MargolinמרגוליןJewish Derived from Hebrew מרגלית (margalit) meaning "pearl".
MargolisמרגוליסJewish Derived from Hebrew מרגלית (margalit) meaning "pearl".
MargulisמרגליתHebrew Margulis is a surname that is derived from the Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation of the Hebrew word מרגלית (Israeli Hebrew /maʁɡaˈlit/), meaning 'pearl,'
MaslovRussian, Jewish Derived from Russian масло (maslo) meaning "butter", originally used as an occupational name for someone who worked as a dairyman or sold dairy products.
MecklenburgGerman, Jewish Regional name for someone from this province in northern Germany. Derived from Old Saxon mikil "big, great" and burg "castle".
MeghnagiJewish, Northern African Sephardic Jewish, originating from the Libyan Jewish community. Most were from Tripoli, with a much smaller contingent from Benghazi.
Messingמתעסק, מעסינגGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German messinc meaning "brass", referring to a person who makes or repairs brass objects. A famous bearer is American actress Debra Messing (1968-).
MiodownikPolish, Jewish The literal translation is "honey cake", from the Polish word/root surname miod, meaning "honey." An occupational surname to those in the honey business, mainly beekeepers and bakers.... [more]
MirkinJewish Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): metronymic from the Yiddish female personal name Mirke, a pet form of the Biblical Hebrew name Miryam.
MondscheinGerman, Jewish topographic or habitational name referring to a house name meaning "moonshine" or a nickname for someone who was bald from the same word Middle High German mōnemān(d)e "moon" and schīn "shine".
MontefioreItalian, Jewish Derived from Montefiore, which is the name of several places in Italy. For example, there is Castle Montefiore in the town of Recanati (province of Macerata), the municipality of Montefiore Conca (province of Rimini) and the municipality of Montefiore dell'Aso (province of Ascoli Piceno)... [more]
MorpurgoמורפורגוJudeo-Italian Italian surname of Jewish origin, originally Marpurg, from the Austrian city Marburg an der Drau (today Maribor in Slovenia). The progenitor was Moises Jacob, father of Petachia, in Bad-Rackersburg, Austria... [more]
MoskowitzJewish Germanized form of a patronymic surname formed by adding the Slavic suffix "-ovic" meaning "son of" to a Yiddish transformation (Moshke) of the biblical Hebrew personal Moses ("Mosko" was a Polish pet form of the personal name Moses).
NadelGerman, Jewish Metonymic occupational name for a maker of needles, or in some cases for a tailor, from Middle High German nadel(e), German Nadel "needle".
NadolnyPolish, Jewish, Sorbian Topographic name from Polish nadól, Sorbian nadol "downwards", denoting someone who lived lower down in a village on a slope, or on relatively low-lying ground.
NaimanUkrainian, Jewish Before Genghis Khan conquered the world, he conquered his neighbors, and his last great victory, in 1204, was over a tribe of Turkic Christians called the Naiman. (Some Naimans today are Christian but most are Jewish.)... [more]
NassauGerman, Dutch, Jewish From the name of the town of Nassau in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany (formerly the seat of an independent duchy in the 19th century), derived from Old High German naz meaning "damp, wet" and ouwa meaning "water meadow"... [more]
NatesEnglish, Jewish It's probably from the given name Nate, the origin is said to be Jewish*, but the ancestors immigrated to English speaking countries.
NegroItalian, Spanish, Portuguese, Jewish Nickname or ethnic name from negro "black" (Latin niger), denoting someone with dark hair or a dark complexion.
NegroItalian, Spanish, Galician, Portuguese, Jewish Nickname or ethnic name from negro "black" (continuation of Latin niger), denoting someone with dark hair, dark eyes, a dark complexion, someone who wore dark clothes, someone who worked a job in the night, or was otherwise associated with the night.
NerenbergJewish Variant of the Ashkenazic Jewish surname Nierenberg, which is derived from Nirnberg, the Yiddish form of Nuremberg (German Nürnberg), hence becoming an Ashkenazic Jewish habitational surname for someone living in that city.
NeuhausGerman, Jewish Topographical name for someone who lived in a new house, Middle High German niuwe hus, modern German neu Haus, or a habitational name for someone from any of several places named Neuhaus ('new house') in various parts of Germany and Austria, also in Bohemia.
NichterנײַטערGerman, Yiddish Possibly means "negator, negate" from Middle High German nicht meaning "not", or "sober", from Middle High German nüchter. Perhaps it originally denoted a person who was a philosopher, judge, or bartender.
OffenbachGerman, Jewish From the name of the city of Offenbach am Main in Hesse, Germany. A famous bearer was the German-born French composer Jacques Offenbach (1819-1880).
OphirאוֹפִירHebrew From the given name Ophir. Ophir (or Ofir) is originally a biblical place name. In the days of KingSolomon, Ophir was metioned as the name of a land, full of abudant natural treasures such as gold, silver, etc.
OrאוֹרHebrew Means "light" in Hebrew and used as both first name and surname in Israel.
