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ArchivesRe: Finkelmeyer?
in reply to a message by Scout
It does look Jewish. There are several Jewish surnames whose first component is Finkel; Finkelberg, Finkelstein, etc.
If it is Jewish the second part of the name would be a man's name, and the whole would appear to mean something like, "lively, or sparky Meyer".
The name is found in present-day Germany along with Finkelmeier. If the name is German rather than Yiddish (Judeo-German) then Finkel must be a dialect form of Funke, "spark", still with the same interpretation, but Meyer would mean "farmer". So a sparky or lively farmer, though another interpretation of Funke in a surname context is as a metonymic for a blacksmith, which would suggest a farmer who also did some smithying.
If it is Jewish the second part of the name would be a man's name, and the whole would appear to mean something like, "lively, or sparky Meyer".
The name is found in present-day Germany along with Finkelmeier. If the name is German rather than Yiddish (Judeo-German) then Finkel must be a dialect form of Funke, "spark", still with the same interpretation, but Meyer would mean "farmer". So a sparky or lively farmer, though another interpretation of Funke in a surname context is as a metonymic for a blacksmith, which would suggest a farmer who also did some smithying.
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