Jewish name

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Jewish names have etymological similarities. For the time being, this article is limited to Ashkenazi Judaism . The Sephardic , Oriental, Slavic and New Hebrew names are not taken into account here.

History and principles

Ashkenazi Jews, i.e. those originally settled in northern Central and Western Europe and those who emigrated from there to Eastern Europe, for example, had mostly no fixed family names until the beginning of the 19th century , in contrast to the Sephardic Jews (Sephardim) , who did was common since the early days. As a rule, the Sephardic names were patronymic; since the 14th century they were graced: Nachmanides, Maimonides, Avramides, d. H. Descendant of Maimon, descendant, Abraham. As a rule, the father's name was used as a second name ( patronymic ), for example Jakob ben Nathan = Jakob, son of Nathan. The reason for this is u. A. the regulation of Rabbenu Tam (Jacob ben Meir) from the 12th century that in a divorce certificate only names used by Jews among Jews (ie proper names and paternal names) could be used, but not those of Jews exclusively in dealings with non-Jews nicknames used. This instruction was then used in comparable contracts, e.g. B. marriage and business contracts, applied analogously. Jewish names consist of the first name and the first name of the father, with a ben (“son of”) or bat (“daughter of”) inserted in between. In the religious field, the name is used especially for ritual purposes, for the first time with boys during circumcision and with the bar mitzvah on the occasion of the call to the Torah reading . Usually this name is also on the tombstone of a Jew.

There have been many exceptions to this rule. Most important of all was probably the custom to designate a rabbinical dynasty with a family name - usually derived from the place of origin of the founder, e.g. B. von Katzenelnbogen (then in Hesse) or Emden . These surnames served partly as family names, partly as brand names, so to speak. Sons-in-law who became rabbis often inherited the name, and sons who did not become rabbis most of the time did not bear it.

The clan or tribe names Kohen and Levi (with many variants) were carried on from father to son and appeared in almost all Jewish documents and gravestones if a man mentioned there (or the father or husband of a woman) belonged to the tribe.

In some places, especially where there was a larger Jewish community, last names were not used officially, but were used fairly regularly. This was particularly the case in Prague. The oldest no longer preserved synagogue in Prague, the Altschul , was the headquarters of the Altschul or Altschuler families for several centuries . A descendant of refugees from Provence had settled in Prague at the beginning of the 14th century.

In the absolutist states of Central Europe, at the end of the 18th century, Jewish residents began to accept an unchangeable family name as a condition for extended civil rights. This first happened in 1787 in the Habsburg hereditary lands , followed by other states and cities. In Prussia : 1790 city of Breslau , 1791 administrative district of Breslau , 1794 administrative district of Liegnitz or Glogau , 1812 (as part of emancipation ) Altmark , Neumark , Pomerania , West Prussia , East Prussia ; 1833 Poznan ; 1845 Kulmerland ; 1846–1848 remaining provinces.

In the rest of Germany: 1813 Bavaria , Mecklenburg-Schwerin , Mecklenburg-Strelitz , 1828 Hanover and Württemberg , 1834 Saxony .

Even before Napoléon's decree of July 20, 1808, all Jews in the French Empire were obliged to accept permanent surnames , this had already been ordered by a decree of March 31, 1808 in the Kingdom of Westphalia ruled by Napoléon's brother Jérôme .

Gradually, all the states of Europe introduced similar regulations.

The Jews were usually free to choose their new names. Occasionally cited reports about the forcible adoption of discriminatory names probably did not correspond to the usual practice at the time. However, there were local restrictions: the Austrian and French laws, for example, did not allow new names that clearly emphasized the Jewish background of the bearer (e.g. names from the Old Testament or Old Testament city names). As far as possible, the Jewish family names should not differ from German family names in order to promote the integration of the Jews , who were initially mostly restricted and later also received full civil rights.

Depending on the region, the naming could vary, so that the region of origin can also play a major role in the interpretation of the name. What cannot be misunderstood, however, is the Jewish pleasure in synonyms , in thinking around the corner, in corruptions , in play on words and in (self-) irony, which is assumed by the name analysis . Its multilingualism and the peculiarity of the Hebrew script to only display consonants contributed significantly to this.

Examples of naming

Biblical first names

or allusions to episodes in the Bible

and nicknames or pet forms of such biblical names as

Twelve tribes of Israel

The twelve tribes enjoy a high status in Jewish society and were therefore often used in direct or circumscribed form when choosing a name. The name Israel itself is originally rare and only gained popularity through the German persecution of Jews in the 20th century ( law on changing family names and first names ).