OrgeriiJewish, Judeo-Provençal Aaron Orgerii is listed in the index of names of Jews in France in the late middle ages in Heinrich Gross' book Judaia Gallica. There is also an extent copy of a deed between "the Jew Nathan Orgerii and Johannes Raynaud", written in Arles in Provence in 1366... [more]
OsgoodEnglish, Jewish English: Old Norse personal name Asgautr, composed of the elements as'god'+the tribal name Gaul. This was established in England before the Conquest, in the late old English forms Osgot or Osgod and was later reinforce by the Norman Ansgot.... [more]
PaleyJewish, Yiddish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a distiller, derived from an East Slavic word (Russian палить (palitʹ), Ukrainian палити (palyty)) meaning "to burn". A famous bearer was Princess Olga Valerianovna Paley (1865-1929), the morganatic second wife of Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia.
PechtoldGerman, Dutch, Jewish From the Old German given name Pechtholt, which is composed of the elements pecht "rotation" and holdt "hero". As a Dutch-language surname, it is derived from the Middle Dutch given name Pechte combined with Old High German walt "power, authority"... [more]
PeledפלדJewish Derived from Hebrew פלדה (plada) meaning "steel".
PerlmutterJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Perlmutter ‘mother-of-pearl'.
PerlsteinJewish Ornamental name composed of German Perle ‘pearl’ + Stein ‘stone’.
PerskeBelarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish Variant form of Persky. This was the real surname of American actress Lauren Bacall (1924-2014), who was born Betty Joan Perske.
PerskyBelarusian, Lithuanian, Jewish Derived from the village of Pershai in the Valozhyn District of Belarus, or the place named Perki in Lithuania.
PfefferGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a spicer, or a nickname for a person with a fiery temper, for a small man, or for a dark-haired person. Derived from German Pfeffer "pepper".
PlumEnglish, German, Jewish English and North German: from Middle English plum(b)e, Middle Low German plum(e) ‘plum’, hence a topographic name for someone who lived by a plum tree, or a metonymic occupational name for a fruit grower... [more]
PniewskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name for someone from Pniewy in the district of Poznań, or from any of the many places in Poland named Pniewo.
PolitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Habitational name derived from any one of several places called Police (known as Pölitz in German) in the Czech Republic. Hugh David Politzer (1949-) is an American theoretical physicist who, along with David Gross and Frank Wilczek, discovered asymptotic freedom.
PolskiPolish, Jewish Nickname for a Polish person, originating in areas of mixed populations.
PortnoyJewish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a tailor from Russian portnoj (an adjective derivative of port "uncut cloth").
PortreyJewish Origin uncertain. Perhaps an altered form of Jewish Portnoy of North German Portner.
PortugalSpanish, Portuguese, English, Catalan, French, Jewish Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, English, French, and Jewish surname meaning ethnic name or regional name for someone from Portugal or who had connections with Portugal. The name of the country derives from Late Latin Portucale, originally denoting the district around Oporto (Portus Cales, named with Latin portus ‘port’, ‘harbor’ + Cales, the ancient name of the city)... [more]
PoznanskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name from the city of Poznan in west-central Poland, or possibly from other places of this name, in Katowice and Siedlce voivodeships.
PremingerפרמינגרJewish Meaning unknown, possibly a nickname for a person deported to Spain, derived from the name of a location in Portugal.
PreponJewish This is the surname of American actress Laura Prepon (born March 7, 1980).
PressEnglish, Jewish A nickname for a pious individual from the Middle English form of "priest" or possibly someone employed by a priest. In the Jewish sense, one whose occupation was to iron clothes.
PrinsDutch, Jewish Means "prince" in Dutch, but almost never a surname for a prince. Instead, it's an occupational surname for someone in the service of a prince or a nickname for someone who acted in a regal manner. The surname is also Jewish Dutch and is used as an ornamental adoption of Dutch prins still meaning "prince".
PulitzerHungarian, German, Jewish Variant form of Politzer. A famous bearer was the Hungarian-American businessman, newspaper publisher and politician Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911). His family came from Hungary, but they were of Czech origin.
RachlynJewish (Rare), Polish (Rare), Brazilian (Rare) Rachlyn is a Jewish surname derived directly from polish "Rachman". This surname is very rare and apparently only few members in Brazil, descendants of Polish survivors of Holocaust.... [more]
RakPolish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Hungarian, Jewish Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovenian, Hungarian (Rák), and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): from Slavic rak ‘crab’, ‘lobster’, or ‘crayfish’. This was applied as an occupational name for someone who caught and sold crayfish, crabs, or lobsters, or as a nickname to someone thought to resemble such a creature... [more]
RechtGerman, Jewish Nickname for an upright person, from Middle High German reht, German recht "straight". As a Jewish name it is mainly of ornamental origin.
RedlingerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from Redling in Bavaria, Germany.
