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Jewish Names (Jewish Studies)

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  1.  
  2. Introduction
  3. The term anthroponym includes given names and surnames. The science of given names and surnames and toponyms is onomastics, derived from the Greek word for name—onoma. This field acknowledges the fact that given names are the most personal words to humans in every language, with different philosophical, psychological, cultural, and linguistic perspectives. This article does not address Jewish toponyms; it focuses on Jewish anthroponyms—given names and surnames. The uniqueness of onomastics relates to the habit of child naming, a process creating a bond between the name givers and the child—parents’ link to the future. At the same time, in many cultures the process of naming a person connects the name giver (or givers) to the past. The Jewish Bible is a prime source of the Jewish culture in many ways, including onomastically, so the science of Jewish onomastics starts with biblical names. Nevertheless, Jews used many more names during their long history, some Hebrew, others from various Jewish languages from different cultures.
  4.  
  5. Jewish Anthroponymy
  6. Jews used many Hebrew given names throughout time, most of them biblical, so they are transparent to Hebrew speakers as explained in Stamm 1972. Numerous works, such as Dan 1998, show that Hebrew letters and Hebrew names have been considered to be mystic tools. However, Jews used throughout the generations also non-Hebrew names, as pointed out in Zunz 1837. Surnames became mandatory for Jews, like all citizens in many countries, thus most Jews got surnames in local languages, and only a few insisted on Hebrew surnames. A significant body of work has been dedicated to descriptions of Jewish onomastics in general, including These Are the Names (Demsky, et al. 1997 and Demsky 1999–2011) and a website of Jewish onomastics, Lawson 2005. The journal Avotaynu reviews mostly Jewish genealogy; Sack and Mokotoff 2004, contains articles in a variety of subjects in the field of Jewish onomastics and Jewish genealogy. Following the pioneering work Zunz 1837 (reprinted in 1876), many works have been devoted to onomastics, including the bibliographies Singerman 2001, Lawson 2003, and Lawson 2008.
  7.  
  8. Dan, J. Jewish Mysticism. 4 vols. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1998.
  9.  
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  11.  
  12. Volumes 1–3 include chapters presenting the mysticism of Hebrew letters, numbers, and names. “The book of names” by Rabbi Eleazar of Worms is discussed in the 2nd volume, and volume 3 presents names of deities, god, and language issues related to Jewish mysticism.
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  15.  
  16. Demsky, A., ed. These Are the Names. Vol. 2–5. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1999–2011.
  17.  
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  19.  
  20. This series of five volumes dedicated to studies of Jewish onomastics is devoted primarily to various perspectives of different types of Jewish given names, in various periods of time and geographical locations. Papers are written in English and Hebrew, Hebrew papers contain English abstracts.
  21.  
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  23.  
  24. Demsky, A., J. A. Reif, J. Tabory, eds. These Are the Names. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1997.
  25.  
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  27.  
  28. The first volume contains reviews of Jewish given names and surnames from a variety of geographical locations and historical periods.
  29.  
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  31.  
  32. Lawson, E. D. “Some Jewish Personal Names—2.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 4. Edited by A. Demsky, 174–335. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2003.
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  35.  
  36. An annotated bibliography paper presenting studies of various topics of Jewish anthroponomy.
  37.  
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  39.  
  40. Lawson, E. D. Jewish Onomastics. 2005.
  41.  
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  43.  
  44. Presents a concise general description of Jewish onomastics, given names, and surnames in several communities worldwide throughout history.
  45.  
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  47.  
  48. Lawson, E. D. Jewish Personal Names Bibliographies. Lawson Bibliographies. 2008.
  49.  
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  51.  
  52. A broad annotated bibliography of various perspectives of Jewish given names and surnames based on previous annotated bibliographies published by this author, including Lawson 2003; Demsky, et al. 1997; and Demsky 1999–2011.
  53.  
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  55.  
  56. Sack, S. A., and G. Mokotoff, eds. Avotaynu—Guide to Jewish Genealogy. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2004.
  57.  
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  59.  
  60. Includes papers on different topics concerning Jewish genealogy and onomastics, and contains a short summary of Jewish surnames.
  61.  
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  63.  
  64. Singerman, R. Jewish Given Names and Family Names, a New Bibliography. Edited by D. L. Gold. Leiden, The Netherlands, and Boston: Brill, 2001.
  65.  
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  67.  
  68. A new version of the bibliography of Jewish given names, surnames, and the naming process published first in 1977. This book is considered the most comprehensive bibliography on the topic. The book starts with a wide section related to biblical materials and addresses issues such as Judeophobia and Jewish names. The last section contains references to names classified according to geographical areas.
  69.  
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  71.  
  72. Stamm, J. J. “Names: In the Bible.” In Encyclopedia Judaica. Vol. 14. Edited by Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum, 764–766. Jerusalem: Keter, 1972.
  73.  
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  75.  
  76. The encyclopedia contains general explanations for biblical names, definitive entries for most biblical figures, and general explanations on names in the Talmud, including linguistic origin, changes over time and unique qualities of Israelite names.
  77.  
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  79.  
  80. Zunz, L. Names of Jews: A Historical Research. Leipzig: L. Fort, 1837.
  81.  
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  83.  
  84. In German. Second edition enlarged and corrected: Gesammelte Schriften von Dr. Zunz 2, 1–82. Berlin: L.Gerschel Verlagsbuclihaadluug, 1876. A comprehensive list of given names in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, German, and other languages, used by Jews along the generations. Zunz emphasized the fact that Jews carried non-Hebrew names since antiquity, as a reaction to a Prussian law from the beginning of the 19th century forcing Jews to use only Jewish names.
  85.  
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  87.  
  88. Jewish Given Names
  89. In the Jewish Bible, there are numerous given names: most of them appear only once. As Arazy 1982 points out, Jewish people used through their long history biblical names as given names and added Hebrew names and non-Hebrew names. Jewish given names can be divided into four historical periods, as suggested in Arazy 1982. The first relates to given names taken from the Bible and the epigraphic findings from that historical period. The second period includes the Hellenistic and Roman eras, beginning at the return from Babylon to Zion and ending at the Islamic conquest of the land of Israel, in the mid-6th century. The third period of time lasted until 1882, when most Jews lived in the Diaspora. In the late 19th century Jews started to name their children with renewed names from the Bible, following the first Zionist immigration wave from East Europe and Yemen to the land of Israel, in parallel with migration from Europe to the New World. Most given names in the Bible are Hebrew names, and therefore are semantically and morphologically transparent to Hebrew speakers; thus, their linguistic nature can be probed. Jews migrated to the east and west during the second era, resulting in different given name dictionaries depending on the geographical location of the Jewish communities. Many given names in the second era are Hebrew, mostly taken from the Bible, in addition to other given names from various Aramaic dialects, and of Greek and Latin origin. Diversity of given names, particularly for girls, continued and was intensified in the third era along with the dissipation of Jewish communities throughout the world. During this period many Jews used Hebrew names as “shem ha-kodesh” (for religious purposes) and foreign names as “kinnui” (for practical purposes), as discussed in Oppenheimer 1997 and Beider 2012. Given names in the fourth era demonstrate the impact of an emerging Israeli society with influences from large Jewish communities in the United States, Canada, South America, and Russia. Cooper 1999 discusses the role of society in the act of naming in Israel in contrast to the Jewish community in the United States. The use of Jewish as well as non-Jewish names through the generations raises the question of what makes a given name Jewish? Beider 2003 suggests that the answer to this question may be grounded in the practices of life: names used by Jews in the past and names that Jews use in the present are Jewish names, because they are filled with Jewish content.
  90.  
  91. Arazy, A. The Personal Names of the Jews and the Israelis: Do You Know the Origins of Your Name? Tel Aviv: Hotsa ‘at La-shorashim, 1982.
  92.  
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  94.  
  95. The book presents historical and linguistic explanations for many Hebrew names, including names from epigraphic findings from Elephantine and Ebla. This work also includes short dictionaries of the most common given names in various Jewish communities during each historical era.
  96.  
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  98.  
  99. Beider, A. “Methodological Principles for Determining Etymologies of Ashkenazic Given Names.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 4. Edited by A. Demsky, 41–76. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2003.
  100.  
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  102.  
  103. The manuscript proposes a methodology for detection of given names according to several parameters, including source, linguistic changes and the reasons for the changes, geographic area, and period. Examples refer mostly to East European given names.
  104.  
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  106.  
  107. Beider, A. “Discontinuity in Jewish Naming Traditions.” Avotaynu 28.2 (2012): 43–53.
  108.  
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  110.  
  111. A short summary of Jewish naming traditions throughout the generations. The most inclusive parts of the article relate to the Diaspora era, starting with the chapter “Adoption of Christian Names in Major Polish Cities during the 19th Century”.
  112.  
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  114.  
  115. Cooper, S. “Names as Cultural Documents.” These Are the Names. Vol. 2. Edited by A. Demsky, 15–22. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1999.
  116.  
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  118.  
  119. A short description of given names as cultural tools, including personal examples of given names in author’s family. These names show cultural effects and language changes from Yiddish to English and then to Hebrew.
  120.  
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  122.  
  123. Kolatch, A. J. The New Name Dictionary, Modern English and Hebrew Names. New York: Jonathan David, 1994.
  124.  
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  126.  
  127. An expanded version of the name dictionary published initially in 1967, containing over 10,000 entries and including hundreds of English and Hebrew names and their meaning. The definition of each name is presented along with spelling in Hebrew characters all Hebrew (and Yiddish) names. The dictionary contains a comprehensive index of all Hebrew names in transliterated forms.
  128.  
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  130.  
  131. Oppenheimer, S. “Secular Names.” Journal of Halacha and Contemporary Society 34 (1997): 66–76.
  132.  
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  134.  
  135. A description of the importance of naming Jewish babies using Hebrew names starting from the Talmud period, along with habitual child naming using secular non-Hebrew names during the Diaspora period.
  136.  
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  138.  
  139. Biblical Era
  140. The biblical era refers to a period starting approximately 1300 BCE until the return from Babylon in the mid-6th century BCE. Given names of the period are found in the Bible and in archaeological artifacts discovered in the historic territories of Israel and Judea from the period of the first temple, and are a useful tool in the research of this period as discussed in Andersen and Hess 2007. Almost all biblical given names are unique Hebrew names of Israelites, and only a few names appeared several times. Numerous studies discuss and explain biblical given names. A short linguistic description of those names can be found in Hess 2013. Avrahami 2011 explains the cultural background of newborn naming in the Jewish Bible. Noth 1928 identifies the biblical names as part of the western Semitic onomastics. Layton 1990 finds some similarities between Hebrew given names and Canaanite names. Zadok 1988 presents a comprehensive work discussing the pre-Hellenistic Israelite anthroponymy and prosopography as compared to their neighbors. There are three types of Hebrew given names in this era. The first and the largest names group is theophoric names, as discussed in Gray 1896 and Fowler 1988. Thos names build a sentence that contains a divine component as the agent of the sentence. Israelites used primarily God’s Hebrew name for the divine component—Ya or Yho for Avia (אביה) or Yehonathan (יונתן)—and the common name of the Canaanite king of gods, El. Examples of these names are Eliezer (אליעזר) and Elisheva (אלישבע). The second group includes shortened names that lost the theophoric component, as shown in Pike 1997. In some cases, the same person is mentioned in the Bible by the full name and in other places by the short name, for example Palti (פלטי) and Paltiel (פלטיאל) are both the given names of the second husband of Michal, the daughter of Shaul, king of Israel. The third group contains secular names, such as animal names—Dvora (bee) (דבורה), Shafan (rabbit) (שפן)—and plant names—Alon (oak) (אלון), Tamar (palm) (תמר).
  141.  
  142. Andersen, F. I., and R. S. Hess. Names in the Study of Biblical History: David, YHWH Names, and the Role of Personal Names. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Archaeology, 2007.
  143.  
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  145.  
  146. The monograph presents changing fashions in Hebrew theophoric given names with the element ‘yhw\yh’ and spellings of the name David. Biblical given names were compared to the archaeological artifacts.
  147.  
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  149.  
  150. Avrahami, Y. “Name Giving to the Newborn in the Hebrew Bible.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 5. Edited by A. Demsky, 15–53. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2011.
  151.  
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  153.  
  154. The study elaborates the importance of given names in the Israelite culture from different points of view, theological, literal, and the meaning of the names. It deals with the biblical traditions regarding newborn naming, particularly by the mothers.
  155.  
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  157.  
  158. Fowler, J. D. Theophoric Personal Names in Ancient Hebrew: A Comparative Study. Sheffield, UK: JSOT, 1988.
  159.  
