CatsDutch, Jewish Habitational name for a person from the village of Kats in Zeeland, Holland, or a nickname for someone who in some way resembled a cat, derived from Middle Dutch catte literally meaning "cat"... [more]
AdelsteinGerman, Jewish Variant of Edelstein. Paul Adelstein (1969-) is an American actor known for his role as Paul Kellerman in the 2005-2017 television series Prison Break.
MajPolish, Jewish Surname adopted with reference to the month of May, Polish maj. Surnames referring to months were sometimes adopted by Jewish converts to Christianity, with reference to the month in which they were baptized or in which the surname was registered.
BelzerJewish Habitational name for someone from Belz in Ukraine.
KimmelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German kumin and German kümmel meaning "caraway" (related to Latin cuminum, a word of Oriental origin, like the plant itself), hence a metonymic occupational name for a spicer, literally a supplier of caraway seeds... [more]
WohlGerman, Yiddish Meaning "pleasant" in both Middle German and Ashkenazic Yiddish
SchoenGerman, Jewish From German schön, Middle High German schoene "fine, beautiful; refined, friendly, nice", a nickname for a handsome or pleasant man. As a Jewish name, it’s usually ornamental.
PortnoyJewish, Belarusian, Ukrainian Occupational name for a tailor from Russian portnoj (an adjective derivative of port "uncut cloth").
LichtGerman, Dutch, Yiddish Means "light" or "candle". Could be an occupational name for a chandler, a topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing (see Lichte), or a nickname for someone who had light hair, or who was agile and slender.
ZuckerצוקרJewish Occupational name for a confectioner or a nickname for someone with a sweet tooth, from German zucker or Yiddish צוקער (tsuker) both meaning "sugar". It is also used as an ornamental name.
KrumholzJewish, German German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) from Krumbholz ‘bent timber’, ‘mountain pine’, hence probably a metonymic occupational name for a cartwright or wheelwright. As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
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]
PrinsDutch, Jewish Means "prince" in Dutch, a doublet of Prince. Often a habitational name for someone who lived or worked near a location named Prins, such as an inn or windmill, or sign depicting the Prince of Orange... [more]
GorelickJewish A name given to people whose homes were burnt down. Americanized form of Gaerlick.
EhrlichYiddish From the German meaning "honest" or "honorable"
LustigSwedish, German, Jewish, Dutch A nickname for a cheerful person, derived from Swedish and German lustig "humorous, funny, enjoyable" or Middle High German lustig "merry, carefree". Usually ornamental as a Jewish surname.
StreisandGerman, Jewish Possibly an ornamental name, literally meaning "scattersand" in German. This surname is borne by the American singer and actress Barbra Streisand (1942-).
JaouiזיאוויJudeo-Spanish Derived from Arabic لبان جاوي (luban jawiyy) referring to a type of balsamic resin used in perfumes and incense (literally meaning "Javanese frankincense").
NessimSpanish, Jewish, Hebrew Hebrew for 'miracles'. Name was originally Bar-Nisim; 'Children of the Miricle'
SchwerinGerman, Jewish habitational name from any of the places called Schwerin in Mecklenburg Brandenburg and Pomerania.
BarברHebrew From Aramaic בְּרָא (b'rā) meaning "son, child" or Hebrew בָּר (bar) meaning "grain, cereal".
MaiselYiddish, German, French Predominantly seems to be a matronymic surname from the Yiddish feminine name Mayzl. Although it is believed that it derived from the Hebrew name Meïser, which means “representative of God”... [more]
GurewitzJewish Belarusian and Lithuanian variant of Horowitz, a habitational name from Horovice in central Bohemia, now in the Czech Republic, which is named with a short form of a personal name formed with Hor, as for example Horimir, Horislav.
DesslerGerman, Yiddish Meaning Unknown. Known primarily in pop culture as the surname of a certain Michelle in the Fox tv hit 24 and of a certain villain called Albert in Space Battleship Yamato.
KunisJewish Metronymic form of Kune. This surname is most famous for its association with the American actress named Mila Kunis.
EulerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a potter, most common in the Rhineland and Hesse, from Middle High German ul(n)ære (an agent derivative of the dialect word ul, aul "pot", from Latin olla).
