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-).
GreenblattJewish Ashkenazi Jewish Surname incorporating Yiddish/German elements meaning “Greenleaf.” Writer and storyboard artist C. H. Greenblatt (born 1972) most known for SpongeBob SquarePants is a famous bearer of this name.
MostPolish, Jewish Topographic name from Slavic most meaning "bridge", or a habitational name from any of several places named with this word.
BlausteinGerman, Jewish Ornamental name from German blau "blue" and Stein "stone", i.e. lapis lazuli.
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.
EpsteinGerman, Jewish A habitational name for someone from a place named Eppstein, which is from Old High German ebur meaning ‘wild boar’ and stein meaning ‘stone’.
LittmanGerman (East Prussian), German (West Prussian), German, Jewish Derived from Germanized Czech personal names like Litomir (Czech: Ljutomir) and Litobor (Czech: Ljutobor) which ultimately go back to Old Slavic ljutu "grim; fierce; ferocious; wild". One theory suggests, however, that these given names might have been influenced by ljub- "love; dear".... [more]
SorokaUkrainian, Jewish From the nickname Soroka meaning "magpie", which indicates a thievish person or a person with a white streak of hair among black hair.
KnafoכנפוJudeo-Spanish Likely derived from Tamazight akhnif referring to a type of woolen hooded cloak (a type of burnous). It has also been connected to the Hebrew word כָּנָף (kanaf) meaning "wing".
ZaslavskyזסלבסקיRussian, Jewish Name for someone from the city of Iziaslav (or Zaslav) in Ukraine, derived from the given name Iziaslav.
StollerGerman, Jewish, English Habitational surname for someone from a place called Stolle, near Zurich (now called Stollen).... [more]
SchwerinGerman, Jewish habitational name from any of the places called Schwerin in Mecklenburg Brandenburg and Pomerania.
GhermezianIranian, Jewish, Persian The surname’s most notable bearers are the Ghermezian Family, Iranian Canadians of Jewish descent.
LeynRussian, Jewish Russian surname of unclear origin. This may be a matronymic surname derived from the Jewish name Leah meaning "weary".
LipschitzGerman, Jewish The name is derived from the Slavic "lipa," meaning "linden tree" or "lime tree." The name may relate to a number of different place names: "Liebeschitz," the name of a town in Bohemia, "Leipzig," the name of a famous German city, or "Leobschutz," the name of a town in Upper Silesia.
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]
MaddowJewish A famous bearer of this surname is Rachel Anne Maddow (Born on April 1, 1973) whose Jewish ancestors came from Russia and Poland but according to today’s borders would be Ukraine and Lithuania. ... [more]
SorensonJewish Means "son of the son of Sore", a Yiddish female personal name (from Hebrew Sara, literally "princess"), with the addition of the Slavic possessive suffix -in and German Sohn "son".
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.
HeimburgerGerman, Jewish Status name for a village head, derived from Middle High German heim meaning "homestead, settlement" and bürge meaning "guardian". It could also be a habitational name for someone from numerous places called Heimburg or Heimberg in Germany.
AlmosninoאלמושנינוJudeo-Spanish Meaning uncertain, possibly derived from Catalan or Spanish limosna meaning "alms, charity" or from an Arabic word denoting an orator.
ShulmanשולמןJewish It is a Jewish-Polish surname that first appeared around 1090. It means Rabai, Gabbai, or Shamash. These are occupations that take place in a Shul-Synagogue. Shul is the Yiddish word for Synagogue. The name litterally means 'man that goes to the Synagogue'.
Trachtenbergטרכטנברג, טראַכֿטנבערגGerman, Jewish Could mean either mean "mountain of thoughts", from Yiddish trakhtn (טראַכטן) "to think" and berg "mountain" or "mountain of costumes", from German tracht "to wear, carry" and berg "mountain"... [more]
PermanaHebrew Permana is another form of Hebrew, namely Paramana (פרמנה) which means eternal.