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  161.  
  162. Investigates biblical theophoric given names and compares theophoric elements favored by Israelites and other Semitic groups. Names composed of Yahwistic elements enable distinction and understanding of the God of Israel in contrast to neighboring cultures.
  163.  
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  165.  
  166. Gray, G. B. Studies in Hebrew Proper Names. London: Black, 1896.
  167.  
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  169.  
  170. One of the first professional books in the field of Hebrew onomastics using an approach to compound names by morphological classification of biblical given names. It includes reference to historical perspectives of the personalities with comparison to Chronicles.
  171.  
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  173.  
  174. Hess, R. S. “Names of People: Biblical Hebrew.” In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Edited by G. Khan, 235–238. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013.
  175.  
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  177.  
  178. A description of biblical Hebrew given names from linguistic, morphological, syntactic, and semantic points of view. The study includes remarks regarding the differences between given names in different historical periods and names discovered in archaeological artifacts from the relevant periods.
  179.  
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  181.  
  182. Layton, S. C. Archaic Features of Canaanite Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible. Atlanta: Scholars, 1990.
  183.  
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  185.  
  186. A comparison of archaic morphology of different types of Canaanite given names as they appear in the Bible. The book contains a comprehensive bibliography.
  187.  
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  189.  
  190. Noth, M. The Israelite Personal Names under the Public-Semitic Nomenclature. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 1928.
  191.  
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  193.  
  194. One of the first linguistic studies of biblical given names in general, discussing their meaning of biblical given names in reference to the historical period. The book includes an interesting review of women’s given names. In German.
  195.  
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  197.  
  198. Pike, D. M. “Names, Hypocoristic.” In Anchor Bible Dictionary on CD-ROM. Edited by D. N. Freedman, 3. New York and London: Doubleday, 1997.
  199.  
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  201.  
  202. The study analyzes the role of theophoric names in the Israelite culture, which was similar to the role of given names in the west Semitic cultures. Theophoric names indicated a personal responsibility of the deity over the newborn. The study dealt with the hypocoristic names in the Bible, which are theophoric names shortened by dropping one element in a compound given name.
  203.  
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  205.  
  206. Zadok, Ran. The Pre-Hellenistic Israelite Anthroponymy and Prosopography. Leuven, Belgium: Peeters, 1988.
  207.  
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  209.  
  210. A comprehensive discussion of Hebrew and Semitic names, including linguistic explanations and historical background of the names in regard to the prosopography of the society.
  211.  
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  213.  
  214. Specific Groups
  215. Numerous studies have addressed specific issues related to some biblical groups of given names, such as analysis performed in Cohn 1980 and Demsky 1997 of the meaning of given names in the book of Ruth, which are unique in some perspectives. Some studies tried to use given names in order to understand the time and place of the events, such as Hess 2003 and Hess 2004, relating to the book of Judges, and the analysis of some names from Genesis in Hess 2009. Special attention was given to biblical names from foreign origins in Zadok 1980 and Yehowatic names with a component of “yhw,” the god of Israel, in Zevit 1983. Another example is the study Barry and Jackson 2007, related to given names groups that were found in some books of the Bible, women’s given names and ambisexual names.
  216.  
  217. Barry, H. III, and J. J. Jackson. 2007. “Names in the Hebrew Bible.” Names 55.4: 372–378.
  218.  
  219. DOI: 10.1179/nam.2007.55.4.372Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  220.  
  221. Review of the biblical attributions to women, mostly not by their given names but as ‘a daughter of. . .’ or ‘a wife of. . .’, and analysis of the ambisexual given names.
  222.  
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  224.  
  225. Cohn, G. H. “The Names in the Book of Ruth.” Amsterdamse Cahiers: Voor Exegese En BijbelseTheologie 1 (1980): 62–74.
  226.  
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  228.  
  229. Considers some of the given names in the book of Ruth as historical and some as fictional, based on their meaning that matches the sequence of events in the book.
  230.  
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  232.  
  233. Demsky, A. “Names and No-Names in the Book of Ruth.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 1. Edited by A. Demsky, J. A. Reif, J. Tabory, and Edwin Lawson, 27–37. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1997.
  234.  
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  236.  
  237. Discusses the large number of given names in the book of Ruth, and presents the bitter talk of Naomi on the unsuitability of the meanings of her name to her fate.
  238.  
  239. Find this resource:
  240.  
  241. Hess, R. S. “Israelite Identity and Personal Names in the Book of Judges.” Hebrew Studies 44 (2003): 25–39.
  242.  
  243. DOI: 10.1353/hbr.2003.0011Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  244.  
  245. A review of given names in the book of Judges, considering the difficulty that some names do not occur after the 10th century BCE, but they fit attestations from the Amarna texts and the sources from Ugarit and Alalakh in the Late Bronze Age.
  246.  
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  248.  
  249. Hess, R. S. “The Name Game: Dating the Book of Judges.” Biblical Archaeology Review 30.6 (2004): 38–41.
  250.  
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  252.  
  253. A comparative analysis of given names in the book of Judges and other texts discovered in the area delineates a time sequence of events described in the book of Judges. These given names and their variations appear in the Late Bronze Age and in Iron Age I, but rarely, if at all, in later periods.
  254.  
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  256.  
  257. Hess, R. S. Studies in the Personal Names of Genesis 1–11. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2009.
  258.  
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  260.  
  261. Description of the names in Genesis 1–11 and thorough investigation of the ancient Near Eastern background of these names; presents both the linguistic context in the neighboring cultures and the wordplay in the biblical texts.
  262.  
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  264.  
  265. Zadok, R. “Notes on the Biblical and Extrabiblical Onomasticon.” Jewish Quarterly Review 71 (1980): 107–117.
  266.  
  267. DOI: 10.2307/1454629Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  268.  
  269. An explanation of some biblical given names that appear to be of foreign origin, based on roots, forms, and hypocoristic names.
  270.  
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  272.  
  273. Zevit, Z. “A Chapter in the History of Israelite Personal Names.” Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research 250 (1983): 1–16.
  274.  
  275. DOI: 10.2307/1356602Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  276.  
  277. A study of all biblical given names with the ending “yh” or “yhw.” The relations between names with a similar component, but with different divine components—“yh” or “yhw”—suggest that “yh” was shortened from “yhw.”
  278.  
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  280.  
  281. Specific Figures
  282. Some papers review the given name of a specific figure in the Bible, sometimes because of unique circumstances of the person, discussed in Ronning 1991, and in other cases due to the uniqueness of the name itself. Some studies relate to specific biblical names comparing their appearance in other languages as reported in Jastrow 1894, Albright 1925, Griffiths 1953, and Gorg 2012. Other studies deal with the semantics of specific biblical names, including Lussier 1956, Porten 1971, and Layton 1993. Numerous studies analyze specific components, for example, in Burnett 2011 claims that the component ‘Iy’ (אי) represents “where” as a question related to location, such as in the name “yzbl” (Jezebel). In contrast to those studies, Demsky 2011 argues that some biblical names, such as ינון Yinon (a Hebrew verb and a common name in Israel), are regarded as names by mistake.
  283.  
  284. Albright, W. F. “The Evolution of the West Semitic Divinity ‘An-Anat-Atta.’” American Journal of Semitic Languages 41 (1925): 73–101.
  285.  
  286. DOI: 10.1086/370057Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  287.  
  288. A comparison of the Canaanite-Hebrew form of the deity name “Anat” to the Arameized form of the deity, “Atta.”
  289.  
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  291.  
  292. Burnett, J. S. “Divine Absence Personal Names in the Hebrew Bible.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 5. Edited by A. Demsky, 71–94. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2011.
  293.  
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  295.  
  296. Analysis of the elements representing the question “where” “אי” in composite biblical given names as compared to this type of name in west Semitic texts.
  297.  
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  299.  
  300. Demsky, A. “Ghost-Names in the Bible.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 5. Edited by A. Demsky, 119–130. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2011.
  301.  
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  303.  
  304. Discusses biblical given names that were not originally given names, but became so as a result of errors—ghost-names. The errors were caused in several ways, by misunderstanding the text, by misreading it properly, or by typographical errors.
  305.  
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  307.  
  308. Gorg, M. “Weitere Beobachtungen und Aspekte zur Genese das Namens ‘Israel’.” Biblische Notizen 154 (2012): 57–68.
  309.  
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  311.  
  312. In German, summary in English. A suggestion to identify the name Israel on a stone now displayed at the Berlin Egyptian Museum. The names Ashqelon and Canaan appear on this stone along with a fragmentary name, possibly Israel. The author proposes to understand the name in relation to the “Aschiru” people, as a “singing group of demonstrating personell”.
  313.  
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  315.  
  316. Griffiths, J. G. “The Egyptian Derivation of the Name Moses.” Journal of Near Eastern Studies 12 (1953): 225–231.
  317.  
  318. DOI: 10.1086/371155Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  319.  
  320. Discussion of the assumption that Moses was an Egyptian name, and attempts to derive this name from other languages.
  321.  
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  323.  
  324. Jastrow, M. Jr. “The Element בשת in Hebrew Proper Names.” Journal of Biblical Literature 13 (1894): 19–30.
  325.  
  326. DOI: 10.2307/3268912Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  327.  
  328. Compares biblical names with the element “bst,” meaning in Hebrew “shame,” to the Assyro-Bablonian element “Bastum,” meaning “powerful,” concluding that this element represented an honorable epithet.
  329.  
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  331.  
  332. Layton, S. “The Hebrew Personal Name Merab: Its Etymology and Meaning.” Journal of Semitic Studies 38 (1993): 193–207.
  333.  
  334. DOI: 10.1093/jss/XXXVIII.2.193Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  335.  
  336. Examination of studies of the Hebrew root “yrb,” argues that the biblical given name “Merab” was formed from this root, so the meaning of the name was “contention.” In many cases discussion of one name shed light on the culture, or on linguistic processes—the root “rbb” in the name מרב (Merab) considered to mean “many (blessings),” in contrast to the meanings of the root “yrb.”
  337.  
  338. Find this resource:
  339.  
  340. Lussier, E. “Adam in Genesis: 1:1–4:24.” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 18 (1956): 137–139.
  341.  
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  343.  
  344. Discusses several meanings of the name Adam and compares appearance of the word in Genesis as a given name and as a noun.
  345.  
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  347.  
  348. Porten, B. “Domla’el and Related Names.” Israel Exploration Journal 21 (1971): 47–49.
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  351.  
  352. Identification of a few Israelite biblical given names as compared to names from other sources that can be classified as “names of encouragement.”
  353.  
  354. Find this resource:
  355.  
  356. Ronning, J. “The Naming of Isaac: The Role of the Wife/Sister Episodes in the Redaction of Genesis.” Westminster Theological Journal 53.1 (1991): 1–27.
  357.  
  358. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  359.  
  360. Discusses the role of the women in a patriarchal society in context of newborn naming.
  361.  
  362. Find this resource:
  363.  
  364. Names as Literary Devices
  365. The fact that some biblical given names were adjusted by meaning or otherwise to their role in the story caused some scholars to believe that those names were in fact a literary device. For example, Marks 1995 assesses some biblical given names from a poetic perspective, as phonetic tools to particular biblical narratives. Garsiel 1991 finds not only the phonological aspect, but also the semantic aspect of many names as a literary tool. In a similar way, Strus 1978 analyzes the connections between the etymologies of the names and their narrative and Kalimi 1995 describes from this perspective the given names in the book of Chronicles. Some scholars relate negative connotations of given names and their role in several biblical narratives, as presented in Radday 1990, Hess 1994, and Hallo 1995. Eybers 1971 and Clines 1972 discuss given names and the biblical pattern of introducing persons as stylistic devices in a narrative. The Jews kept reading and studying the Bible in later generations, a literature known as “midrashim,” interpretations of the verses, laws, and narratives in the Jewish Bible. Some midrashim interpreted given names, as seen in the monumental study Harduf 1979.
  366.  
  367. Clines, D. J. A. “X, X Ben Y, Ben Y: Personal Names in Hebrew Narrative Style.” Vetus Testamentum 22 (1972): 282–287.
  368.  
  369. DOI: 10.1163/156853372X00028Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  370.  
  371. An explanation of the common quotation of one’s given name with his or her father’s given name in the Bible, as a necessity evolving from the narrative.
  372.  
  373. Find this resource:
  374.  
  375. Eybers, I. H. “The Use of Proper Names as a Stylistic Device.” Semitics 2 (1971): 82–92.
  376.  
  377. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  378.  
  379. Uses a small group of given names in the prophets books to show how given names expressed the narrator’s emotions, which explicated the historical set alongside the literal use.
  380.  
  381. Find this resource:
  382.  