It was not uncommon for the symbols referred to in Genesis 49: 3–27 EU to be avoided

  • Leo (synonym for the tribe of Juda), ditto Leon and Loeb, diminutive pet form Leibel, Leibl.
  • Dragon (for Dan), ditto Trachmann
  • Wolf (for Benjamin)
  • Hirsch (for Naftali, actually Gazelle), from this also Hirschmann, Hirschfeld, Hirschl, Hirschberg
  • Bear (for Issachar, actually donkey, but that was rededicated in Bear)

or on the jewelry symbolizing them on the priestly robes according to Exodus 28 : 17-21 EU

Alternatively, the flag colors assigned to them such as

  • Roth (for Ruben tribe)
  • Black (for Joseph and Benjamin)
  • Green (for Simeon)
  • White (for zebulon)
  • Blue (for Issachar and Judah / Jehuda)
  • Yellow (for Dan)
  • Pink (for naftali)

often expanded with additives such as verdigris, white lead, white skirt, rose leaf, rose branch, rosenthal.

Comparable are names containing silver and gold, which are associated with the archangels Michael and Gabriel; for, according to tradition, Gabriel brought the gold to earth, hence

Fruits of the Holy Land

according to Deuteronomy 8 : 8

Zodiac signs

House names

House names or residence names appeared mainly in Judengassen like in Frankfurt am Main, as there were no house numbers and the houses were identified by symbols.

Compounds are often added to these names.

Germanizations

  • Baruch (= the blessed) was Germanized into
  • Karmi (= my vineyard) was Germanized into
    • Baumgarten, Baumgart, Baumgartel, Baumgartner, he was the fourth son of Ruben (Numbers 26.6))
  • Abel (= Ebel, Evel, Ebelman)

Job names

Names such as goldsmith , brewer , melzer do not necessarily have to be related to the occupation, but can also be synonymous. Goldsmith for Elijah , coppersmith and merchant (from Kupper, nickname for Jacob ) or hunter for the Naftali tribe.

General job titles

Jewish community offices

  • Klemperer , originally the “knocker” in the Eastern Jewish community, was the community servant who knocked on the doors of the pious in the morning to remind them of their early prayer.
  • Schaechter (from Schächten , schachat "kill, slaughter", so the ritual butcher )
  • Saenger / Singer or Latinized: Cantor , cf. Cantorowitz, Kantorowicz

Place and country names

However, the toponym can only refer to the place if Jews were living there at the time the name was created. The name Berlin or Berliner can only be traced back to the city of Berlin in the rarest of cases, but the diminutive of Bär.

Common names

The characteristic names of the respective surroundings were often also adopted in order to hide the stigma of being Jewish at the time. Especially when people changed their beliefs, stigmatizing names were dropped and local names were adopted. This includes names of origin, property names (short, Krause, Klein, Lang) as well as job names (Schmidt, Müller)

Loops / corruptions

Some clearly appearing names are falsifications of nicknames or short names in similar-sounding German words, which have nothing in common with the original word. (For references see list of sources below)

  • Apple-, Epl- from Ephraim
  • Bernhard, pear, Baren- has the name Ber out
  • Honor and ears / ore is occasionally identical to Aaron , ditto maple
  • Iron from Isaac
  • Frank, Fränkel, Frenkel occasionally a nickname of Ephraim
  • Hack, Hock or Sack comes from Isaac .
  • Kahn, Kohn, Canal de Cohen , Levitical priest
  • Katz is formed from Cohen-Zedek (= priest of justice or just priest)
  • Konz, Kunz (e), Kunst or Kutz from Cohen tzädäq (like Katz)
  • Names ending with -burg or -berg are partly a corruption of Baruch .
  • Baum, see Baumann
  • Baumann, variant of Baum = synonym for Abraham, ancestor of the Jews
  • Bein- can be derived from Benjamin, but also from Ben = son
  • Benda, ben David = son of David
  • Biermann, variant of Bärmann
  • Gafner is derived from the Hebrew word Gaf'ner for bread
  • Herrman of Chaim
  • Home from the first name Chaim
  • Hirsch- points to Hersch
  • Kaufmann can also be derived from Jaak (a) uf = Jakob, ditto Kopp
  • Kersch-, Kirsch- s. deer
  • Life annuities, Loeb, Loew-, Löw- has Levi out
  • Lieb, Liebmann / Lippmann, Lipp as a synonym for Eliakim, Jehuda, Moshe u. a.
  • Almond, almond tree, Mandelbrot, Mendelssohn, derived from the short name for Menachem
  • Mouse, modification of Moses
  • Meier from the first name Meir Meyer (in the Talmud the enlightener), so not identical with the German Meier = estate manager
  • Morgen- / Morgenstern / Morgenthau from the nickname for Mordechai
  • Müller from the diminutive of the name Shamuel / Samuel / Shemuel
  • Oppermann from sacrifice man, meaning Levi or Cohen
  • Scherbaum, Schermann partly derived from Sara , but also derived from Ephraim
  • Schick, nickname of Jehoshua / Joshua
  • Schiff / Schiffmann von Shifra (= the beautiful, see Ex. 1,15), possibly also a synonym of Kahn
  • Schul von Saul, Hebrew pronounced Scha'ul
  • Sun from son
  • Za (h) l points to Solomon
  • To (c) ker- from Zechariah / Zechariah
  • Branch of Zvi (= deer)