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]
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]
TkaczJewish Occupational name for a weaver, Polish tkacz, a noun derivative of tkać "to weave".
BierGerman, Jewish from Middle High German bier "beer" German bier Yiddish bir a metonymic occupational name for a brewer of beer or a tavern owner or in some cases perhaps a nickname for a beer drinker.
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’).
SilberbergJewish The meaning of the name is "silver mountain" and comes from Germany
FaranפארןHebrew The name of a desert mentioned in the Bible where Ishmael settled after his wanderings with his mother Hagar. The Israelites also came to this desert on their journey from the Sinai desert.
ErberJewish, German Meaning uncertain. Either a habitational name for someone living in a place named Erb or Erp, a name for a owner of a farm named Erbhof (derived from MIddle High German erbære "honorable, noble"), or derived from the given name Erpo.
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]
AmbergGerman, Jewish German and possibly Jewish (Ashkenazic) habitational name from any of several settlements called Amberg (literally ‘by the mountain’), including a city in Bavaria. It could also be a topographic name of identical etymology... [more]
AbecassisאבקסיסJudeo-Spanish From Hebrew אָב (áv) meaning "father" and Arabic قَصَّاص (qaṣṣāṣ) meaning "storyteller, narrator" (used as a title for community leaders and rabbis among North African Jews).
LernerGerman, Jewish Its literal meaning can be either "student" or "scholar".
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".
RavivרביבHebrew From Hebrew רָבִיב (raviv) meaning "droplet, rain, drizzle".
SkyJewish Shortened from last names ending in -sky.
KaplanקפלןGerman, Czech, Jewish Means "chaplain, curate" in German and Czech, ultimately from Latin cappellanus. It is also sometimes used as a Jewish name, from a translation of Hebrew כֹּהֵן (kohen) meaning "priest" (see Cohen).
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]
KennerGerman, Jewish Means "expert, connoisseur" in German, from kennen "to know", a nickname for someone considered to be intelligent or knowledgeable.
ZollerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a customs officer, Middle High German zoller.
TkaczJewish Occupational name for a weaver, Polish tkacz, a noun derivative of tkać "to weave".
HammerGerman, English, Jewish From Middle High German hamer, Yiddish hamer, a metonymic occupational name for a maker or user of hammers, for example in a forge, or nickname for a forceful person.
WachsmannGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a gatherer or seller of beeswax from Middle Low German was "wax" and man "man".
BrandisGerman, Jewish, Swiss German & Swiss: Habitational name from a former Brandis castle in Emmental near Bern, Switzerland, or from any of the places so named in Saxony, Germany. A famous bearer of the name is Jonathan Brandis (1976-2003).... [more]
ThalJewish, German Ornamental and topographic name derived from German Tal "valley".
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.
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]
ChryslerGerman, Jewish From a German name referring to spinning or related to a Yiddish word, krayzl meaning "spinning top." The name can refer to a potter who spun a wheel to make utensils or to a person with curly hair or someone known for being continually active... [more]
GorenגורןJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) altered form of Horn (5), under Russian influence; since Russian has no h and alters h in borrowed words to g. In Israel the name has been reinterpreted by folk etymology as being from Hebrew goren 'threshing floor', which is in fact etymologically and semantically unrelated.
WinkelGerman, Jewish Derived from Middle High German winkel "corner, angle", a topographic name for someone who lived on a corner of land in the country or a street corner in a town or city. This word also came to denote a corner shop (see Winkelmann)... [more]
KarlinJewish Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic) habitational name for someone from Karlin, a suburb of Pinsk in Belarus, in which the Jews formed the majority of the population until the Holocaust. A well-known Hasidic sect originated in Karlin and at one time it attracted so many followers that a (now obsolete) Russian word for ‘Hasid’ was Karliner (of Yiddish origin)... [more]
JournoגיורנוJudeo-Spanish Derived from Italian giorno meaning "day", taken from the given name Bongiorno meaning "good day".