  383. Garsiel, M. Biblical Names: A Literary Study of Midrashic Derivations and Puns. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1991.
  384.  
  385. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  386.  
  387. An examination of a large group of biblical given names that suggests that their meaning or the reason they were chosen was implied by the author (MND names—midrashic name derivations). The reasons for choosing those names may be literary, semantic, phonologic, or pragmatic.
  388.  
  389. Find this resource:
  390.  
  391. Hallo, W. W. “Scurrilous Etymologies.” In Pomegranates and Golden Bells: Studies in Biblical, Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor of Jacob Milgrom. Edited by D. P. Wright, D. N. Freedman, and A. Hurvitz, 767–776. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1995.
  392.  
  393. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  394.  
  395. Analyzes a small group of given names that embodied an unflattering wordplay, to give the name a negative connotation for different reasons.
  396.  
  397. Find this resource:
  398.  
  399. Harduf, D. M. Bible Proper Names: A Symbolic Interpretation. Toronto: Harduf Hebrew Books, 1979.
  400.  
  401. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  402.  
  403. Discusses a few hundred biblical given names according to the interpretation of post-exilic texts.
  404.  
  405. Find this resource:
  406.  
  407. Hess, R. S. “Achan and Achor: Names and Wordplay in Joshua 7.” Hebrew Annual Review 14 (1994): 89–98.
  408.  
  409. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  410.  
  411. Claims that the name Achan in Joshua 7 was changed in Chronicles 2:7 to Achor, because of the negative meaning of the root “kr”: destroy, in Hebrew.
  412.  
  413. Find this resource:
  414.  
  415. Kalimi, I. “Paronomasia in the Book of Chronicles.” Journal for the Study of the Old Testament 67 (1995): 27–41.
  416.  
  417. DOI: 10.1177/030908929502006702Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  418.  
  419. Discussion of several puns relating to given names in the book of Chronicles.
  420.  
  421. Find this resource:
  422.  
  423. Marks, H. “Biblical Naming and Poetic Etymology.” Journal of Biblical Literature 114.1 (1995): 21–42.
  424.  
  425. DOI: 10.2307/3266588Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  426.  
  427. Examination of a group of etymologies in the Bible that enable interpretation of names based on phonetic elements.
  428.  
  429. Find this resource:
  430.  
  431. Radday, Y. “Humor in Names.” In On Humor and the Comic in the Hebrew Bible. Edited by Y. Radday and A. Brenner, 59–97. Sheffield, UK: Sheffield Academic Press, 1990.
  432.  
  433. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  434.  
  435. Enumerates some given names with negative connotation in the Bbible and explains them from a mocking point of view.
  436.  
  437. Find this resource:
  438.  
  439. Strus, A. The Name Is the Omen: The Stylistic Sound of the Personal Names in the Pentateuch. Analecta Biblica 80. Rome: Biblical Institute, 1978.
  440.  
  441. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  442.  
  443. Presents a classification of biblical given names as playing a role in the poetic narratives of the Pentateuch, and examines the etymologies of the names according to the narrative needs of the story. In French.
  444.  
  445. Find this resource:
  446.  
  447. Epigraphy
  448. Numerous archaeological artifacts such as amulets, arrowheads, bullae, ostraca, scarabs, and seals have been discovered in the old territories of Israel and Judea. Many of these artifacts are considered to be of Israelite or Jewish origins. Many archaeological findings contain given names, as reported in Torczyner 1938; Aharoni, et al. 1981; Lawton 1984; Pardee 1988; Shiloh and Tarler 1986; and Avigad 1997. Heltzer and Ohana 1978 find good onomastic correlation of given names in the Bible and the archaeological artifacts from the corresponding periods. Tigay 1986 and Avigad 1987 try to understand the essence of the Jewish faith according to given names identified in archaeological findings from biblical times.
  449.  
  450. Aharoni, Y., J. Naveh, and A. F. Rainey. Arad Inscriptions, Judean Desert Series. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1981.
  451.  
  452. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  453.  
  454. Analysis of numerous ostraca dating from the period of 10th–11th century BCE were discovered in Arad, a biblical Negev city in the southern territory of Israel. These ostraca contain texts in several languages, including Hebrew. Some of the identified given names appear in the Bible and some do not.
  455.  
  456. Find this resource:
  457.  
  458. Avigad, N. “The Contribution of Hebrew Seals to an Understanding of Israelite Religion and Society.” In Ancient Israelite Religion: Essays in Honor of Frank Moore Cross. Edited by P. D. Miller Jr., P. D. Hanson, and S. D. McBride, 195–208. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987.
  459.  
  460. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  461.  
  462. The search for a few hundred given names during the first millennium BCE emphasizes the centrality of the religious belief in the worship of “Yahweh.”
  463.  
  464. Find this resource:
  465.  
  466. Avigad, N. Corpus of West Semitic Stamp Seals. Jerusalem: Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 1997.
  467.  
  468. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  469.  
  470. A series of reviews of seals and bullae dated to the 6th–9th centuries BCE. Part one contains a complete documentary, photographic, and bibliographic catalogue of West Semitic stamp seals published through 1991 and presents approximately 100 hitherto unpublished seals. Part two presents an analytical discussion of the epigraphy and onomasticon of the seals.
  471.  
  472. Find this resource:
  473.  
  474. Heltzer, M., and M. Ohana. The Extra-Biblical Tradition of Hebrew Personal Names. Haifa, Israel: University of Haifa, 1978.
  475.  
  476. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  477.  
  478. Reviews pre-exilic given names in Hebrew and other Semitic languages that were not found in the Bible, but appeared in epigraphic findings and in later Jewish sources throughout the end of the Talmud period. In Hebrew.
  479.  
  480. Find this resource:
  481.  
  482. Lawton, R. “Israelite Personal Names on Pre-Exilic Hebrew Inscriptions.” Biblica 65.3 (1984): 330–346.
  483.  
  484. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  485.  
  486. A list of several hundred pre-exilic given names with matching citations from scholarly studies.
  487.  
  488. Find this resource:
  489.  
  490. Mykytiuk, L. J. Identifying Biblical Persons in Northwest Semitic Inscriptions of 1200–539 B.C.E. Atlanta: Scholars, 2004.
  491.  
  492. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  493.  
  494. Establishes a comprehensive system for evaluating potential identification of persons mentioned in the Bible with persons mentioned in Northwest Semitic inscriptions. This system was applied to a small number of Hebrew inscriptions, such as the Mesha Inscription and the Tel Dan stele.
  495.  
  496. Find this resource:
  497.  
  498. Pardee, D. “An Evaluation of the Proper Names from Ebla from a West Semitic Perspective: Pantheon Distribution according to Genre.” In Eblaite Personal Names and Semitic Name-Giving: Papers of a Symposium Held in Rome July 15–17, 1985. Edited by A. Archi, 119–150. Roma: Missione Archeologica Italiana in Siria, 1988.
  499.  
  500. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  501.  
  502. Research of the later West Semitic archaeological findings from Ebla, which contain many given names, and comparative analysis to Hebrew, Phoenician, and Ugaritic names. The author proposes that interpretation of given names should be based on the results of previous studies. The results demonstrate the limitations of onomastic study for determining the religious beliefs of the name bearers.
  503.  
  504. Find this resource:
  505.  
  506. Shiloh, Y., and D. Tarler. “Bullae from the City of David: A Hoard of Seal Impressions from the Israelite Period.” Biblical Archeologist 49 (1986): 197–209.
  507.  
  508. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  509.  
  510. Excavations in the city of David in Jerusalem discovered more than fifty bullae; most of them contained the given name and father’s name of the owners in Hebrew. These findings showed that half of the given names include the component of the divine name “Yahweh.” The bullae were dated according to writing to 7th–6th century BCE.
  511.  
  512. Find this resource:
  513.  
  514. Tigay, J. H. You Shell Have No Other Gods: Israelite Religion in the Light of Hebrew Inscriptions. Harvard Semitic Series 31. Atlanta: Scholars, 1986.
  515.  
  516. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  517.  
  518. Discusses the nature of the relationship between biblical and extra-biblical pre-exilic given names and religious beliefs of the people who used those names for their children. The work contests that despite the fact that most Israelite names were Yehwistic, some names found in various texts contained Pagan deities such as “Ba’al.”
  519.  
  520. Find this resource:
  521.  
  522. Torczyner, H. Lachish I (Tel ed Duweir): The Lachish Letters. London: Oxford University Press, 1938.
  523.  
  524. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  525.  
  526. Torczyner (Tur-Sinai) analyzed the findings from the “Lachish Letters”, eighteen ostraca originally unearthed in 1935. The ostraca were dated to the end of the pre-exilic period in Judea. The given names and the language are consistent with the book of Jeremiah.
  527.  
  528. Find this resource:
  529.  
  530. Hellenistic and Roman Periods
  531. Distinct naming habits dissociate the Jewish given names of this period from biblical given names. Wide distribution of a small number of given names led to the prevalent use of nicknames. Shrinking of the Jewish onomasticon was caused by habitual naming by patronymy—naming after the father—and paponymy—naming after the grandfather—or adopting names of important political figures, particularly from the Hasmonean family. Most Hebrew given names were taken from the Bible, but not those of the most important figures of Jewish mythology such as David or Moses. Only a few new Hebrew given names were created during this period, such as Peraḥya רחיה, as shown in Ilan 2002. The new given names in Jewish onomasticon of this era were of Aramaic, Greek, or Latin origin, resulting from declining knowledge of the Hebrew language and growing influences of other cultures, as demonstrated in several studies, such as Leon 1960, Cohen 1976, and Honigman 1993. The process of name changing was pronounced in Jewish families who embraced Christianity, as discussed in Horsley 1987. One of the most important archaeological findings from this era is the discovery of Elephantine archives, a Jewish colony in Egypt, containing many Hebrew and non-Hebrew names of Jews reported in Porten 1968. The series of lexicons in Ilan 2002, Ilan 2008, Ilan 2011, and Ilan 2012 is an inclusive work covering evidence of Jewish given names in the Hellenistic and Roman periods until the Islamic conquest of Palestine. The lexicon is organized according to geographical areas and historical periods and embodies 15,490 names, of which 9,247 are valid and known as Jewish. Another fundamental work on this era is Zadok 1995, which presents a name classification of Jewish onomastics in the post-biblical period.
  532.  
  533. Cohen, N. G. “Jewish Names as Cultural Indicators in Antiquity.” Journal for the Study of Judaism 7 (1976): 97–128.
  534.  
  535. DOI: 10.1163/157006376X00267Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  536.  
  537. Assessment of the argument that Jewish given names represent cultural indicators in antiquity, discussing cases of Jews with Jewish and non-Jewish given names.
  538.  
  539. Find this resource:
  540.  
  541. Honigman, S. “The Birth of a Diaspora: The Emergence of a Self-Definition in Ptolemaic Egypt in the Light of Onomastics.” In Diasporas in Antiquity. Edited by S. J. D. Cohen, and E. S. Frerichs, 93–128. Brown Judaic Studies 288. Atlanta: Scholars, 1993.
  542.  
  543. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  544.  
  545. Paper presented at a conference held on 30 April 1992, at Brown University. The study attempts to understand the Jewish culture in Alexandria, Egypt, during the Hellenistic period through evaluation of the local Jewish onomasticon. The study reveals religious connections with Judea and strong Hellenistic cultural influence.
  546.  
  547. Find this resource:
  548.  
  549. Horsley, G. H. R. “Name Change as an Indication of Religious Conversion in Antiquity.” Numen 34 (1987): 1–17.
  550.  
  551. DOI: 10.1163/156852787X00119Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  552.  
  553. The study discusses name changes at the beginning of the first millennium as criteria of religious conversion and indicates that many cases of name changes during this period resulted from bureaucracy.
  554.  
  555. Find this resource:
  556.  
  557. Ilan, T. Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity Part I: Palestine 330 BCE–200 CE. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2002.
  558.  
  559. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  560.  
  561. A wide collection of Jewish onomastics from 330 BCE until 200 CE, from the Hellenistic conquest of Palestine until the early Roman government and the end of the Mishna period. The names were taken from a wide variety of Jewish documents and archaeological findings as scrolls, papyri, and ostraca discovered in the ancient territory of Palestine.
  562.  
  563. Find this resource:
  564.  
  565. Ilan, T. Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity Part III: The Western Diaspora 330 BCE–650 CE. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2008.
  566.  
  567. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  568.  
  569. This volume contains the collection of Jewish names from the Hellenistic conquest of Palestine until the Islamic conquest of the territory. The western Diaspora was linguistically defined as territories in which Jews spoke Greek and Latin. The western Jews lived in the entire Mediterranean Basin, Eastern Europe as far as the northern coast of the Black Sea, and in Western Europe as far as Wales.