GuettaגואטהJudeo-Spanish Meaning uncertain, possibly from the name of a tribe from northwestern Libya or from the name of the town of Huete in Cuenca province, Spain.
Spiegelmanשפיגלמאן, שפיגלמןGerman (Germanized, Rare, Archaic), Yiddish (Germanized, Rare, Archaic) The name Spiegelman is a name with both German and Jewish origins. In German the word "Spiegel" translates to "mirror". Also "Mann" translates to "man". So one could interpret the name to mean "mirror man" or less often "man of the mirror"... [more]
AmbarעמברHebrew Combination of the word am, means "people, nation" and the name Bar. This surname means "son of the nation" in Hebrew and its variant is Baram which is the same elements but in reverse order.
RózsavölgyiHungarian, Jewish Either a Magyarized form of Rosenthal, or a habitational name denoting a person from the village of Ružindol in the Trnava region of Slovakia (formerly a part of Hungary and called Rózsavölgy).
FanielHebrew It's believe to be an Hebrew origin that was carved from ochaniel, it consist of Fam meaning face and el God... [more]
SelaסֶלַעHebrew Means "rock" in Hebrew. In the Old Testament this is the name of a city, the capital of Edom. Famous bearer is the Israeli model, actress and television presenter Rotem Sela (born 1983)
TothJewish This surname is a Hungarian surname that has been used by the Jewish population.
GursulturגרסלתרJewish (Latinized), Kurdish, Hebrew This name is a composition of the following words: GUR; Hebrew for "lion cub", SUL; which is an abbreviation of Suleman (Kurdish for king Solomon), TUR; this word is derived from the Arba'ah Turim. The Arbaáh Turim are often called simply the Tur, which is an important Halakhic code.... [more]
KrasowskiPolish, Jewish Habitational name for someone from the villages of Krasowa, Krasów, or Krasowa.
ZacharJewish, Hungarian, Russian, Slovak, Belarusian Derived from the Hebrew word זָכַר (zakhar) meaning "to remember". As a surname it can also derive from the given name Zakhar (Zechariah) that shares this etymology.
KochaviכוכביHebrew From Hebrew כוכב (kokhav) meaning "star", commonly used as a replacement for Ashkenazi surnames containing the old German element stern "star". For example, it was adopted as a surname by the Romanian-born Israeli archaeologist and university professor Moshe Kochavi (1928-2008), whose birth surname was Stern.
SaengerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a chorister or a nickname for someone who liked singing, from Middle High German senger, German Sänger meaning "singer".
FrischJewish Ornamental name or nickname from modern German frisch, Yiddish frish "fresh".
KräftGerman, Jewish Nickname for a strong man, from Old High German kraft, German Kraft ‘strength’, ‘power’.
KorenSlovene, Hebrew Koren is a surname which has multiple origins. Koren may be a variant of the German occupational surname Korn, meaning a dealer in grain. Alternatively, it may be a variant of the Greek female name Kora... [more]
LiebmanJewish Variant of German Liebmann, itself a variant of Libman and derived from the Yiddish personal name Lipman, from Middle High German liep "dear, beloved" and man "man"... [more]
DrexelGerman, Jewish It originates from the pre 7th century word 'dreseler' meaning 'to turn', a verb which in medieval times had a wide range of meanings.
SarverEnglish, Jewish English and Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) occupational name from Old French serveur (an agent derivative of server ‘to serve’), Yiddish sarver ‘servant’.
FishMedieval English, Jewish From Middle English fische, fish ‘fish’, a metonymic occupational name for a fisherman or fish seller, or a nickname for someone thought to resemble a fish.... [more]
WinkelmannGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): topographic name for someone who lived on a corner or kept a corner shop (see Winkel), with the addition of Middle High German man, German Mann ‘man’... [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.
CaslariJewish (Archaic), Judeo-Provençal, Judeo-Catalan, Judeo-French Abraham ben David Caslari was a Catalan-Jewish physician. Abraham Caslari (presumably a different man) is also listed in the index of known Jews in France in the late middle ages in the book Judaia Gallica by Heinrich Gross.
