AmsalemאמסלםJudeo-Spanish From an uncertain first element, perhaps the Tamazight prefix 'am denoting an agent, combined with Hebrew שָׁלוֹם (shalom) meaning "peace".
KennerGerman, Jewish Means "expert, connoisseur" in German, from kennen "to know", a nickname for someone considered to be intelligent or knowledgeable.
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.
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.
AltschulerJewish It is derived from the Altschul, Old Synagogue in Prague.
WaldsteinGerman, Jewish Habitational surname for a person from a place in Bohemia called Waldstein, which is derived from Middle High German walt "forest" + stein "stone".
BarzelayHebrew Variant form of Barzilai via Barzelai. A known bearer of this surname is American-Israeli musician Eef Barzelay (b... [more]
ZafriצפריHebrew From the name Ẓafār (Arabic: ظفار), also Romanized Dhafar or Dhofar, is an ancient Himyarite site situated in Yemen, some 130 km south-south-east of today's capital, Sana'a (Arabic: صَنْعَاء)... [more]
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.
EichenlaubGerman, Jewish Derived from Eichenlau, a topographic name from Middle High German eichen "oaks" and loh "forest clearing", reinterpreted through folk etymology as Eichenlaub, meaning "oak leaf".
AtlanאטלןJudeo-Spanish From an Arabic word originally meaning "noble" but later taking on the pejorative meaning of "spoiled, worthless" or "crippled, infirm".
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.
SaengerGerman, Jewish Occupational name for a chorister or a nickname for someone who liked singing, from Middle High German senger, German Sänger meaning "singer".
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]
LevanaלְבָנָהHebrew From the given name Levana 1, means "white" or "moon" in Hebrew.
KindermannGerman, Jewish occupational name for a schoolteacher literally "children man", from the elements kind "child" and man "man".
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.
BrandeisJewish Derived from Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (known as Brandeis-Altbunzlau or Brandeis an der Elbe in German), a town located in the Prague-East District, in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic... [more]
DropkinJewish, Belarusian Jewish (from Belarus): nickname from Belorussian drobka ‘crumb’+ the eastern Slavic patronymic suffix -in.... [more]
SchottlanderGerman, Jewish From German Schottland "Scotland" and, in some cases, denoted an immigrant from Scotland or Ireland. As a Jewish surname, it is most often an ornamental name.
MargolinמרגוליןJewish Derived from Hebrew מרגלית (margalit) meaning "pearl".
AflaloאפללוJudeo-Spanish Possibly from the name of the village of Afelilou in the Tafilalt region of Morocco.
ZahaviזהביHebrew, Jewish From Hebrew זהב (zahav) meaning "gold", commonly used as a replacement for Ashkenazi surnames containing the element gold, such as Goldman, Goldstein or Goldberg.
FellerEnglish, German, Jewish Occupational name for a furrier, from an agent derivative of Middle English fell, Middle Low German, Middle High German vel, or German Fell or Yiddish fel "hide, pelt". See also Fell.
KatzenJewish (Ashkenazi) Katzen is a variant of Kotzen, or a shortened version of Katzenellenbogen. Its origins can also be traced back to a habitational form of Katzenelnbogen. There is no clear answer of where this surname exactly came from... [more]
SpectorספקטורJewish From Polish szpektor meaning "teacher's assistant (in a Jewish school)", ultimately from inspektor meaning "supervisor".
LipschutzJewish Habitational surname for someone in Liebschütz, Germany, or Liebeschitz, Poland, both derived from Proto-Slavic *lipa "lime tree".
HeldGerman, Jewish, Dutch Means "hero" in German, ultimately derived from Middle High German helt. This name was bestowed upon a person either in its literal meaning or else in an ironic sense.
KatzinJewish Jewish: nickname from Hebrew katsin ‘rich man’. ... [more]
SilbermannGerman, Jewish Variant of Silber. from Middle High German silber German silber "silver" and Middle High German Yiddish man "man" an occupation for a man who worked with silver.
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.
LichtblauYiddish Means "light blue" in German. Leon Lichtblau was a pro-revolution communist who was imprisoned in Romania in 1921.
ZaslavskyזסלבסקיRussian, Jewish Name for someone from the city of Iziaslav (or Zaslav) in Ukraine, derived from the given name Iziaslav.
Olmertאוֹלְמֶרְט, אָלמערטJewish Possibly from a Germanic given name of uncertain meaning. It could be derived from the Old High German elements ol meaning "ancestor" and mert, a diminutive of merida meaning "fame" or "bright"... [more]
GalanteItalian, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Jewish Means "gallant, courteous, chivalrous; romantic" in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, both derived from French galant "gentlemanly" or "flirtatious, amorous". In the case of Mordecai Galante, a Spanish exile in 16th century Rome, his courteous manners won for him from the Roman nobles the surname Galantuomo, meaning "gentleman" in Italian, from which Galante was eventually derived.... [more]
GuralnickJewish Occupational name from Ukrainian guralnyk, Yiddish guralnik "distiller".
SilbersteinGerman, Jewish From Middle High German silber "silver" and stein "stone"; a habitational name from a place so named in Bavaria, or a topographic name.... [more]
EichhornGerman, Jewish, Belgian German topographic name for someone who lived on or near an oak-covered promontory, from Middle High German eich(e) ‘oak’ + horn ‘horn’, ‘promontory’. German from Middle High German eichhorn ‘squirrel’ (from Old High German eihhurno, a compound of eih ‘oak’ + urno, from the ancient Germanic and Indo-European name of the animal, which was later wrongly associated with hurno ‘horn’); probably a nickname for someone thought to resemble the animal, or alternatively a habitational name for someone who lived at a house distinguished by the sign of a squirrel... [more]
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]
WittlinJewish Eastern Ashkenazic, from the Yiddish female personal name Vitle, a pet form of Vite combined with the eastern Slavic suffix -in
GoldmannGerman, Jewish occupational name for someone who worked with gold denoting anything from a gold-miner to a maker of gold jewelry or a gilder (someone skilled in decorating surfaces with a very thin layer of gold leaf)... [more]
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.