  570.  
  571. Find this resource:
  572.  
  573. Ilan, T. Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity Part IV: The Eastern Diaspora 330 BCE–650 CE. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2011.
  574.  
  575. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  576.  
  577. Volume IV contains Jewish names from the same era as volume III, but from a different geographic area. The eastern Diaspora was located northeast, east, and southeast of Palestine: Mesopotamia with Babylonia in the center, Iran, and the Arabian Peninsula. Names of small Jewish communities in Armenia and Georgia were mentioned as well. Jews in the eastern Diaspora spoke Semitic languages, primarily Aramaic dialects and later on Arabic.
  578.  
  579. Find this resource:
  580.  
  581. Ilan, T. Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity Part II: Palestine 200–650 CE. Tübingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck, 2012.
  582.  
  583. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  584.  
  585. The second volume starts in 200 CE, at the end of the period addressed in the first volume and ends in 650 CE with the conquest of Palestine by Arab Muslims. Palestine was ruled by the Roman Empire during this period through cultural and political developments such as conversion to Christianity. The Jewish onomastics gathered in this volume include the ancient Provincia Palestina of the Roman Empire. The geographical territory included lands west and east of the Jordan River and the Sinai Desert.
  586.  
  587. Find this resource:
  588.  
  589. Leon, H. J. “The Jews of Ancient Rome.” Philadelphia (1960): 93–121.
  590.  
  591. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  592.  
  593. The book analyzes more than 500 Jewish given names found in Roman inscriptions from the beginning of the second century CE. The names were classified by language and gender.
  594.  
  595. Find this resource:
  596.  
  597. Porten, B. Archives from Elephantine: The Life of an Ancient Jewish Military Colony. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1968.
  598.  
  599. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  600.  
  601. An extensive discussion of letters written in Aramaic by Jews residing in a colony in Elephantine, Egypt, originating from the 5th century BCE. The book contains many given names in different languages, including Hebrew names, mostly biblical and some new names.
  602.  
  603. Find this resource:
  604.  
  605. Zadok, R. “On the Post-Biblical Jewish Onomasticon and Its Background.” In DOR Le-DOR. Edited by A. Kasher and A. Oppenheimer, v–xxvii. Jerusalem: Bialik, 1995.
  606.  
  607. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  608.  
  609. Presents a classification of post-biblical Jewish and non-Jewish given names collected from a wide variety of texts originating from the Hellenistic-Roman and Byzantine periods.
  610.  
  611. Find this resource:
  612.  
  613. Middle Ages until the Late 19th Century
  614. Most Jews in the Diaspora were influenced by their neighbors in many ways. As seen in the Romaniote Jews, Italy, and Aancient France, Jews at different locations preserved Hebrew male onomasticons originating from the Bible, and some women’s names were from the same origin. The main Jewish onomastic creation of this era was the talismanic names that were unique to each Jewish community. In additional to Hebrew given names, Jews also used many names taken from Jewish and non-Jewish languages. In many cases, the Hebrew names were adjusted to the Jewish language, as Gompertz 1957 show in the case of the Arabic names Machluf (מכלוף) and Chalifa (כליפה), and the biblical name Israel that became Isserlin in France and later on Isser in Ashkenaz. A similar process happened to the Franch phrase Bon home, transformed into the Yiddish given name Bunem (בונם) as described in Gompertz 1957 and also mentioned by Kutscher 1974.
  615.  
  616. Gompertz, Y. G. “Naming in Israel.” Tarbiz 25.3 (1957): 340–353.
  617.  
  618. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  619.  
  620. The study, which continues in issue 25.4: 452–463, reviews the linguistic processes that occurred in Hebrew and Jewish given names as a result of migration and exposure to different languages during the Middle Ages. The discussion addresses typical naming habits in many Jewish communities worldwide and presents typical names of several Jewish communities. In Hebrew.
  621.  
  622. Find this resource:
  623.  
  624. Kutscher, E. Y. Words and their History. Jerusalem: Kiryat-Sepher, 1974.
  625.  
  626. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  627.  
  628. A study on roots and transformations of as 100 Hebrew words along history. The book points out the many sources of those Hebrew words that were taken from many languages and cultures. In p. 12 there is a very short discussion on the Yiddish name Bunem.
  629.  
  630. Find this resource:
  631.  
  632. The Romaniote Jews, Italy, and Aancient France
  633. According to Barnavi 1993, the Romaniote Jews, or the Greek-speaking Jews, were the first Jewish communities established in Europe starting in the period of the Second Temple. Kerem 1999 discusses the similarities and differences between the Romaniote and Sephardic onomastics. The conquest of the holy land by Alexander the Great in the mid-4th century BCE opened for Jews the way to the west. Jewish communities settled in Greece, and later on in Rome, after the establishment of Roman political patronage on the holy land. The Roman Empire grew stronger and established colonies north of Italy, allowing Jews to migrate to the Roman colonies of Gallia, after settlement by the Roman legions. Two studies review Jewish onomastics in Italy from a historical point of view: Colorni 1983 on Italian Jewry and Cassuto 1918 focus specifically on the history and onomastics of Jews in Florence. During the middle ages, Ashkenazi Jews settled in numerous Italian towns as did later Sephardic Jews. Many of them preferred Rome due to its unique status as the center of the Christian world, as well as a financial and commercial center. Klar 1950 emphasizes the unique onomastic qualities of the Jewish community in Italy.
  634.  
  635. Barnavi, E. A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People. Tel Aviv: Miscal, 1993.
  636.  
  637. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  638.  
  639. A geographical atlas of maps and facts describing the historical processes and the mobility of the Jewish people worldwide. The book starts at the Biblical period and ends in the modern era - the Jewish centers in North America and the large immigration waves from former U.S.S.R to the state of Israel. In Hebrew.
  640.  
  641. Find this resource:
  642.  
  643. Cassuto, U. Gli Ebrei a Firenze nell’età del Rinascimento. Florence: Tipografia Galletti e Cocci, 1918.
  644.  
  645. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  646.  
  647. Reprinted: Florence, 1965. See especially Chapter 6: L’onomastica, pp. 231–244. The book reviews the history of the Jewish community in Florence, Italy. Not much is known about Jews in that area during the Roman era, but Jews had been invited to the city in the 15th century. The book presents some of the leading persons of the community and names that local Jews carried. In Italian.
  648.  
  649. Find this resource:
  650.  
  651. Colorni, V. Judaica minora: Saggi sulla storia dell’ebraismo italiano dall’antichita all’eta moderna. Milan: A. Giuffrè, 1983.
  652.  
  653. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  654.  
  655. A cohesive description of the history of the Jews in Italy. The book focuses on Jewish communities throughout the geographical area of today’s Italy. Special attention was given to important Jewish figures in Italy and to the Jewish onomastics. In Italian.
  656.  
  657. Find this resource:
  658.  
  659. Kerem, Y. “On Sephardic and Romaniote Names.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 2. Edited by A. Demsky, 113–136. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1999.
  660.  
  661. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  662.  
  663. The article discusses given names and nicknames of Romaniote Jews, the Judeo-Greek speaking Jews in the Byzantine Empire. In addition, it presents Sephardic surnames, Ashkenazi surnames with Sephardic roots, and crypto-Jewish names at several locations worldwide.
  664.  
  665. Find this resource:
  666.  
  667. Klar, B. “The Names of the Sons of Israel.” Leshonenu La’am 1.10 (1950): 1–42.
  668.  
  669. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  670.  
  671. A general review of Jewish given names throughout history. The study mentions the unique onomastic status of the Jewish communities in Italy, as exemplified by the fact that Italian Jews were the first to use angels’ names such as Uriel. In Hebrew.
  672.  
  673. Find this resource:
  674.  
  675. Seror, S. Names of Jews in France during the Middle Ages. Paris: CNRS, 1989.
  676.  
  677. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  678.  
  679. A dictionary of several thousand men’s and women’s names of Jews in France from the 10th to the 16th centuries, reviewing the roots of names, etymology, meanings, and their variants. In French.
  680.  
  681. Find this resource:
  682.  
  683. In Islamic Territories
  684. Two main innovations evolved during this period. The first novel aspect was the use of given names of major figures in Jewish mythology, for example David and Moshe, as shown in Bareket 2013. All Jewish communities used these names of the most important figures along with less prominent Biblical names such as זכריה (Zachariah), more common in Yemen as reported in Gaimani 1997. According to Sabar 1974, Jews in Kurdistan used prophets’ names, believed to be buried there, such as יחזקאל (Ezekiel) and עזרא (Ezra). The second innovation was the creation of talismanic given names aiming to defend babies and accomplish wishes of the parents. Some talismanic names are presented in Hayoun 2010, as in the example of the Hebrew name נסים (Nissim), meaning “miracles.” Talismanic names were often translated from Arabic in the Islamic world as demonstrated in Bareket 2013. Men had two names, one of them Hebrew and the other Arabic, whereas women had only one name, most commonly a feminine Arabic given name, and only a few carried Hebrew names, according to Bareket 2013.
  685.  
  686. Bareket, E. “Names of People: Middle Ages (Islamic Lands).” In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Edited by G. Khan, 843–845. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013.
  687.  
  688. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  689.  
  690. The article presents conclusions drawn from almost three thousand given names collected from approximately one thousand Genizah documents. It characterizes the most prominent similarities in male onomasticon and evaluates the feminine onomasticon separately.
  691.  
  692. Find this resource:
  693.  
  694. Gaimani, A. “Personal Names in Yemenite Communities: A Study of Names Based on Marriage Documents.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 1. Edited by A. Demsky, J. A. Reif, J. Tabory, and Edwin Lawson, 49–61. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1997.
  695.  
  696. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  697.  
  698. Collection and analysis of more than five hundred Jewish marriage documents in Yemen, showing that men had mostly Hebrew names transferred through paponymy. Women carried mostly Arabic names in the context of beauty, good fortune, fertility, etc. In Hebrew, abstract in English.
  699.  
  700. Find this resource:
  701.  
  702. Hayoun, V. “Jewish Names, Surnames, and Nicknames of Nabeul, Tunisia.” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 145–190. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  703.  
  704. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  705.  
  706. The manuscript revisits newborn given names in the city of Nabeul, Tunisia, showing a significant impact of the Sephardi tradition on naming along French cultural influence. The paper includes Jewish surnames from the city of Nabeul, and reflects the names of Jewish families who immigrated to Nabeul from other Jewish communities.
  707.  
  708. Find this resource:
  709.  
  710. Sabar, Y. “First Names, Nicknames and Family Names among the Jews of Kurdistan.” Jewish Quarterly Review 65 (1974): 43–50.
  711.  
  712. DOI: 10.2307/1453951Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  713.  
  714. Review of some of the most common first names and discussion of naming habits of the Jewish community in Kurdistan.
  715.  
  716. Find this resource:
  717.  
  718. Sephardic Jews
  719. The Sephardic Jews are the Jewish communities originating from Spain and Portugal in the Iberian Peninsula. Sephardic Jews were renowned for their rich culture, a unique mixture composed of Jewish heritage, the Muslim culture, their rulers since the 8th century, and the Christians’ influence, after the reconquest of Spain. The Jews were expelled from Spain in the late 15th century, but in many cases they kept their names and naming traditions. Some families adopted different surnames or adjusted their original surnames to the local languages. A similar process occurred with the Jews from Portugal at a later time, in 1497. The Sephardic Jews often influenced the non-Sephardic Jews in the new locations, as seen in Hadar 2010. Few talismanic names were produced by the Sephardic Jews, some of them in Hebrew, such as Yom-tov (good day) יום-טוב for women, as reported by Schwarzwald 2010. Other given names were derived from local Jewish languages, for example, Morina (Judezmo) meaning black color. According to Alexander and Bentolila 2010, Sephardic Jews in Morocco used additional components of Moroccan Judeo-Arabic. Some Jews did not leave the Iberian Peninsula; they converted to Christianity but secretly kept some Jewish traditions. Those Jews were known as Crypto-Jews. They could not keep their Jewish names, but they kept some unique names and naming habits, as presented in Gitlitz 1996 and Kerem 1999.
  720.  
  721. Alexander, T., and Y. Bentolila. “Personal Names in Judeo-Spanish Proverbs from Northern Morocco (Hakitia).” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 263–294. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  722.  
  723. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  724.  
  725. The article presents a corpus of Hakitian given names, a Judeo-Spanish dialect unique to Moroccan Jews, comparing Hakitian given names with Ladino and Moroccan Judeo-Arabic. The conclusion proposes social functions of given names.