KurzbergקורזבערגGerman, Yiddish, Jewish From a location name meaning "short mountain" in German, from Middle High German kurz meaning "short" and berg meaning "mountain". As a Jewish surname it is ornamental.
Shemtovשמטוב, שם-טובHebrew (Modern) Means "good name", derived from Hebrew שם (shem) means "name" and טוב (tov) means "good".
ThalJewish, German Ornamental and topographic name derived from German Tal "valley".
PflaumGerman, Jewish metonymic occupational name or possibly a nickname from Middle High German pflūme, German pflaume "plum", as a Jewish name it is artificial... [more]
SheinJewish Ornamental name derived from German schön meaning "beautiful, good, nice"
BlochJewish, German, French Regional name for someone in Central Europe originating from Italy or France, from Polish "Włoch" meaning "Italian" (originally "stranger / of foreign stock"), ultimately derived – like many names and words in various European languages – from the Germanic Walhaz.
FuttermanJewish Occupational name for a furrier, from Yiddish futer "fur, fur coat" and Yiddish man "man".
BernheimברנהייםJewish From the Germanic elements bern meaning "bear" and heim meaning "home".
ZaslavskyזסלבסקיRussian, Jewish Name for someone from the city of Iziaslav (or Zaslav) in Ukraine, derived from the given name Iziaslav.
SchulerJewish Occupational name for a Talmudic scholar or the sexton of a synagogue, from an agent derivative of Yiddish shul "synagogue".
KlierGerman, Czech, Jewish artificial name (for Jews) and nickname (for Germans and Czechs) derived from German dialect klier "castrated cock".
SpringerGerman, English, Dutch, Jewish Nickname for a lively person or for a traveling entertainer, from springen "to jump, to leap". A famous bearer was Ludwig der Springer (AKA Louis the Springer), a medieval Franconian count who, according to legend, escaped from a second or third-story prison cell by jumping into a river after being arrested for trying to seize County Saxony in Germany.
DisraeliItalian, Jewish Originally denoted a person who came from Israel. This surname was borne by the British politician, statesman and novelist Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only British prime minister to have been of Jewish origin.
FeitGerman, Jewish Variant of Veit. Also, nickname from Middle High German feit ‘adorned’, ‘pretty’ (the same word as French fait, Latin factus).
YetiHebrew (Rare), English (American) Most common during the 1800s to 1900s. It has seen a large drop off since, but is not extinct as a last name.... [more]
SchaalשָׁאַלGerman, Dutch, French, 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]
SheinbaumJewish Derived from German schön meaning "beautiful, friendly" and baum meaning "tree".
SteinhausGerman, Jewish topographic name for someone living in a stone-built house from Middle High German stein "stone" and hus "house" or a habitational name from any of the many places called Steinhaus for example near Fulda and near Wels in Austria... [more]
DvirדְּבִירHebrew Surname that also used as a first name, probably means "inner room" and related to The Holy of Holies. It is a term in the Hebrew Bible which refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle where God dwelt and later the Temple in Jerusalem where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the First Temple, which could be entered only by the High Priest on Yom Kippur after sanctifying himself.
MayowskiמאיובסקיmPolish, Jewish (Ashkenazi), German, Ukrainian Habitational name for someone from any of various places called Maków, Makowa, or Makowo, all named with Slavic mak ‘poppy’. This surname is also found in Germany. Compare Makosky and Makowsky.... [more]
KämpfGerman, Jewish From middle high German kampf, German kamf "fight, struggle" an occupational name for a champion a professional fighter (see Kemp ) or a nickname for someone with a pugnacious temperament.
CahanaכהנאJewish (Rare, Archaic) Jewish surname, originally of Eastern European Ashkenazi origin, found in Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova. Currently a relatively common surname in Israel. Aramaic equivalent of Cohen.
KutscherGerman, Jewish occupational name for a coachman or coach builder from a derivative of the 16th-century Hungarian loanword kocsi "coach" German kutsche. The German -u- vowel comes from Slavic (Polish kucer).
Zoharזהר, זוהרHebrew Derived from the the given name Zohar meaning "light, brilliance" in Hebrew.