(born 1950), Italian writer of children's books *

Jack Sarfatti Jack Sarfatti (born September 14, 1939) is an American theoretical physicist. Working largely outside academia, most of Sarfatti's publications revolve around quantum physics and consciousness. Sarfatti was a leading member of the Fundament ...

(born 1939), American theoretical physicist and writer *

Margherita Sarfatti Margherita Sarfatti (; ; 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 well as one ...

(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, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

* Riccardo Sarfatti (1940–2010), Italian architect and politician in Lombardy

Sarfate

Dennis Sarfate Dennis Scott Sarfate (born April 9, 1981) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, Saitama Seibu L ...

(born 1981), American baseball player

Sarfaty

* Gretta Sarfaty Marchant (born 1947), British-Brazilian artist and curator * Perla Serfaty (born 1944), Moroccan-born French and Canadian academic, sociologist, psychosociologist, writer *

Regina Sarfaty Regina Sarfaty (November 1934 – December 23, 2024), later Regina Sarfaty Rickless after her marriage to Elwood A. Rickless in 1963, was an American operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active career during the 1950s through the 1980s. Sarfaty first ...

(1934–2024), American operatic mezzo-soprano * Valerie Sarfaty (born 1952), American, Assistant Chief Counsel, California Department of Insurance (retired) * Tommy Sarfaty (born 2002), Dutch chess International Master

Sarfatty

* Bouena Sarfatty (1916–1997), Greek-Jewish World War II partisan and poet

Sarphati

* Samuel Sarphati (1813–1866), Dutch physician and city planner

Serfaty

* Abraham Serfaty (1926–2010), Moroccan dissident * Abraham Serfaty (Gibraltarian), former

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 Rosalinda Raquel Serfaty Rosenstock (born April 24, 1965, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-born Venezuelan television and theater actress of Moroccan Jewish and Berber Moroccan origin. Biography Rosalinda was born to Jewish parents Jaime Serfa ...

(born 1969), Argentine-born Venezuelan actress * Sylvia Serfaty, French Mathematician, winner of the 2004

EMS Prize The European Mathematical Society (EMS) is a European organization dedicated to the development of mathematics in Europe. Its members are different mathematical societies in Europe, academic institutions and individual mathematicians. The curren ...

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 phenomen ...

* Willa Vasquez Serfaty, Gibraltarian artist

References

{{Surname, Sarfati Surnames of Jewish origin Surnames of Maghrebi Jewish origin Hebrew-language surnames Surnames of Sephardic origin Jews and Judaism in France Ethnonymic surnames Jewish toponymic surnames