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Re: Surname: Israel
My surname is Disraeli and I'm from the UK. I see no reason why a British person couldn't have Israel as a last name (most probably that person would be Jewish, too).
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Of course, but we are discussing the origin of names, including place of origin. Benjamin Disraeli, for instance, had a surname that originated in Italy. Most Jews who migrated to the UK in the modern era came with names not familiar to the natives.
The official version of British Jewish history has Jews, still without hereditary surnames, expelled from England in the Middle Ages. The later migration and settlement begins in the 17th century, as Jews from the Low Countries made their homes here. They were of Spanish origin and had names such as Lindo and Mendoza.
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