Studying Jewish names is associated with many surprises. Their interpretation is often dependent on guesswork or on knowledge of the former area at the time of their creation. The above examples therefore do not claim to be exclusive, but are intended to give an impression of the variety of names.

literature

  • Karl Emil Frenchman : name studies , Bilingual. German-French, edited by Oskar Ansull , trans. by Ariane Lüthi, Verlaghochufer.com, Hanover 2012 ISBN 978-3-941513-23-5 (on the compulsory assignment of family names to Galician Jews)
  • Eve. H. and Heinrich W. Guggenheimer: Etymological Lexicon of Jewish Family Names . Saur, Munich 1996, ISBN 3-598-11260-2 .
  • Alexander Beider: A Dictionary of Jewish Last Names from Galicia . Avotaynu, Bergenfield, NJ 2004, ISBN 1-886223-19-X .
  • A. Heppner: The trunk numerants . In: Breslauer Juedisches Gemeindeblatt, Official Journal of the Synagogue Community in Breslau . Wroclaw 1928.
  • Franz D. Lucas and Margret Heitmann: City of Faith . Olms, 1992, ISBN 978-3-487-09495-3 .
  • Alexander Beider: A Dictionary of Jewish Last Names from the Russian Empire . Avotaynu, Bergenfield, NJ 1993, ISBN 0-9626373-3-5 .
  • Alexander Beider: Jewish surnames in Prague (15th – 18th Centuries) . Avotaynu, Bergenfield, NJ 1994, ISBN 978-0-9626373-5-3 .
  • Alexander Beider: A Dictionary of Jewish Surname from the Kingdom of Poland . Avotaynu, Bergenfield, NJ 1996, ISBN 0-9626373-9-4 .
  • Lars Menk: A Dictionary of German-Jewish Surname . Avotaynu, Bergenfield, NJ 2005.
  • Leopold Zunz : Names of the Jews: A historical investigation . Leipzig 1837.
  • Johannes Czakai: The adoption of permanent family names by the Hamburg Jews . In: Hamburg key documents to German-Jewish history . Leipzig March 28, 2017, doi : 10.23691 / jgo: article-194.de.v1 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ (Both 1994)
  2. ↑ 1906 Jewish Encyclopedia 1906 (eng.): Altschul, Altschuler, Altschüler, or Alschuler
  3. ^ Dietz Bering : The "Jewish" name. Anti-Semitic name polemics. In: Julius H. Schoeps , Joachim Schlör: Images of hostility towards Jews. Anti-Semitism, Prejudice and Myths. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1995. ISBN 978-3-492-03796-9 .
  4. ↑ The Yiddish first name Leibel, Leibl or Leible is not identical to the German surname Leib, Leibl, Leible, Leibel or Leibelt. Some old German names appear in an extraordinarily large number of different forms as a result of dialect and other influences. Due to the orthographical deviations, the name Liutbald occurs in more than twenty forms: Liebaldt, Liebold, Liebhold, Leupold, Leybold, Leibel, Liebel, Leibelt, Leibhold, Leipold, Leipel (source: The German family names historically, geographically, linguistically by Albert Heintze , 1914). Body: 1) family name derived from the old German nickname Liubo (Liob). 2) Transferred to Middle High German līp "life, body, body". 3) Name of occupation in Middle High German Leip "the shaped and whole bread, loaf of bread" for a baker. In the southern German language area: Leibel, Leibl, Leible or Laible. Well-known bearer of the name: Wilhelm Leibl, German painter, source: Duden family names).
  5. ↑ corrupted by Trevus = someone from Trier, also written. According to "Etymological Dictionary of German Family Names " by Josef Karlmann Brechenmacher
  6. ↑ Olaus Faber: The Babylonian Handbook of Language. Of tongue twisters, mother-in-law tongues and Freudian slips of the tongue. Eichborn, 2008, ISBN 978-3-8218-5832-6 , p. 134.

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