  726.  
  727. Find this resource:
  728.  
  729. Gitlitz, D. M. Secrecy and Deceit: The Crypto-Jews. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1996.
  730.  
  731. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  732.  
  733. A discussion of various aspects of Jewish life as Christians under the threat of the Inquisition, presenting naming traditions of secret Jewish given names.
  734.  
  735. Find this resource:
  736.  
  737. Hadar, G. “Bienvenida ‘Blessed Be Her Who Comes’ and Azebuena ‘Does Good Needs.’” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 209–232. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  738.  
  739. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  740.  
  741. A survey of women’s given names in Salonika between the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492 until 1943. The study is divided into historical periods according to the waves of Jewish immigration into the city, presenting general changes in the feminine onomasticon of the Salonika Jewish community.
  742.  
  743. Find this resource:
  744.  
  745. Kerem, Y. “On Sephardic and Romaniote Names.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 2. Edited by A. Demsky, 113–136. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1999.
  746.  
  747. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  748.  
  749. The article discusses given names and nicknames of Romaniote Jews, the Judeo-Greek speaking Jews in the Byzantine Empire. In addition, it presents Sephardic surnames, Ashkenazi surnames with Sephardic roots and crypto-Jewish names at several locations worldwide.
  750.  
  751. Find this resource:
  752.  
  753. Schwarzwald (Rodrgue), O. “First Names in Sephardi Communities.” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 191–207. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  754.  
  755. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  756.  
  757. A review detailing common and uncommon given names for men and women in the Sephardic communities.
  758.  
  759. Find this resource:
  760.  
  761. Ashkenazi Jews
  762. The Ashkenazi Jews named their newborns after the most important biblical figures, as did most of the Jews in the world. They added to the biblical name corpus a small group of talismanic names and used non-Hebrew names converted to the pronunciation of Jewish languages, mainly Yiddish, as explained in Stankiewicz 1969 and Weinreich 1980. Many Jews had two names during this period. Many members of the Ashkenazi communities had the same name because the given names dictionary was reduced. The use of paponymy as the main naming strategy resulted in many children in the family carrying the same given name. The shrinking dictionary prompted the use of nicknames as a way of easier identification of individuals. In some communities, mostly Ashkenazi, people had two given names, a habit partly inspired by Jacob’s blessing (Gen. 49.9), such as יהודה אריה בנימין, זאב. In other cases, a Hebrew name was combined with a talismanic name אברהם חיים as shown in Rivlin 2011. Beider 2013 explained that most Jews in the Ashkenazi Diaspora named their children with Hebrew names as the Jewish name (shem ha-kodesh) and with a gentile name for everyday use (Kinnui). Women in Ashkenazi communities did not have shem ha-kodesh, rather they had Jewish names combined with non-Jewish names or with Hebrew and non-Hebrew talismanic names, such as Sarah Chayah and Menachem Mendl, mentioned in Rivlin 2011. Some studies cover Ashkenazi given names from the entire Ashkenazi world in Europe, such as Beider 2001. Other studies relate mostly to specific communities, such as the discussion of Russian Jewry in Feldblyum 1998 (based on Kulisher’s 1911 book), given names in Hungarian Jewry in Panchyk 1995, and the onomasticon of the English Jewry in Roth 1978 and Seror 1995. Bering 1992 deals with the Jewish onomastics in Germany of the pre-Nazi era.
  763.  
  764. Beider, A. A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names: Their Origins, Structure, Pronunciation, and Migrations. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2001.
  765.  
  766. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  767.  
  768. A dictionary of Ashkenazi given names that aims to review several aspects concerning Ashkenazi given names from the Middle Ages to modern times. It includes an academic discussion of the history and phonology of the creation of names and their hypocoristic forms. The second part of the book consists of a dictionary of Ashkenazi given names presenting basic forms with their derivations and historical references.
  769.  
  770. Find this resource:
  771.  
  772. Beider, A. “Names of People: Personal Names in Pre-Modern Europe.” In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Edited by G. Khan, 845–848. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013.
  773.  
  774. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  775.  
  776. A general review of given names of Hebrew origin and naming customs of Ashkenazi Jews in Europe during this era, discussing the differences between shem ha-kodesh and kinnui for men and women.
  777.  
  778. Find this resource:
  779.  
  780. Bering, D. The Stigma of Names: Antisemitism in German Daily Life, 1812–1933. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan press, 1992.
  781.  
  782. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  783.  
  784. A detailed demonstration of the stigma attached to Jewish names in Germany from the beginning of the 19th century.
  785.  
  786. Find this resource:
  787.  
  788. Feldblyum, B. Russian-Jewish Given Names, Their Origins and Variants. Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, 1998.
  789.  
  790. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  791.  
  792. The book is based on a Russian and Hebrew book written in 1911 by I. I. Kulisher, Sbornik dlia soglasovaniia raznovidnostei imen (Zhitomir: Tip. i perepletnaia Sh. Khorozhanskago). The book presents Jewish given names in the formal documentary of Czarist Russia. The study addresses spelling problems in the transitions from Hebrew and Yiddish to Cyrillic and Latin letters, discussing variants of names and component combinations.
  793.  
  794. Find this resource:
  795.  
  796. Panchyk, R. “Given Names and Hungarian Jews.” Avotaynu 11.2 (1995): 24–28.
  797.  
  798. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  799.  
  800. A description of changes in the onomasticon of Hungarian Jews according to their involvement in the state life: from Hebrew and Yiddish names at the beginning of the 19th century to German names and to Hungarian names thereafter.
  801.  
  802. Find this resource:
  803.  
  804. Rivlin, Y. “The Practices of Giving Two Birth Names.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 5. Edited by A. Demsky, 133–149. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2011.
  805.  
  806. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  807.  
  808. Presentation of the Ashkenazi custom of giving newborns two birth names starting three centuries ago. The two Hebrew given names can be explained based on social and cultural aspects of the rabbinic literature. In Hebrew, abstract in English.
  809.  
  810. Find this resource:
  811.  
  812. Roth, C. A History of the Jews in England. Oxford: Clarendon, 1978.
  813.  
  814. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  815.  
  816. A discussion of the history of Jews in England after the Norman invasion, including Jewish given names in Hebrew and the French equivalents for men’s and women’s names. Jewish surnames and their origins are also mentioned.
  817.  
  818. Find this resource:
  819.  
  820. Seror, S. “Names of Jewish Women in England during the Middle Ages.” Revue des études juives 154.304 (1995): 295–325.
  821.  
  822. DOI: 10.2143/REJ.154.3.519414Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  823.  
  824. Jews began arriving in England from France starting in the 11th century. The study describes about 100 main entries of Jewish women’s names. In most cases, the women carried one name, while Jewish men in England had two names, a religious one and a vernacular name. Two cases of the two names were found among the women, both Miriam and Muriel. In French.
  825.  
  826. Find this resource:
  827.  
  828. Stankiewicz, E. “Derivational Pattern of Yiddish Personal (Given) Names.” In The Field of Yiddish III: Studies in Language, Folklore, and Literature. Edited by M. Herzog, W. Ravid, and U. Weinreich, 267–283. The Hague: Mouton, 1969.
  829.  
  830. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  831.  
  832. An analysis of given names in Eastern Yiddish. The study presents a linguistic system explaining the derivations of given names with numerous examples. The names were classified in three groups. Full forms appear in the first group; in the second group are the hypocoristic forms, based on full forms. The third group contains the diminutives, developed from the full form and the hypocoristic forms.
  833.  
  834. Find this resource:
  835.  
  836. Weinreich, M. History of the Yiddish Language. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980.
  837.  
  838. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  839.  
  840. An extensive discussion of the history and structure of Yiddish, mentioning the origin and morphology of given names throughout the book.
  841.  
  842. Find this resource:
  843.  
  844. In Asia
  845. Jews wondered and established communities even in remote places such as India and China during this period, losing touch with other Jewish communities as result of the geographical distance, as reported in Isenberg 1988 on the community of Bene Israel in India. Surprisingly, the Jewish onomasticon in those remote places maintained the similar characteristics of the other Jewish onomasticons, as evident from study of the memory books of Jews in Kaifeng in Demsky 2003.
  846.  
  847. Demsky, A. “Some Reflections on the Names of the Jews of Kaifeng, China.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 4. Edited by A. Demsky, 91–107. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2003.
  848.  
  849. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  850.  
  851. Classification of the non-Chinese names of Kaifeng Jewry emphasizes the special identity apparent in persistence of unique given names. The list of given names taken from memorial books reveals that most common male and female names were biblical.
  852.  
  853. Find this resource:
  854.  
  855. Isenberg, S. B. India’s Bene Israel: A Comprehensive Inquiry and Sourcebook. Berkeley, CA: Judah L. Magnes Museum, 1988.
  856.  
  857. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  858.  
  859. A study of the history of Jews in India, including lists of given names and villages names.
  860.  
  861. Find this resource:
  862.  
  863. In America
  864. Large Jewish communities established in North and South America blended Jews from various traditions. Seidman 1982 presents the Sephardic and Ashkenazi onomastic tradition in the United States. Bentes 1989 reports on the first Jewish communities in Brazil, South America, presenting Jewish given names and surnames.
  865.  
  866. Bentes, A. R. The First Israelite Community in Brazil: Traditions, Genealogy, Pre-history. Rio de Janeiro: Gr’aficos Borsoi, 1989.
  867.  
  868. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  869.  
  870. A review of the history and genealogy of the first Jewish settlers in Brazil, listing given names, surnames and their variants in reference to origin. In Portuguese.
  871.  
  872. Find this resource:
  873.  
  874. Seidman, N. L. “Child Naming Patterns of First American Families of Jewish Descent.” Senior honors thesis, Brandeis University, 1982.
  875.  
  876. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  877.  
  878. Evaluation of several thousand names of fifty Sephardic and Ashkenazi families over 250 years, starting with the first settlers in the United States. The naming patterns were thoroughly reviewed with transition from Jewish biblical names to non-Jewish names.
  879.  
  880. Find this resource:
  881.  
  882. The Modern Era: From the Late 19th Century
  883. Most Jewish communities have emancipated during the 19th century in Europe and in European colonies located in Africa and Asia. Emancipation triggered a process of Jewish involvement in the general society, which along with mounting anti-Semitism altered the Jewish onomasticons all over the world: from Jewish and Hebrew names to non-Jewish names, mostly European. In many cases, Jews carried Hebrew names (shem kodesh) only for religious purposes. The period of pogroms starting in 1881 in Russia motivated Jews to immigrate to western Europe, America, and Palestine, particularly in the renationalization process after World War II. Jews kept their Jewish names in the new countries, as reported in Gorr 1992, and added new names to fit the new society, as shown in Lieberson 2003 regarding American Jewry and in Eliassaf 1981 referring to Israeli given names and surnames.
  884.  
  885. Eliassaf, N. “Names Survey in the Population Administration: State of Israel.” Names 29 (1981): 273–284.
  886.  
  887. DOI: 10.1179/nam.1981.29.4.273Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  888.  
  889. A statistical analysis of records of Hebrew and Arabic names presents distribution of given names and surnames by frequency and number of letters.
  890.  
  891. Find this resource:
  892.  
  893. Gorr, S. Jewish Personal Names: Their Origin, Derivation and Diminutive Forms. Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, 1992.
  894.  
  895. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  896.  
  897. A review of Jewish given names and their variants, including surnames that have evolved from given names and diminutives.
  898.  
  899. Find this resource:
  900.  
  901. Lieberson, S. “Jewish Names and the Names of Jews.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 4. Edited by A. Demsky, 155–166. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2003.
  902.  
  903. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  904.  
  905. Several generations after immigration to the United States, Jewish newborns were named similarly to non-Jewish families. Along time, Jews influenced non-Jewish onomastics, although the use of biblical names is the outcome of a fashion trend more than expression of Jewish identity.
  906.  
  907. Find this resource:
  908.  
  909. In the Old World: Europe, Caucasus
  910. The process of changing from Jewish and Hebrew names to local names was characteristic of Jews who remained in Europe, as discussed for Jews in France in Kremer 1998, and in the Soviet Union in Hewitt 1981. In the modern era, the case of the Jews in Germany is unique, not only because of the Nazi attitude toward onomastics, as demonstrated in Rennick 1970, but even before the Nazis. Lande 1994 discusses the influence of conversion to Christianity in Germany on Jewish onomastics. On the other hand, many Jews in the Caucasus and elsewhere kept their Jewish names and naming traditions, as observed in Georgia by Enoch 2011, in Azerbaijan in Lawson, et al. 2011, and in Izmir in Bornstein-Makovetsky 2010. Jews developed various beliefs connected to given names and naming; some Jewish communities, such as Hasidic Jews, still rely on those habits, as presented in Lauterbach 1970.