LöwenthalJewish, Swedish Ornamental name composed of German Löwe "lion" and T(h)al "valley". In some cases the Jewish name would have been an ornamental elaboration associated with the personal name Levi (or other names meaning "lion").
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.
LurieJewish It is one of the oldest family trees in the world, tracing back at least to King David born c. 1037 BCE, as documented by Neil Rosenstein in his book The Lurie Legacy... [more]
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'.
AbulafiaאבולעפיהJudeo-Spanish From Arabic أبو العافية (abū l-ʿāfiya) meaning "father of health" from أبو (abū) meaning "father" and عافية (ʿāfiya) meaning "health, well-being".
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.
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".
StraussGerman, Jewish From the German word strauß, meaning "ostrich." In its use as a Jewish surname, it comes from the symbol of the building or family that the bearer occupied or worked for in the Frankfurter Judengasse... [more]
BustanבוסתןArabic, Persian, Turkish, Jewish From Aramaic bustān meaning "garden". Perhaps someone who works or lives near a garden or an orchard.
Zimbalistזימבליסט, זימבאַליסטJewish Occupational name for a cymbalist or a dulcimer player, particularly the cimbalom, derived from Yiddish tsimbl meaning "dulcimer, cimbalom, cymbal". The American actor Efrem Zimbalist Jr. (1918-2014) was a famous bearer of this surname.
CiechanoverPolish, Jewish Variant of Ciechanower. It is borne by the Israeli biologist Aaron Ciechanover (1947-), who is known for characterising the method that cells use to degrade and recycle proteins using ubiquitin.
DiamantדיאמנטJewish Derived from Yiddish דימענט (diment) meaning "diamond".
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]
BacriבכריJudeo-Spanish Possibly derived from Arabic بكر (bikr) meaning "firstborn, eldest". Alternately it may be an occupational name for a cowherd or cattle merchant from بقر (baqar) meaning "cattle".
BacharachasJewish Bacharachas is a derivate of the Bacharach that is a town in Germany.
KatzenbergקצנברגJewish Elaboration of Katz with the old German word berg meaning "mountain".
SchwerinGerman, Jewish habitational name from any of the places called Schwerin in Mecklenburg Brandenburg and Pomerania.
ReisnerJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) nickname for a traveler, from an agent derivative of German reisen ‘to travel’ (see Reise). Also a variant of Reis.
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.
MerlJewish Jewish (Ashkenazic) metronymic from the Yiddish female personal name Merl, a pet form of Hebrew Miryam (see Mirkin).
FinkGerman, Slovene, English, Jewish Nickname for a lively or cheerful person, Jewish ornamental name derived from the Germanic word for "finch", and German translation of Slovene Šinkovec which is from šcinkovec or šcinkavec meaning "finch".
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.
RafaelרָפָאֵלHebrew From the given name Raphael, means "God heals" in Hebrew. The angel of healing.
DrabkinBelarusian, Jewish Jewish (from Belarus): metronymic from Yiddish drabke “loose woman”. Can also be from drabki (Belarusian) 'light cart' (+ the same suffix -in), an occupational name for a coachman (Alexander Beider).... [more]
Feinmanפיינמן, פיינמאןGerman, Jewish Nickname for a fine person, derived from either Middle High German fīn meaning "fine, elegant, cultivated" or German fein and Yiddish fayn meaning "fine, excellent", combined with man.
SperberGerman, Jewish From a nickname for a small but belligerent person from Middle High German sperwære "sparrow hawk" (Old High German sparwāri a compound of sparw "sparrow" and āri "eagle").
HonikmanהאָניקמאַןYiddish It literally means "honeyman", possibly denoting a beekeeper.
LindeGerman, Dutch, Jewish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish Derived from Middle Hugh German, Dutch linde or Scandinavian lind "lime tree". Almost exclusively ornamental in Swedish, otherwise probably habitational. There are also a number of feminine names containing the element lind, for example Linda, Dietlinde and Gerlinde, and it's possible that the surname is derived from any of those names.
Urbanskyאורבאַנסקי, אורבנסקיCzech, Slovak, Polish, Russian, Jewish In Czech and Slovak usage, it is a habitational name for someone from a place called Urbanice. In Polish usage, it is a habitational name for someone from a place named with the personal name Urban.
SpicerEnglish, Jewish, Polish English: occupational name for a seller of spices, Middle English spic(i)er (a reduced form of Old French espicier, Late Latin speciarius, an agent derivative of species ‘spice’, ‘groceries’, ‘merchandise’).... [more]
AbadJudeo-Spanish Nickname from abad ‘priest’ (from Late Latin abbas ‘priest’, genitive abbatis, from the Aramaic word meaning ‘father’). The application is uncertain: it could be a nickname, an occupational name for the servant of a priest, or denote an (illegitimate) son of a priest.
HerbstGerman, Jewish Nickname from Middle High German herbest "harvest". The modern German word herbst has come to mean "fall" the time of year when the harvest takes place... [more]
FalconJewish Possibly derived from the German Falke, meaning "falcon."
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]
WeisfeldGerman, Jewish topographic name from a field name composed of Middle High German wiz "white" and feld "open country". Cognate of Whitfield.
ShipperGerman, Jewish, English German and Jewish Cognate and English variant of Schipper. occupational name from Middle English shippere "shipman sailor seaman" (Old English scipere) perhaps also with the sense "skipper" (Middle Low German schipper).
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.