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ArchivesEtymology of Sizemore
Hello, I noticed that the user-submitted surname "Sizemore" is lacking an etymology.
I remember having read a few years ago (while researching my genealogy) that "Sizemore" had come from "Cismor," a Portuguese Sephardic-Jewish alteration of the Hebrew given name–turned–surname "Sisamai" < "Sismai." This name was apparently one among several crypto-Jewish surnames in Portugal and Spain, altered to conceal their bearers' religion and ethnicity from the public, after forced conversion and other persecution.
"Sismai" appears in the Hebrew Bible / TaNaKh / Old Testament: namely 1 Chronicles 2:40. I can only find a couple webpages listing meanings for the name, but they seem to agree on "house" and "blindness."
I remember having read a few years ago (while researching my genealogy) that "Sizemore" had come from "Cismor," a Portuguese Sephardic-Jewish alteration of the Hebrew given name–turned–surname "Sisamai" < "Sismai." This name was apparently one among several crypto-Jewish surnames in Portugal and Spain, altered to conceal their bearers' religion and ethnicity from the public, after forced conversion and other persecution.
"Sismai" appears in the Hebrew Bible / TaNaKh / Old Testament: namely 1 Chronicles 2:40. I can only find a couple webpages listing meanings for the name, but they seem to agree on "house" and "blindness."
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Replies
I'm not sure if this link will work but, I found a book that says the same explanation for Sizemore. It says that the name Sismai means "sower" in Hebrew.
Here's the link: https://books.google.com/books?id=qpvJP7WAv1EC&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=sizemore+related+to+sismai&source=bl&ots=PSbq8CuXid&sig=ACfU3U3PCEWp0QJBf_d0YS4g_TI1sqhOZg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3g6_MjPTrAhUCU98KHSKGDzMQ6AEwCHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=sizemore%20related%20to%20sismai&f=false
You have to scroll down a bit to Sizemore.
Here's the link: https://books.google.com/books?id=qpvJP7WAv1EC&pg=PA160&lpg=PA160&dq=sizemore+related+to+sismai&source=bl&ots=PSbq8CuXid&sig=ACfU3U3PCEWp0QJBf_d0YS4g_TI1sqhOZg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi3g6_MjPTrAhUCU98KHSKGDzMQ6AEwCHoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=sizemore%20related%20to%20sismai&f=false
You have to scroll down a bit to Sizemore.
This message was edited 9/18/2020, 6:55 PM
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From the Dictionary of American Family Names:
Sizemore
English: nickname from Old French sis ‘six’ + mars ‘marks’, i.e. the monetary sum of six marks (the equivalent of four medieval pounds sterling).
Sizemore
English: nickname from Old French sis ‘six’ + mars ‘marks’, i.e. the monetary sum of six marks (the equivalent of four medieval pounds sterling).
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