  911.  
  912. Bornstein-Makovetsky, L. “Personal Names of Izmir Jews in Modern Times.” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 233–262. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  913.  
  914. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  915.  
  916. Analysis of divorce registers in modern Izmir, Turkey, showed that virtually all men had Hebrew given names, while only a quarter of the women had Hebrew names. The study classifies names by language of origin and meaning, including nicknames and talismanic names originating in the Sephardic naming tradition.
  917.  
  918. Find this resource:
  919.  
  920. Enoch, R. “Hebrew Names in the Speech of Georgian Jews.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 5. Edited by A. Demsky, 13–32. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2011.
  921.  
  922. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  923.  
  924. In Hebrew, abstract in English. A phonetic analysis of Georgian Jewish names and nicknames during the Soviet period showing two contradicting trends. On the one hand Jews separated themselves by keeping the Jewish pronunciations of biblical names, and on the other hand some of the biblical Jewish names were pronounced like their neighbors’.
  925.  
  926. Find this resource:
  927.  
  928. Hewitt, E. Yiddish as a Measure of Jewish Identity in Soviet and American Jews. ERIC Document Reproduction Service No ED 206763, 1981.
  929.  
  930. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  931.  
  932. A survey of Jewish identity feelings comparing American Jews with Soviet Jews who immigrated to United States, showing that American Jews were more aware of their Hebrew names.
  933.  
  934. Find this resource:
  935.  
  936. Kremer, D. “The Dictionary of Name Changes and Its Interest for Socio-Onomastics and Linguistics.” Rivista Italiana di Onomastica 4.2 (1998): 407–422.
  937.  
  938. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  939.  
  940. In French. A detailed review of variations in Jewish given names and surnames in France, caused either by true change of name or linguistic modifications.
  941.  
  942. Find this resource:
  943.  
  944. Lande, P. “Conversions and Mixed Marriages in Germany.” Avotaynu 10.4 (1994): 58.
  945.  
  946. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  947.  
  948. A revision of lists of several German Lutheran churches describes the Jewish and new Christian names of converts.
  949.  
  950. Find this resource:
  951.  
  952. Lauterbach, J. Z. “The Naming of Children in Jewish Folklore, Ritual and Practice.” In Studies in Jewish Law, Custom and Folklore. By J. Z. Lauterbach, 30–74. New York: Ktav, 1970.
  953.  
  954. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  955.  
  956. A general description of Jewish naming habits throughout history. The most cohesive part of the article is the description of Jewish beliefs connected to given names during the Diaspora era. An example is the Hasidic belief that a given name has the power to determine the child’s character.
  957.  
  958. Find this resource:
  959.  
  960. Lawson, E. D., F. Alakbarli, and R. F. Sheil. “The Mountain (Gorskij) Jews of Azerbaijan—Their Twentieth-Century Naming Patterns.” In These Are the Names. Vol. 5. Edited by A. Demsky, 157–178. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2011.
  961.  
  962. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  963.  
  964. A survey of three generations in fifty Jewish families living in remote mountain areas of Azerbaijan. Most men had religious names from the Bible, while most women had “beautiful” names.
  965.  
  966. Find this resource:
  967.  
  968. Rennick, R. M. “The Nazi Name Decrees of the Nineteen Thirties.” Names 18 (1970): 65–85.
  969.  
  970. DOI: 10.1179/nam.1970.18.2.65Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  971.  
  972. The Nazi name decrees affected both Jews and non-Jews in Germany. The study discusses the impact of those decrees and includes a list of permitted names for Jews.
  973.  
  974. Find this resource:
  975.  
  976. United States, Canada, Australia, and South Africa
  977. In countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia, the Jews preferred to adopt non-Jewish English names in order to ease their adjustment to those societies. Several studies demonstrate this tendency, including Alia 2007 for given names in Alia’s family in North America and Western Europe and Samra 1989 in a study of Iraqi Jews in Sydney. A wider review presented in Angel 1973, traces Sephardic names and naming in the United States.
  978.  
  979. Alia, V. “The Politics of Naming: A Personal Reflection.” Names 55 (2007): 457–464.
  980.  
  981. DOI: 10.1179/nam.2007.55.4.457Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  982.  
  983. An inquiry into the politics of naming starting from Ellis Island in North America, comparing naming practices and choices of names in multicultural Ashkenazi families to those of the Inuit.
  984.  
  985. Find this resource:
  986.  
  987. Angel, M. D. “The Sephardim in the United States: An Exploratory Study.” American Jewish Yearbook 74 (1973): 77–137.
  988.  
  989. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  990.  
  991. An overview highlighting preservation of naming traditions by Sephardic Jews in America, including families of intermarriage with Ashkenazi Jews. The study shows integration of the Sephardic naming traditions with the will to adjust to local society.
  992.  
  993. Find this resource:
  994.  
  995. Samra, M. “Naming Patterns among Jews of Iraqi Origin in Sydney.” Jewish Journal of Sociology 31 (1989): 25–37.
  996.  
  997. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  998.  
  999. Interviews of Jews who emigrated from Iraq to Australia referring to the naming patterns present the persistent paponymy, with many cases of anglicized Jewish names.
  1000.  
  1001. Find this resource:
  1002.  
  1003. Israel
  1004. Jews have arrived in Palestine in growing numbers since the end of the 19th century. The Zionist aspirations influenced the onomastics of Jewish newborns in the holy land, as seen in the survey of given names of newborns from 1882 until 1980 conducted in Weitman 1987. After the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948, Holocaust survivors immigrated to Israel along with more than a million Jews from North Africa and Asia. Most immigrants continued to use Hebrew names for boys as in the Diaspora, and named girls with Hebrew names in order to blend into Israeli society, as demonstrated in Rosenhouse 2002. As shown in Stahl 1994, newcomers were encouraged to change their given names to Hebrew names. The importance of this issue in Israel was expressed by the different emotions toward various types of names of young Israelis, emphasized in the study conducted in Dinur, et al. 1996, and in Ephratt 2013. Two major immigration waves arrived in Israel from Russia and from Ethiopia after the 1980s. In both cases, the decision to keep or change the original names was crucial, as demonstrated in the study in Glushkovskaya and Lawson 1997 regarding the Russian immigrants and in Wagaw 1987–1988, on Ethiopian immigrants to Israel.
  1005.  
  1006. Dinur, R., B. Beit-Hallahmi, and J. E. Hofman. “First Names as Identity Stereotypes.” Journal of Social Psychology 136.2 (1996): 191–200.
  1007.  
  1008. DOI: 10.1080/00224545.1996.9713993Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1009.  
  1010. Research demonstrating that young Israelis express emotional stereotypes according to the origins of first names, such as Jewish names used in the Diaspora, biblical names renewed in Israel, and new names in Hebrew. The subjects expressed strong rejection toward traditional Jewish names used in the Diaspora.
  1011.  
  1012. Find this resource:
  1013.  
  1014. Ephratt, M. “Names of People: Modern Hebrew: Philosophical and Sociological Aspects.” In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Edited by G. Khan, 870–879. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013.
  1015.  
  1016. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1017.  
  1018. A general description of Israeli onomasticon discussing the importance of given names in understanding the Israeli culture, emphasizing many personal facets and motifs used by parents in the process of choosing children’s given names.
  1019.  
  1020. Find this resource:
  1021.  
  1022. Glushkovskaya, I., and E. D. Lawson. “Name Changes of Soviet Jewish Immigrants to Israel.” Namenkundliche Informationen 70 (1997): 9–25.
  1023.  
  1024. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1025.  
  1026. Discussion of data regarding name alterations in the population of immigrants from Soviet territories, including a list of Russian names presented in relation to the new names.
  1027.  
  1028. Find this resource:
  1029.  
  1030. Rosenhouse, J. “Personal Names in Hebrew and Arabic: Modern Trends Compared to the Past.” Journal of Semitic Studies 47 (2002): 97–114.
  1031.  
  1032. DOI: 10.1093/jss/47.1.97Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1033.  
  1034. A comparative analysis of Hebrew and Arabic given names in Israel presents marked linguistic similarities in the past and present, as well as similar naming trends.
  1035.  
  1036. Find this resource:
  1037.  
  1038. Stahl, A. “The Imposition of Hebrew Names on New Immigrants to Israel: Past and Present.” Names 42 (1994): 279–288.
  1039.  
  1040. DOI: 10.1179/nam.1994.42.4.279Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1041.  
  1042. Presents and explains the pressure imposed on immigrants to Israel, particularly from North Africa, to change their names to Hebrew names. This phenomenon was less pronounced when many immigrants arrived in Israel from Russia and Ethiopia in the 1980s and 1990s.
  1043.  
  1044. Find this resource:
  1045.  
  1046. Wagaw, T. G. “The Emigration and Settlement of Ethiopian Jews in Israel.” Middle East Review 20.2 (1987–1988): 41–47.
  1047.  
  1048. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1049.  
  1050. A discussion of the differences between traditional Ethiopian naming practice and the new naming trends Ethiopians were encouraged to embrace in Israel.
  1051.  
  1052. Find this resource:
  1053.  
  1054. Weitman, S. “Names and National Policy in Israel, 1882–1980.” Annales Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations 42.4 (1987): 879–900.
  1055.  
  1056. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1057.  
  1058. In French. Revision and processing of 2 million given names given to Jewish newborns from 1882 to 1980 in the land of Israel. The study presents the prevalence of specific name types such as traditional names used by Jews in the Diaspora, new Israeli names, and non-Jewish names, emphasizing differential orientations of national identity in the Jewish population.
  1059.  
  1060. Find this resource:
  1061.  
  1062. Jewish Surnames
  1063. Surnames evolved for various reasons in different cultures. The fact that several people in a community had the same names raised the need for surnames. The Romans used patronym (the name of family father), which is equivalent to a modern surname, but the spread of Christianity reinforced the use of given names. The process of surname transfer started in European aristocratic families more than a thousand year ago, and is also seen in other cultures, such as China and Japan. The Muslim populations carried names of their fathers and grandfathers as surnames. In later years, more families gradually adopted surnames all over the world. The surnames were often taken from patronyms, places of origin, profession, particular characteristics, or nicknames, as shown by Wilson 1998. The process of adopting Jewish surnames might be ancient. The Hebrew meaning of the word surname is שם משפחה (in English “family name”). Israelites lived in a tribal society in the biblical era, which was the central social cell rather than the family. Nevertheless, it is possible to find tags similar to surnames in the Jewish Bible. One of the meanings of the Hebrew word - משפחה (family) in Brown, et al. 2000 is “divisions of tribes of Israel.” This connotation is very similar to the modern concept of the family. According to this meaning, some families may have surnames as in the following example: “of Shucham ((שוחם the family of the Shuchami ((שוחמי”(Nu. 26, 42), where the word שוחמי (Shuchami) is considered as an adjective, but the word השוחמי (the Shuchami) describes a collective noun. Possibly, the Shuchami may be a surname of the family mentioning an ancestor named Shucham from the tribe of Dan. In modern times, Jewish adoption of surnames started in Italy during the 10th and 11th centuries. The Jewish surnames were similar to those of their neighbors, patronymic names after the father of the family, paponymic names after the ancestor of the family, places of origin, professions, particular characteristics or nicknames, as described in Prawer 1980. The main difference between Jewish and gentile surnames was the use of Jewish languages in the former, as mentioned in Chazan 1972. Along with Hebrew words, the Jews used components of Jewish languages such as Yiddish, prevalent in East Europe, and Judeo-Arabic together with components taken from non-Jewish languages. Gold 1995 demonstrates this assumption on the Ashkenazi surname Sternchuss/Shternshuss/Sternshos, which originated from the older Yiddish word shternshus (“comet”), or connected to the 17th Yiddish literary work “Kokhva deshovit oder shternshus,” or maybe a derivation form from the Yiddish word shternshis, meaning “eaglestone.” As emphasized by this example, it is often possible to trace Jewish surnames according to their geographical origin. Indeed, numerous studies review surnames of specific communities and states as did Beider, the editor of the Jewish entries, in Hanks 2003. The database Beit Hatfutsot 1996 presented here contains general information about Jewish surnames.
  1064.  
  1065. Beit Hatfutsot: Database of Jewish Family Names. 1996.
  1066.  
  1067. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1068.  
  1069. A rich database of information regarding Jewish surnames and Jewish Genealogy in English and Hebrew.
  1070.  
  1071. Find this resource:
  1072.  
  1073. Brown, F., S. R. Driver, and C. A. Briggs. The Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2000.
  1074.  
  1075. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1076.  
