The 70 most common Jewish surnames

The Jewish community is one of the oldest ethnic groups that currently exist, and its identity is largely reflected in some surnames with roots in the Hebrew language, and that today are very present especially in countries such as the United States, Israel and Argentina.

In this article we show you the 70 most common Jewish surnames, also mentioning its origin and meaning.

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What are the most common Jewish surnames?

It is common for Jewish surnames to refer to the parent or the father, in this case we will speak of patronymic surnames.

On the other hand, many of the more common Jewish surnames are prevalent in two Jewish communities: the Sephardic, who come from the Iberian Peninsula, and the Ashkenazis, the Jews of Germany and Eastern Europe, this community being much more recent.

Next we will see the most used Jewish surnames, as well as their origin and meaning. You can see how most come from Hebrew, although we also observe German and Arabic influence. In reference to the meaning, the mention of God is typical, and it is also common that many of them can be used as a proper name, both feminine and masculine.

1. Cohen

The surname Cohen, or Kohen, derives from the Hebrew word for "Priest." In addition, it has its origins in one of the most powerful lineages in the field of Judaism, since it is traditionally understands that the Kohen come from a line of direct male descendants of Aaron, the brother of Moses according to the Bible.

2. Levy

The surname Levy comes from Hebrew and means "to unite". This name is given to the members of the Levi tribe who were called Levites, these are helpers of the cohanim, plural of kohen which, as we have said before, means priests.

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3. Mizrachi

The surname Mizrachi means "oriental" which is the name given to Jews from the Middle East or North Africa.

4. Peretz

The surname Peretz derives from a Hebrew proper name that is translated into Spanish as "advance" or "break through." It is believed that the surname Pérez may be the Spanish version that the Jews themselves made of this surname to hide of the inquisition.

5. Biton

The surname Biton derives from the name Hayyim which means "life". Being a fairly common surname, it has evolved in different ways depending on the area.

6. Dohan

The meaning of the surname Dohan is unclear and could refer to a "house painter" or an "oil seller". Similar derivations to this surname are also found as Dahan, Dihan or Dohan.

7. Abramov

The surname Abramov uses the Russian suffix -ov which indicates that it is "son of Abraham". So this surname was used by Jewish families living in Russia or nearby areas.

8. Friedman

The surname Friedman comes from the German, from the words "fridu" which translates as "peace" and "mann" which we translate as "man". We therefore deduce that means "man of peace".

9. Azoulai

The meaning of the surname Azoulai is not clear, it has been proposed as an option "blue eyes" or "good". This surname is frequently used in the Sephardic Jewish community that refers to the descendants of the Jews who were expelled from the Iberian Peninsula in 1492.

10. Malka

It is a Judeo-Spanish surname that means "queen."

11. Katz

The surname Katz indicates that he belongs to a priestly family. Katz are acronyms that mean "cohen tzedek" which translates into Spanish as "priest of justice."

12. David

David is a patronymic surname, which designates ancestry, very old and one of the most common in the world. In Hebrew it means "the one who is loved by God."

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13. Ohayon

The surname Ohayon is made up of the Berber prefix "O-" which indicates "son of" and the proper name Hayon which translates as "life".

14. Hadad

The Hebrew surname Hadad means "ornament."

15. to love

The surname Amar also It is frequent in Sephardic Jewish communities and can be translated as "architect" or "builder". It has Arab origin and it is for this reason that it is popular with Moroccan Jews.

16. Gabbai

The surname Gabbai translates to "guardian of charity" and refers to the role that some men performed in synagogues.

17. Yosef

The surname Yosef is a patronymic that refers to the proper name Yosef which means "may God give another child."

18. Ben david

The prefix "Ben-" in Hebrew means "son of"; therefore, Ben David will be a patronymic surname that will be translated as son of David, a proper name that means “loved”.

19. Edri

The last name Edri refers to the Draa Valley that is in Morocco, for this reason this last name will be frequent in the Jews who live in this country.

20. Klein

The surname Klein which means "small" or "humble" was used as a substitute for the Hebrew surname Alemalej during the Jewish persecution in 1500.

21. Chen

The surname Chen is a Hebrew word that means "grace" or "charm." It has not only been used as a surname but it can also be a proper name for both a woman and a man.

22. Such

The Hebrew surname Tal means "dew" and in the same way as the previous surname we can also find it as a proper name.

23. Levine

The Levine is a surname derived from the already named "Levy", in this case we could translate it as "the one that unites his family".

24. Shapira

The surname Shapira, which we also find with other forms such as Shapiro, is a toponym that refers to the Jews who lived in the German city of Speyer.

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25. Do

The surname Hazan means "cantor" or "singer", the one who recites the prayers in the synagogue.

26. Moshe

The surname Moshe is the Hebrew form of Moses. Which comes from the Egyptian root "month" which means "son of" in this case "son of Jehovah" or "son of Yahweh."