ReichenbergGerman, Jewish Habitational name from various places named Reichenberg in several different areas of Germany. As an ornamental name, it is composed of German reich(en) meaning "rich" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
ReiseGerman, Jewish German (Westphalia) topographic name, from Middle Low German ris, res ‘swamp’. ... [more]
ReisnerJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) nickname for a traveler, from an agent derivative of German reisen ‘to travel’ (see Reise). Also a variant of Reis.
ReissGerman, Jewish, French (Huguenot) German: variant of Reis or from any of several Germanic personal names composed with ric ‘power(ful)’. Also from the French Huguenot forename Ris, rendered as Reis and Reiss.... [more]
RenleyJewish (Rare), English (Rare) Possibly derived from the Old English rinc "man, warrior" or rim 'edge, circular edge' or possibly wraenna 'wren', and leah "field, clearing".
ReubensראובןJewish, English Derived from the given name Reuben. This surname is borne by American comedian and actor Paul Reubens (1952-), who created and played the comic fictional character Pee-wee Herman.
RevereEnglish, French, Judeo-Italian French: variant of Rivière, Rivoire, or Rivier, topographic name for someone living on the banks of a river, French rivier ‘bank’, or habitational name from any of the many places in France named with this word.... [more]
ReytblatYiddish Means "red leaf" in Yiddish. This is somewhat rare, chiefly used by Jews from Russia and Ukraine.
ReznikovרזניקובRussian, Jewish Occupational name for a Jewish ritual slaughterer, from Yiddish reznik meaning "butcher".
RichlingJewish (Rare) Russian Jewish surname from the Vilna Governorate of the Russian Empire.
RifkinJewish Metronymic from the Yiddish female given name Rifke from the Hebrew given name Rivka (see Rebecca), with the addition of the Slavic suffix -in.
RifkindJewish Variant of Rifkin. The final element was changed due to the influence of the Yiddish noun kind "child" (German: "Kinder").
RodinJewish Metronymic from the Yiddish personal name Rode, and related to the Old Czech root rád "merry", "joyful".
RoginJewish Habitational name from any of various villages named Rogi or from Rogin, all in Belarus.
RohrGerman, Jewish Topographic name for someone who lived in an area thickly grown with reeds, from Middle High German ror. Also a habitational name from one of the several places named with this word.
RozmanJewish Variant of Rosman. Slovenian (also Rožman): occupational name for a carter or a horse breeder or dealer, from Middle High German ros 'horse' + man 'man'. Compare German Rossmann.
RybakPolish, Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Jewish Means "fisherman" in some Slavic languages. Derived from the word ryba "fish". A famous bearer is Byelarusian-Norwegian artist Alexander Rybak (b. 1986) who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2009.
SaengerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a chorister or a nickname for someone who liked singing, from Middle High German senger, German Sänger meaning "singer".
SalzmannGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a producer or seller of salt, from German salz "salt" + mann "man".
SambergJewish Habitational name from any of several places named Samberg in Germany and Austria.
SametGerman, Jewish, Yiddish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of velvet, from Yiddish samet ‘velvet’ (German Samt, ultimately from Greek hexamiton, a compound of hex ‘six’ + mitos ‘thread’).
SappersteinJewish Ornamental name, a compound of Hebrew sapir 'sapphire' + German Stein 'stone'.
SarfatiצרפתיJudeo-Spanish From Hebrew צרפתית (tsar'fatít) meaning "French". It was traditionally used to refer to the Biblical location of Tzarfat, which is sometimes identified as modern-day France.
SarverEnglish, Jewish English and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) occupational name from Old French serveur (an agent derivative of server ‘to serve’), Yiddish sarver ‘servant’.
SchaalשָׁאַלGerman, Dutch, French, Spanish, Jewish Either a nickname for a braggart or a market crier, (derived from Middle High German schal meaning "noise, bragging"), an occupational name for someone who made dishes for scales and vessels for drinking, (from Middle Low German and Dutch schale "dish"), a habitational name from Schaala in Thuringia or the Schaalsee lake near Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, or a topographic name for someone living on marshy land, (from Dutch schald "shallow")... [more]
SchattnerGerman, Jewish Habitational name for someone from any of several places named Schaten or Schatten, or a topographic name for someone living in a shady location, from Middle High German schate "shade", "protection".
SchatzGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) metonymic occupational name for a treasurer, from German Schatz ‘treasure’, Middle High German scha(t)z. It may also have been a nickname for a rich man (or ironically for a miser), or else for a well-liked person or a ladies’ favorite, from the use of the vocabulary word as a term of endearment... [more]
ScheidGerman, Jewish Either a topographic name for someone who lived near a boundary (between two valleys etc.) or crossroads Middle High German scheide, a habitational name from any of various places called ScheidtScheiden... [more]
ScheinGerman, Jewish from Middle High German schīn German schein "shining brightness" hence a nickname for someone with either a radiant personality or possibly for someone living in a sunny location or a Jewish artificial name.
SchenkelGerman, Dutch, Jewish German, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with long or otherwise notable legs, from Middle High German schenkel, Middle Dutch schenkel, schinkel ‘thigh’, ‘lower leg’, German Schenkel ‘thigh’.