  1077. Based on the lexicon of W. Gezenius, as translated by E. Robinson, by F. Brown with the cooperation of S. R. Driver and C. A. Briggs; originally published Oxford: Clarendon, 1906. A comprehensive lexicon of the Jewish Bible that is considered one of the most reliable sources in the field of biblical studies and biblical languages.
  1078.  
  1079. Find this resource:
  1080.  
  1081. Chazan, R. “Names: Medieval Period and Establishment of Surnames.” In Encyclopedia Judaica. Vol. 14. Edited by Fred Skolnik and Michael Berenbaum, 768–770. Jerusalem: Keter, 1972.
  1082.  
  1083. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1084.  
  1085. A short and concise description of Jewish surnames worldwide, describing the historical processes that started in the Middle Ages and led Jewish families to adopt surnames.
  1086.  
  1087. Find this resource:
  1088.  
  1089. Gold, D. L. “On the Study of Jewish Family Names.” In Namenforschung. Vol. 1. Edited by E. Eichler, G. Hilty, H. Loffler, H. Steyer, and L. Zgusta, 1310–1321. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1995.
  1090.  
  1091. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1092.  
  1093. A short explanation of Jewish surnames from the linguistic perspective. Gold mentions a few common mistakes of people who tried to trace surnames without sufficient linguistic knowledge. The article includes examples of analysis of some Jewish surnames.
  1094.  
  1095. Find this resource:
  1096.  
  1097. Hanks, P., ed. Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
  1098.  
  1099. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1100.  
  1101. Dictionary of American Family Names contains more than 70,000 most common surnames in the United States, including many Jewish surnames, with annotated frequencies, linguistic and historical explanations, selected associated forenames, and occasional genealogical notes. The book gathered the contributions of thirty linguistic consultants led by Editor in Chief Patrick Hanks; Brandeis University and Beider are the editors of the Jewish entries.
  1102.  
  1103. Find this resource:
  1104.  
  1105. Prawer, J., ed. Encyclopaedia Hebraica. Vol. 32. Givataim: Society for Issuing Encyclopedias, 1980.
  1106.  
  1107. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1108.  
  1109. A short description of names from the ancient cultures of Europe, the Greeks and the Roman, and their influence on Jewish surnames. The description include the process of adopting Jewish surnames, their origins and geographical differences. See especially pages 1007–1016.
  1110.  
  1111. Find this resource:
  1112.  
  1113. Wilson, S. The Means of Naming. London: Taylor & Francis, 1998.
  1114.  
  1115. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1116.  
  1117. See especially pages 243–247, 305–306. A historical description of naming practices starting in early Roman times, including short explanations regarding Jewish surnames in Europe and anglicized Jewish surnames in modern times.
  1118.  
  1119. Find this resource:
  1120.  
  1121. Sephardic Surnames
  1122. Jews in the Iberian peninsula, known as Sephardim (ספרדים), adopted surnames in the 11th century, according to Prawer 1980. According to Orfali 2010, they did so in 12th and 13th centuries; these surnames were retained after expulsion from Spain and later from Portugal in the late 15th century. Numerous Jewish families converted to Christianity and continued living in Spain and Portugal, where they were known as the conversos. Those families tended to carry unique surnames in specific places, as demonstrated in Abecassis 1986. Many conversos carried Spanish and Portuguese surnames, as reviewed by Faiguenboim, et al. 2005. Many of the Sephardic Jews immigrated to the Ottoman Empire and to North Africa. They joined the local Jewish communities but kept their original culture in some cases in the neighborhoods of Romaniote communities in Greece and Asia Minor. The Romaniote, or the Greek-speaking Jews, according to Barnavi 1993, were the first Jewish communities established in Europe starting in the period of the Second Temple. In modern times, Turkey enforced registration of surnames in 1934, but by that time the Sephardic Jews influenced the local Jews in many aspects, according to Barnavi 1993, including onomastics as presented in the surnames dictionary of Turkish Jews in Pinto 2004. A similar process occurred all over the Ottoman Empire, as shown in the study of Jewish onomastics in Bulgaria in Tagger 2010, and from the analysis of Jewish onomastics in Macedonia in Alboher 2010. Some Sephardic Jews settled in Europe, in France (Levy 1960), England, Italy, and the Netherland shores. Ashkenazi Jews settled as well in these European countries; however, Sephardic Jews carried different surnames from those of Ashkenazi Jews, as detailed in Levy’s dictionary on the Jewish surnames in France.
  1123.  
  1124. Abecassis, J. M. “Hebrew Genealogy in Portugal in the 19th and 20th Centuries: List and Classification of the Existing Tombs in the Israelite Cemetery of Faro; Genealogical and Iconographic Notes on Representative Families in the Israelite Cemetery of Faro.” Mem’orias da Academia das Ciencias de Lisbona 25 (1986): 439–534.
  1125.  
  1126. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1127.  
  1128. In Portuguese. A study of Hebrew inscriptions on tombstones in the city of Faro, southern Portugal, where most surnames were Sephardic and most given names were Hebrew.
  1129.  
  1130. Find this resource:
  1131.  
  1132. Alboher, S. “The Names of the Jews of Monastir (Bitola), Macedonia.” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 105–144. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  1133.  
  1134. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1135.  
  1136. Presents an alphabetical dictionary of Jewish surnames from Monastir city, an important and influential Jewish community in Macedonia. Each entry includes explanations of the meaning, language of origin, and variants of surnames.
  1137.  
  1138. Find this resource:
  1139.  
  1140. Barnavi, E. A Historical Atlas of the Jewish People. Tel Aviv: Miscal, 1993.
  1141.  
  1142. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1143.  
  1144. In Hebrew. A geographical atlas of maps and facts describing the historical processes and the mobility of Jewish people worldwide. The book starts at the beginning—biblical times—and ends in the modern era, including the Jewish centers in North America and the large immigration waves from the former USSR to the state of Israel.
  1145.  
  1146. Find this resource:
  1147.  
  1148. Faiguenboim, G., P. Valadares, and A. R. Campagnano. Dictionary of Sephardic Surnames. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2005.
  1149.  
  1150. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1151.  
  1152. A dictionary of Sephardic surnames from Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Berber territories, also listing surnames of Christianized Jews of the Iberian Peninsula—the conversos.
  1153.  
  1154. Find this resource:
  1155.  
  1156. Levy, P. The Names of the Israelites in France, History and Dictionary. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1960.
  1157.  
  1158. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1159.  
  1160. In French. A linguistic analysis of Jewish surnames, contains Sephardic surnames in France, explaining the formation of Jewish surnames in France and their variants. The book includes a dictionary with references to dates when surnames were registered as Jewish.
  1161.  
  1162. Find this resource:
  1163.  
  1164. Orfali, M. “The Sephardim.” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 5–22. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  1165.  
  1166. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1167.  
  1168. A short summary of the history of the Sephardic communities worldwide, describing the dominant status of the rich and unique Sephardic culture in the Jewish world.
  1169.  
  1170. Find this resource:
  1171.  
  1172. Pinto, B. B. The Sephardic Onomasticon: An Etymological Research on Sephardic Family Names of the Jews Living in Turkey. Istanbul: Gözlem Gazetecilik Basın ve Yayın, 2004.
  1173.  
  1174. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1175.  
  1176. An etymological dictionary of Sephardic surnames in Turkey, specifically describing the history of the Jews in Turkey and evolution of the surnames.
  1177.  
  1178. Find this resource:
  1179.  
  1180. Prawer, J., ed. Encyclopaedia Hebraica. Vol. 32. Givataim: Society for Issuing Encyclopedias, 1980.
  1181.  
  1182. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1183.  
  1184. A short description of the Jewish surnames explains the process of adopting surnames started in the most important families of the Sephardic Jewry, lived in Spain. See especially pages 1007–1016.
  1185.  
  1186. Find this resource:
  1187.  
  1188. Tagger, M. A. “The Jews of Bulgaria, Their Surnames as a Mirror of Their History.” In Pleasant Are Their Names. Edited by A. Demsky, 79–104. Bethesda: University Press of Maryland, 2010.
  1189.  
  1190. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1191.  
  1192. A survey of Bulgarian Jewish surnames as a tool to differentiate the Jewish immigration waves to Bulgaria. This survey relies on the use of several languages by Bulgarian Jews: Hebrew, Spanish, Italian, Turkish, Bulgarian, and others. Analysis of the surnames shows similar contents, patronyms, characters, and nicknames.
  1193.  
  1194. Find this resource:
  1195.  
  1196. Ashkenazi Surnames
  1197. Most Ashkenazi Jewry lived in central and western Europe, and spread later on to eastern Europe. Many of the Ashkenazi Jews had no surnames before the 18th–19th centuries. According to Beider 2013, numerous families in Frankfurt-am-Main and Prague adopted surnames during the 16th to 18th centuries. The Austrian emperor Joseph II ordered the Jews to adopt fixed surnames in 1787; Czar Alexander I followed him in 1804 and Napoleon I in 1808. Bondy 2014 explains some cases of German mocking surnames such as Krause (curly-haired in German), which originate from the anti-Semitic attitude of registration clerks in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Consequently, most European Jews acquired surnames during the end of 18th century and the 19th century. Some Ashkenazi and Sephardic surnames present similarities in Hebrew origin, as shown in Beider 2013. Names of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews who lived together in some European countries were analyzed in the Jewish surnames dictionary Levy 1960. Several inclusive surname dictionaries have been gathered of Ashkenazi Jews at various locations in eastern and central Europe, including etymological descriptions and bibliographical references. One such study is the dictionary of Jewish surnames in Prague in Beider 1995. Similar wide information of Jewish onomastics in defined geographical areas includes dictionaries of Jewish surnames in Poland (Beider 1996), in Galicia (Beider 2004), and in Russia (Beider 2008). The dictionary of Jewish-German surnames Menk 2005 presents the etymology and origins of numerous Ashkenazi surnames. Some studies, such as Forg’acs 1954, show the onomastic expression of the Jewish tendency to assimilate in Hungarian society. Other studies, such as Bering 1992, present the reaction of German society to the Jewish onomastics.
  1198.  
  1199. Beider, A. Jewish Surnames in Prague (15th–18th Centuries). Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, 1995.
  1200.  
  1201. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1202.  
  1203. An encyclopedic research of 700 Jewish surnames from Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, which once was one of the most important centers of Jewish life in central Europe. Surnames are organized in alphabetical order, and each entry includes etymological explanations.
  1204.  
  1205. Find this resource:
  1206.  
  1207. Beider, A. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland. Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, 1996.
  1208.  
  1209. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1210.  
  1211. The book contains an introduction on the origins and evolution of Polish-Jewish surnames. The dictionary includes more than 32,000 Jewish surnames and assigns origins within the geographical area once known as the “Kingdom of Poland.” Each entry presents geographical and linguistic explanations with spelling variants and derivatives of the names. A soundex index provides the option to locate a given surname with its Polish spelling.
  1212.  
  1213. Find this resource:
  1214.  
  1215. Beider, A. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2004.
  1216.  
  1217. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1218.  
  1219. In 1787, the Austrian emperor published a law forcing all Jews to adopt hereditary surnames. This study presents 25,000 main and 13,000 variant Jewish surnames in Galicia with a short description on the Jewish history in this region inhabited by Jews, which was governed by the Austrian Empire at that time and is currently Poland and Ukraine. The book describes the linguistic origin and morphology of the Jewish surnames in eastern Europe and explains the etymology using a systematic questioning method of what, how, why, and who.
  1220.  
  1221. Find this resource:
  1222.  
  1223. Beider, A. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire. Rev. ed. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2008.
  1224.  
  1225. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1226.  
  1227. The book includes a comprehensive introduction on the origin and evolution of Jewish surnames in eastern Europe published in two volumes and contains 74,000 Jewish surnames and their variants, analyzed according to etymology and geography. The entries were indexed by the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex System.
  1228.  
  1229. Find this resource:
  1230.  
  1231. Beider, A. “Names of People: Surnames in Pre-Modern Europe.” In Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics. Edited by G. Khan, 848–852. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2013.
  1232.  
  1233. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1234.  
  1235. A short description of surnames becoming prevalent in the Jewish population of Europe after the 14th century, discussing similarities and differences between Ashkenazi and Sephardic surnames originated from the Hebrew language.
  1236.  
  1237. Find this resource:
  1238.  
  1239. Bering, D. The Stigma of Names: Anti-Semitism in German Daily Life, 1812–1933. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1992.
  1240.  
  1241. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1242.  
  1243. In German. A survey of Jewish surnames in Germany after 1812 presents anti-Semitic stigma attached to Jewish surnames and the manipulation by the Nazis. The overview includes statistical data and tables of Jewish surnames in Germany.
