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ArchivesThe origin of the surname Bondy
I was wondering about the name Bondy. I remember someone mentioning that it might be spanish and having something to do with a "good day." It turns out that Bondy is a very common name across Europe, and for some reason especially among eastern european jews. I'm not sure why the Slavic connection, or if this is even the same name, but the best bet etymologically seems to me the etymology of the one place actually called Bondy, which is a small town in the ile-de-france. It is of roman origin, and it derives from the latin "boniticum" for the "estate of bonitius" who was, of course, the son of "boni." Any thoughts for me?
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Yes, you're right about this as a French and a Jewish surname. This is what Jean Tosti has to say about the French Bondy -
"Le nom de famille est surtout porté dans le Centre (36, 37) et dans la Saône-et-Loire. Il devrait s'agir d'un toponyme, apparemment sans rapport avec la commune de Bondy (93), qui désigne le domaine de Bonisius (nom de personne latin). On pensera plutôt au hameau de Bondy à Saint-Gence (87), et à celui du Bondy à Ouroux-en-Morvan (58). Sens incertain : peut-être une retenue d'eau (voir aussi Bondie)." (www.jtosti.com/noms)
So there are several possible place name sources.
As a Jewish surname it's connected to the suggested Spanish origin, as I've found the name (Bondi and Bondy) on a list of Sephardic Jewish names in Poland. So I'm guessing it was probably Bondía or Bomdia (Portuguese), meaning "Good Day". This would be a translation of the Hebrew Yomtob/Yomtov, a name whose exact significance is not clear to me though I believe it's religious. Not Slavic then, but derived from some Romance language.
There is also supposed to be an English surname Bondy, an alternative form of Bond, but if it survives it must be very rare.
"Le nom de famille est surtout porté dans le Centre (36, 37) et dans la Saône-et-Loire. Il devrait s'agir d'un toponyme, apparemment sans rapport avec la commune de Bondy (93), qui désigne le domaine de Bonisius (nom de personne latin). On pensera plutôt au hameau de Bondy à Saint-Gence (87), et à celui du Bondy à Ouroux-en-Morvan (58). Sens incertain : peut-être une retenue d'eau (voir aussi Bondie)." (www.jtosti.com/noms)
So there are several possible place name sources.
As a Jewish surname it's connected to the suggested Spanish origin, as I've found the name (Bondi and Bondy) on a list of Sephardic Jewish names in Poland. So I'm guessing it was probably Bondía or Bomdia (Portuguese), meaning "Good Day". This would be a translation of the Hebrew Yomtob/Yomtov, a name whose exact significance is not clear to me though I believe it's religious. Not Slavic then, but derived from some Romance language.
There is also supposed to be an English surname Bondy, an alternative form of Bond, but if it survives it must be very rare.
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Hey thank you! Could you find anything for me on Gopnik? I think it used to be spelled Gopnick, and it's Russian I believe... someone told me it meant something like "hoodlum" in Russian. This is a great website by the way, I've been curious about my family's names for a long time! Thanks for the work you're doing here...
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Your informant appears to have been correct. Translations from the Russian I've turned up are "street robber", "criminal" and "bad boy". But this seems to be a fairly modern word, or meaning of the word. Gopnik is a letter for letter transliteration from the Cyrillic, Gopnick an English language spelling.
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