GreenbergerGerman, Jewish Anglicized form of the German surname Grünberger, which is formed from the words grün "green", Berg "mountain", and the habitational suffix -er. This name indicated a person who lived on or near a forest-covered mountain.
SeideGerman, Jewish German and Jewish (Ashkenazic): from Middle High German side, German Seide ‘silk’ (from Late Latin seta, originally denoting animal hair), hence a metonymic occupational name for a manufacturer or seller of silk.
WinehouseJewish, German Anglicized variant of German and Yiddish 'Weinhaus'. From German wein, 'vine, grapevine' and haus 'house, building, home', likely indicating a house with a vineyard. ... [more]
PelkaJewish Habitational name for someone from Pelki in Poland.
OchsGerman, Jewish Means "ox" in German, derived from Middle High German ohse, possibly denoting a strong person or someone who worked with oxen. As a Jewish name it is ornamental.
SchildJewish From German Schild "shield" or "(house) sign", applied either as an ornamental name or as a habitational name for someone who lived in a house distinguished by a sign.
KatsavקַצָּבHebrew Occupational name for a butcher, derived from Hebrew קַצָּב (qatzav) meaning "butcher, purveyor of meat". A famous bearer is former Israeli president Moshe Katsav (1945-), born Musa Qassab.
BruckerJewish From Polish brukarz or Yiddish bruk "pavement", possibly an occupational name for a paver.
HaverbusהאַווערבוסYiddish, Dutch Means "blessed friend", from Hebrew חבר (haver) and ברוך (baruch) "blessed".
AusterlitzGerman (Austrian), Jewish Derived from Slavkov u Brna (historically known as Austerlitz in German), a town located in Vyškov District, in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. This was real surname of the American actor and dancer Fred Astaire (1899-1987), as well as his sister Adele Astaire (1896-1981), an actress, singer and dancer.
Shremשרים/שְׁרֵםHebrew The surname “Shrem” is of Halabi-Jewish origin. It is an acronym for “Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, Yom Tov, and Moed”.
FeingoldJewish A Jewish name, from German, literally "fine gold".
GoldsternYiddish (Germanized, Rare) It is a Jewish surname that means (Gold Star), which in Hebrew is כוכב המלך דוד the star of King David. This surname has its origins in Hungary, Austria and Germany, this surname was bought by the Jews who worked as sellers of gold, diamonds, emeralds and jewels... [more]
BarzilaijDutch, Jewish Dutch form (or "dutchization", if you will) of Barzilai via Barzilay. This name is found exclusively in the Dutch-Jewish community, and is considered quite rare: there were only 112 bearers in 1947 and only 51 bearers in 2007.
MecklenburgGerman, Jewish Regional name for someone from this province in northern Germany. Derived from Old Saxon mikil "big, great" and burg "castle".
AbitbolאביטבולJudeo-Spanish Means "father of drums" (figuratively referring to a drum maker) from Arabic أَبُو (abū) meaning "father" and طَبْل (ṭabl) meaning "drum".
ShamirשָׁמִירHebrew Derived from Hebrew שָׁמִיר (shamiyr) meaning "thorn, briar, thistle" or "flint, diamond, emery, adamant". It was borne by the Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Shamir (1915-2012), whose birth name was either Yitzhak Yezernitsky or Icchak Jaziernicki.
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]
TimsitטימסיטJudeo-Spanish From the name of the village of Temzit located in the Nafusa region in western Libya.
ObstGerman, Jewish Means "fruit" in German, denoting someone who grows or sells fruit. As a Jewish name, it is ornamental.
SohinkiJewish Unknown meaning. A notable bearer is YouTube Personality Matt Sohinki, better known simply as Sohinki, who is a member of Smosh Games.
YuhannaJudeo-Arabic (?) Yuhanna or John is one of the apostles of Christ, the prophet of Christians and the religion of Christianity, who believe that he ascended to heaven.