27. Ohana

In this case, the surname Ohana would be a matronymic that refers to the mother's name together with the suffix “O-” which, as we have said, means “son of”, in this case “son of Hanna”.

28. Golan

Golan is a toponymic surname that refers to the city of Golan in Israel.

29. Ashkenazi

The last name Ashkenazi is a patronymic that indicates "son of Ashkenaz" which means "fire that spreads", This ends also was used to name the European Jews who lived in Central or Eastern Europe after the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70.

30. Segal

Segal was the name given to the teachers of the Torah, which is the religious text that contains the heritage and Israeli law. The Segal surname has its origin in the time of the first Temple of Jerusalem.

31. Yitzhak

The surname Yitzhak can also be found as Isaac, which translates as "he laughs."

32. Pub

Bar is a Jewish surname from the German meaning "bear".

33. Yaakov

The last name Yaakov can also be found as Jacob and means "caught by the heel."

34. Shalom

The surname Shalom means "the peace of God." It is also commonly used as a greeting.

35. Mor

The surname Mor derives from the word More which means "teacher" or Mora which translates as "teacher".

36. Dayan

The surname Dyan comes from the Hebrew word Dayana, the name given to those who had the function of judge in the synagogue.

37. Eliyahu

Eliyahu is used as a first and last name and means “Jehovah is my God”.

38. Elbaz

The Jewish surname Elbaz is of Arabic origin and means "the falcon."

39. I saw her

The Jewish surname Lavi comes from Hebrew and is translated as "lion."

40. Suissa

Suissa is a toponymic surname that refers to a town called Suesa in Spain or the Souss region of Morocco.

41. Shemesh

The surname Shemesh means the "house of God."

42. Atias

The surname Atias derives from the Arabic name Attya which means "gift of God."

43. Stern

The last name Stern is Ashkenazi and It is of German origin, translating as "star".

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44. Nachum

The Jewish patronymic surname Nachum means "the one who comforts."

45. Alon

Alon is a Jewish surname also frequently used by the Ashkenazis and means "tree".

46. Rosenberg

The surname Rosenberg can be considered matronymic (referring to the mother) or toponymic (referring to a place) and means "mountain of roses."

47. Sharabi

The surname Sharabi is a toponym that refers to a district of Shar'ab in Taiz, Yemen, a country located on the Arabian peninsula.

48. Mom

The toponymic surname Maman indicates that it comes from the Meanám people in the province of Orense in Spain.

49. Sasson

The Jewish surname Sasson translates to "happiness" or "joy."

50. Basting

The last name Bachar refers to a specific trade of a species seller, since we know that it comes from the Turkish word "bahar" which means "species".

51. Shahar

The surname Shahar is believed to come from the name Morgenstern and means "dawn."

52. Maimon

The surname Maimon was used by Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews, coming from Arabic and means “lucky”.

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53. Schwartz

The surname Schawartz comes from the Hebrew and means "salvation." It is believed that it may be the origin of the Spanish surname Suárez.

54. Ovadia

Ovadia is a frequent name of Hebrew origin among Sephardic Jews and means “servant of God”.

55. Ben hemo

The surname Ben Hemo is made up of Ben, which indicates "son of," and Hemo, which is believed to derive from the name Haim, which means "alive."

56. Vaknin

Vaknin is believed to be a nickname for Jacob's proper name in the Berber language.

57. Assouline

The toponymic surname Assouline is of Berber origin and means "rock" or "stone".

58. Meir

The last name Meir of Hebrew origin means "the one who shines" and is also used as a proper name.

59. Greenberg

Of German origin, the Jewish surname Greenberg means "mountain".

60. Goldstein

The surname Goldstein comes from the German and translates to "golden stone".

61. Weiss

Weiss is a surname of German origin that translates as "white".

62. Baruch

The last name Baruch of Hebrew origin means "Chosen and guided by God."

63. Amsalem

The surname Amsalem is popular in the Sephardic Jewish community and means "seeker of peace."

64. Rubin

The surname Rubin with Israeli roots comes from the name Reuven, which in Spanish would be Rubén and translates as "here is a son."

65. Feldman

Coming from the Yiddish dialect, where different languages ​​such as French, Italian, Hebrew and German come together, it is formed by the German words "feld" which means "field" and "mann" which translates as "man", that is to say, the surname Feldman means "man of the country".

66. Ezra

The Jewish surname Ezra means "help", and this word was also used as a proper noun for both men and women.

67. Harel

The surname Harel has Hebrew origin and translates as "the mountain of God."

68. Yifrah

The last name Yifrah of Hebrew origin means "will flourish."

69. Sabag

The surname Sabag is of Arabic origin and refers to the trade of dyeing fabrics

70. Kadosh

The Hebrew surname Kadosh means "saint" and is believed to be where the Spanish surname Santo comes from.