  1244.  
  1245. Find this resource:
  1246.  
  1247. Bondy, R. Not Only Kafka and the Golem. Tel Aviv: Chargol and Modan, 2014.
  1248.  
  1249. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1250.  
  1251. In Hebrew, based on the book in Czech published in 2006 by the author. The book describes Jewish life in the territory of today’s Czech Republic inhabited by Jews for hundreds of years before World War II, when most of the Czechoslovak Jewish community was demolished. The first chapter reviews Jewish surnames from the Czech Republic organized by origins, patronym, profession, geographical location, and adjectives.
  1252.  
  1253. Find this resource:
  1254.  
  1255. Forg’acs, K. “Hungarianization of Jewish Surnames.” Avotaynu 10.3 (1954): 13–18.
  1256.  
  1257. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1258.  
  1259. Presents petitions of Jews for change of surnames in Hungary during the period 1869–1945. Original names are classified by language and meaning; new Hungarian surnames are interpreted and compared to their origins.
  1260.  
  1261. Find this resource:
  1262.  
  1263. Levy, P. The Names of the Israelites in France, History and Dictionary. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1960.
  1264.  
  1265. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1266.  
  1267. In French. A linguistic analysis of Ashkenazi Jewish surnames in France, explaining their formation and variants. The book includes a dictionary with references to dates when surnames were registered as Jewish.
  1268.  
  1269. Find this resource:
  1270.  
  1271. Menk, L. A Dictionary of German-Jewish Surnames. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2005.
  1272.  
  1273. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1274.  
  1275. A comprehensive etymological dictionary of 13,000 surnames used by Jews in the territories of modern Germany and in former Prussia. This unique dictionary includes a short history of the Jewish adoption of surnames in Germany and lists the sixty most common surnames and provides genealogical information concerning the migrations of families within the German-speaking territories before the 19th century.
  1276.  
  1277. Find this resource:
  1278.  
  1279. Islamic Territories
  1280. Jews adopted surnames similar to their Muslim neighbors in some Arabic territories, as shown by Gavra 2014 reviewing Jewish surnames in Yemen. The Arabic surnames were often patronyms, as were the Jewish. Jews were known in the middle ages by their given names accompanied by the father’s and sometimes also the grandfather’s name, according to the Arabic custom overviewed in Gavra 2014. Many Jews immigrated to North Africa from Christian territories where they carried fixed surnames, as shown in the pioneering work Eisenbeth 2000 (originally published in 1936).Two fundamental studies review the Jewish onomastics in North Africa. The first, Laredo 1978, analyzes more than 1,000 surnames used in Moroccan Jewish communities. The second study, Sebag 2002, searches Jewish surnames from Tunisia by linguistic etymology and place of origin. Similar to those studies are the works Toledano 1998 and Taieb 2004, which analyze Jewish surnames in the geographical area of the Maghreb. Jews adopted similar surnames to their neighbors also in Islamic non-Arabic territories, as presented in Tolmas 2003 regarding the Bukharan Jews, though some of the Jewish surnames were Hebrew surnames. In contrast, Dardashti 2014a and Dardashti 2014b present numerous Jewish families who chose mostly Hebrew surnames in Iran.
  1281.  
  1282. Corcos, D. Studies in the History of the Jews of Morocco. Jerusalem: Rubin Mass, 1976.
  1283.  
  1284. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1285.  
  1286. In French and Hebrew; first chapter on the history of Moroccan Jews under the Marinides in English. A history book on Jewish life in Morocco. The French part includes a chapter on the Jewish onomastics in North Africa, and the Hebrew part contains an index of names and a separate index of toponyms.
  1287.  
  1288. Find this resource:
  1289.  
  1290. Dardashti, E. “Iranian Jewish Surnames.” Avotaynu 30.1 (2014a): 39–41.
  1291.  
  1292. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1293.  
  1294. Iranian Jews were required to choose surnames in the early 20th century. The Jews adopted many Hebrew names, but some of the names were similar to the non-Jewish surnames in forms or sounds.
  1295.  
  1296. Find this resource:
  1297.  
  1298. Dardashti, E. “Meanings of Persian-Jewish Surnames.” Avotaynu 30.4 (2014b): 47–49.
  1299.  
  1300. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1301.  
  1302. Some of the surnames of Iranian Jews are unique in the Jewish world. The majority of the Iranian Jews chose Hebrew surnames with religious contexts.
  1303.  
  1304. Find this resource:
  1305.  
  1306. Eisenbeth, M. Les juifs de l’Afrique du Nord: Démographie & onomastique. Reprint. Paris: Cercle de Généalogie Juive: Gutenberg XXIe siècle, 2000.
  1307.  
  1308. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1309.  
  1310. A statistical survey of the Jewish population of North Africa. Jewish surnames are classified as an etymological dictionary of 4,063 surnames from Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco, with indications of the geographical location where bearers were found in 1930s, including bibliographical references.
  1311.  
  1312. Find this resource:
  1313.  
  1314. Gavra, M. The Surnames of the Jews in Yemen. Bnei Brak: Institute for the Scholars of Yemen, 2014.
  1315.  
  1316. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1317.  
  1318. In Hebrew. A historical perspective on Jewish surnames in Yemen, including an alphabetical dictionary and statistics on the Jewish communities. Yemenite Jews signed people with their first names and their father’s names, according to the biblical custom and similar to the Arab names, as in the phrase שלמה בן דוד Shlomo son of David. Later on, the patronyms became surnames. The use of nicknames to avoid confusion is explained along with name changes in the modern era.
  1319.  
  1320. Find this resource:
  1321.  
  1322. Laredo, A. I. The Names of the Jews of Morocco. Madrid: Instituto Arias Montana, 1978.
  1323.  
  1324. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1325.  
  1326. In French. An etymological analysis of Jewish surnames in Morocco starting in the 15th century. The book studies more than 1,000 surnames grouped by language and meaning.
  1327.  
  1328. Find this resource:
  1329.  
  1330. Sebag, P. Les noms des juifs de Tunisie: Origines et significations. Paris: Harmattan, 2002.
  1331.  
  1332. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1333.  
  1334. In French. A revision of 700 entries covering about 950 spelling variants of Jewish surnames in Tunisia, clustered by their origins. The book reviews Jewish surnames with roots in Italian, Iberian, Arabic, Hebrew, and East European languages. Analysis of the surnames relates to the origins of the family as well as the language in which it was created, for example the Hebrew surname Levi originating in Italy is attributed to families in Pisa and Leghorn.
  1335.  
  1336. Find this resource:
  1337.  
  1338. Taieb, J. Maghreb Jews: Surnames and Society. Paris: Cercle de Généalogie Juive, 2004.
  1339.  
  1340. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1341.  
  1342. In French. A dictionary analyzing 1,132 entries of Jewish surnames in North Africa provides an etymological explanation in reference to changes in original morphology and phonology from the original word or name.
  1343.  
  1344. Find this resource:
  1345.  
  1346. Toledano, J. A Story of Families: Family Names from North Africa from Origins to Our Times. Jerusalem: Editions Ramtol, 1998.
  1347.  
  1348. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1349.  
  1350. In French. A detailed explanation of more than 1,000 Jewish surnames from North Africa, with entries including their variants. Most names are explained by meaning and language of origin.
  1351.  
  1352. Find this resource:
  1353.  
  1354. Tolmas, C. “The Laqab of Bukharan Jews”. In These Are the Names. Vol. 4. Edited by A. Demsky, 167–173. Ramat Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 2003.
  1355.  
  1356. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1357.  
  1358. A description of the naming system of the Bukharan Jews, the laqab, taken from various languages such as Arabic, Tadjik, Russian, and Hebrew. In this system, people got appellations to avoid confusion between people with the same names. The meaning of laqab was similar to surnames: it could be descriptive, address a specific character, occupation, or a place name.
  1359.  
  1360. Find this resource:
  1361.  
  1362. The 20th Century: Israel and English-Speaking Territories
  1363. Jews started to emigrate from eastern Europe in the late 19th century. World War II and the establishment of the state of Israel intensified Jewish immigration from Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Waves of Jewish immigration were accompanied by changes in surnames, reviewed in Adler 1954; however, Mokotoff 1990 shows that this process started even before establishment of the state of Israel. Many Israeli Jews kept their surnames, as shown in Kormos, et al. 1992, as well as many American Jews, according to Rosenwaike 1990. However, Maass 1958 showd that some Jewish families preferred to change their names in order to facilitate adjustment to the new culture. According to Toury 1988, Jewish surnames changed to Hebrew surnames in Israel mostly by transformation to similar sound or meaning. Several studies present Jewish surnames in North America, especially Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies 1995. Other studies describe Jewish surnames in English-speaking territories at different time points. Himmelfarb, et al. 1983 claims that Jews kept their unique surnames, while Broom, et al. 1955 argues that Jewish surnames were often anglicized.
  1364.  
  1365. Adler, S. “Name Changes in Israel.” Names 2 (1954): 38–39.
  1366.  
  1367. DOI: 10.1179/nam.1954.2.1.38Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1368.  
  1369. A short description of surname changes in Israel describing methods of choosing new surnames by similar meaning.
  1370.  
  1371. Find this resource:
  1372.  
  1373. Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. List of 56,000 Jewish Burials. Teaneck, NJ: Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, 1995.
  1374.  
  1375. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1376.  
  1377. Lists of Jewish burials mostly from the United States and a few from Canada include full names of the deceased, dates of birth and death, and location of the cemeteries.
  1378.  
  1379. Find this resource:
  1380.  
  1381. Broom, L., H. P. Beem, and V. Harris. “Characteristics of 1,107 Petitioners for Change of Name.” American Sociological Review 30 (1955): 33–39.
  1382.  
  1383. DOI: 10.2307/2088197Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1384.  
  1385. A collection of petitions for change of surname located in Los Angeles include many requests of Jews. The study compares the reasons for name changing on an ethnic basis.
  1386.  
  1387. Find this resource:
  1388.  
  1389. Himmelfarb, H. S., R. M. Loar, and S. H. Mott. “Sampling by Ethnic Surnames: The Case of American Jews.” Public Opinion Quarterly 47 (1983): 247–260.
  1390.  
  1391. DOI: 10.1086/268783Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1392.  
  1393. A nationwide investigation of surnames showing that it was possible to identify many of the Jewish families by their surnames.
  1394.  
  1395. Find this resource:
  1396.  
  1397. Kormos, C., E. D. Lawson, and J. Ben Brit. “Most Common Surnames in Israel: Arabic and Jewish, Part I.” Onomastica Canadiana 74 (1992): 23–38.
  1398.  
  1399. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1400.  
  1401. A survey of the 200 most common surnames and their variants in Israel, found to represent a high percentage of surnames. The paper includes statistical tables classified by origin and meaning.
  1402.  
  1403. Find this resource:
  1404.  
  1405. Maass, E. “Integration and Name-Changing among Jewish Refugees from Central Europe in the United States.” Names 6 (1958): 129–171.
  1406.  
  1407. DOI: 10.1179/nam.1958.6.3.129Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1408.  
  1409. Consideration of different aspects of surname changes by small groups of Jewish refugees from central Europe in the United States and discussion of the reasons for the change and a variety of patterns of new surname alteration.
  1410.  
  1411. Find this resource:
  1412.  
  1413. Mokotoff, G. Name Changes in the Palestine Gazette. Jerusalem: Jerusalem Research Institute for Jewish Genealogy and Data Universal Corporation, 1990.
  1414.  
  1415. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1416.  
  1417. A list of changes of several thousand Jewish surnames published during the period 1921 to 1948 in the Palestine Gazette. The new surnames and the old surnames are listed in alphabetical order.
  1418.  
  1419. Find this resource:
  1420.  
  1421. Rosenwaike, I. “Leading Surnames among American Jews.” Names 38 (1990): 31–38.
  1422.  
  1423. DOI: 10.1179/nam.1990.38.1-2.31Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1424.  
  1425. A survey of surnames from American Cancer Society records identifies Jewish surnames and evaluates the relative percentage of the most common Jewish surnames.
  1426.  
  1427. Find this resource:
  1428.  
  1429. Toury, G. “Hebraized Surnames in the Land of Israel as a Cultural Translation.” In Scenic Point: Culture and Society in the Land of Israel. Edited by N. Graz, 152–171. Tel Aviv: Open University of Israel, 1988.
  1430.  
  1431. Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
  1432.  
  1433. In Hebrew. A discussion of the phenomenon of surname changing in Israel as a social norm, starting in the late 19th century. Most families who changed their surname after the establishment of the state of Israel did so in response to a request by the authorities.
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