Trachtenberg is a

German language German (, ) is a West Germanic language in the Indo-European language family, mainly spoken in Western Europe, Western and Central Europe. It is the majority and Official language, official (or co-official) language in Germany, Austria, Switze ...

name that is also used in other language societies.

About Trachtenberg as surname

(

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

/ Ukrainian: Трахтенберг, ; , is a

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 ...

of several notable people, typically an

Ashkenazi Jewish 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 ...

surname, especially

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

n and Ukrainian. Sometimes the name is transliterated to Trachtenburg, whilst Jews from Argentina often spell the name Trajtenberg according to Spanish spelling norms. Some more recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union have had the name transliterated as

Trakhtenberg Trachtenberg is a German language name that is also used in other language societies. About Trachtenberg as surname (Russian/ Ukrainian: Трахтенберг, ; , is a surname of several notable people, typically an Ashkenazi Jewish surname, e ...

when entering the US. Trachtenberg, literally "a mountain of costumes" (in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

), or "a mountain of thoughts" (in

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 ...

), is a modification of the former German name of a town in

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

(''Trachenberg'' "Dragon Castle") now called by the Polish name

Żmigród Żmigród () is a town in Trzebnica County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Żmigród. Geography The town lies in the historic Lower Silesia region on the ...

, where Jews were a significant part of the population until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Jews who bear this name are usually descendants of families who moved from Trachtenburg, Silesia, to another place in central or eastern Europe (and then elsewhere, later on). They became known in their new communities by their former place of residence.

List of people with the surname Trachtenberg

Alan Trachtenberg Alan Zelick Trachtenberg (March 22, 1932 – August 18, 2020) was an American historian and the Neil Gray Jr. Professor of English and professor emeritus of American Studies at Yale University. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Trachtenberg attended ...

(1932–2020), scholar of American Studies *

Alexander Trachtenberg Alexander "Alex" Trachtenberg (23 November 1884 – 26 December 1966) was an American publisher of radical political books and pamphlets, founder and manager of International Publishers of New York. He was a longtime activist in the Socialist Part ...

(1884–1966), Marxist founder of International Publishers (NYC) *

Betty Glassman Trachtenberg Betty Glassman Trachtenberg (October 16, 1933 – March 14, 2023) was an American college administrator. She was Dean of Student Affairs at Yale College from 1987 to 2007. Early life and education Glassman was born in Philadelphia, the daughter ...

(1933–2023), American college administrator *

Dan Trachtenberg Dan Trachtenberg (born May 11, 1981) is an American filmmaker and podcast host.Rachel Kurland, Scare Tactics Pay off for Cheltenham's Dan Trachtenberg'. The Jewish Exponent. March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 6, 2017. He made his feature film de ...

(born 1981), American director * Deborah Trachtenberg, American journalist and television personality *

Herman Trachtenberg Herman Trachtenberg (German ''Isaakovich Trakhtenberg'') (1839 Zhytomyr, Volyn - 1895 Zhytomyr) was a famous Jewish jurist. He studied law at the University of St. Petersburg, and at the end of his course entered the government service. For merit ...

(1839–1895), Ukrainian-Jewish jurist *

Isaac Trachtenberg Isaac Mykhailovych Trachtenberg (11 November 1923 – 27 January 2023) was a Ukrainian hygienist, Professor, MD, a corresponding member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1992), academician of the Bogomolets National Medical Univer ...

(1923–2023), Ukrainian hygienist and professor * Jakow Trachtenberg (1888–1953), Ukrainian-Jewish inventor of the Trachtenberg system of rapid mental arithmetic *

Joshua Trachtenberg Joshua Trachtenberg (1904–1959) was a reform Rabbi based in the United States of America. He had a notable career as a congregational Rabbi and scholarly writer. Biography Trachtenberg was born in London but travelled to America at aged three. He ...

(1904–1959), American rabbi and scholar of Jewish history *

Marc Trachtenberg Marc Trachtenberg (born February 9, 1946) is a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1974 and taught for many years for the his ...

(born 1946), American historian *

Michelle Trachtenberg Michelle Christine Trachtenberg (October 11, 1985 – February 26, 2025) was an American actress. After beginning her career in television commercials at age three, she made her television debut in her first credited role on the Nickelodeon ser ...

(1985–2025), American actress *

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg Stephen Joel Trachtenberg (born December 14, 1937) was the 15th President of the George Washington University, serving from 1988 to 2007. On August 1, 2007, he retired from the presidency and became GW's President Emeritus and University Professo ...

(born 1937), former president of George Washington University * Yeshayahu Trachtenberg, better known as

Shaike Dan Shaike Dan (November 15, 1909 – March 2, 1994) was one of the Jewish Parachutists of Mandate Palestine sent to Eastern European countries occupied by the Nazis. Dan was one of the founders of Nativ. Biography Shaike Dan was born as Yeshaya ...

(1909-1994), Israeli parachutist and Aliyah Bet activist

List of people with alternative spellings

Jason Trachtenburg The Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players were an American indie rock/art pop family band. It consisted of main vocalist Jason Trachtenburg, his wife Tina, and their child Rachel. Overview The band's members consisted of father, Jason Tracht ...

, American musician *

Rachel Trachtenburg Rachel Sage Piña-Trachtenburg (born December 10, 1993) is an American musician. She is most notable for her key role as drummer and backup vocalist of the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, a family band consisting of herself and her parent ...

(born 1993), American musician *

Tina Trachtenburg Tina Trachtenburg (née Piña), known by her stage name Mother Pigeon, is an American street performance artist in New York City. In a typical show, she arranges an art installation of handmade soft sculptures representing pigeons and other urba ...

, better known as Mother Pigeon, American street performance artist *

Roman Trakhtenberg Roman Lvovich Trakhtenberg (real surname is Gorbunov, ; 28 September 1968, in Leningrad, USSR – 20 November 2009, in Moscow, Russia) was a Russian radio host and actor. Biography Roman Gorbunov (Trakhtenberg) got his first acting experience in ...

(1968–2009), Russian radio host and actor *

Manuel Trajtenberg Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg (; born 21 September 1950) is an Israeli economist who was the chair of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education in Israel. He was appointed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ...

(born 1950), Israeli economist * Paul Tractenberg, American law professor and legal advocate for educational rights

Alternative spellings

* Trakhtenberg * Trachtenburg * Drachenberg * Trachenberg, German name of

, Poland

References

{{surname, Trachtenberg, Trachtenburg Surnames