List of Jewish male names and surnames

The content of the article is Jewish names and surnames (male). The list will include only those having national roots, for about their variety there are jokes: "It is impossible to meet a thing that the Jew would not have picked up for himself under the surname".

Church traditions

If the Orthodox used to choose the name of the newborn for the Holy Fathers earlier, the Jews always chose in three ways:

1. Focusing on older relatives.
2. In honor of your favorite biblical heroes.
3. Stopping at the Hebrew righteous.

Kabbalah teaches that letters in a name are a connection with spiritual forces, so in practice there are cases when seriously ill people are called double names, adding Chaim (life). In the books of Sholom Aleichem and Isaac Babel, such variants are found quite often. Sometimes European names are used, and next - translation. For example, Zeyev is Wolf.

The list of Jewish male names will include only Hebrew (or Yiddish), although since 1917 in Russia any are allowed. Everywhere, Baruch and Berla turned into Borisov, and Leibas - into Lviv. In other countries (Palestine) there were reverse processes, for which the state strictly followed. Naming of boys occurs during circumcision - on the eighth day from birth. Consider the most common Jewish male names.

List alphabetically (from A to M) with translation

• Aaron is the mountain, the brother of Moses, the high priest.
• Abraham - is considered the forefather ("father of the people"). The option is Abraham .
• Adam - "earth", in honor of the first person on Earth.
• Baruch is the "blessed one," the prophet's helper.
• Gad - "luck", son of Jacob.
• Gershom is an "alien", the son of Moses.
• David - "beloved", from him went the family of Jewish kings.
• Dov is a " bear", the personification of strength and dexterity.
• Zerah is the "shining", the son of Judah.
• Israzl - "struggling with God", options are acceptable: Yisroel, Israel.
• Yitzhak - "preparing to laugh," the son of Abraham, whom he was preparing to sacrifice. Variants - Itzik, Isaac.

The list of Jewish male names includes the most common, without borrowed.

• Joshua - "God, as salvation", a disciple of Moshe, conquered the lands of Israel.
• Joseph (Joseph) - "God", the son of Jacob, sold into slavery in Egypt.
• Jonathan is "given by God," David's friend.
• Kalev is a "heart", a scout sent to the land of Israel.
• The Leib is a "lion", is a symbol of Judah.
• Menachem is a "comforter", a Jewish king.
• Michael - "like God," the messenger of God, called to protect the Jewish people.
• Moshe is "saved from the water," the greatest prophet. The options are Moshe, Moses.

The second part of the alphabet

• Nahum is "comforted", a small prophet. Option - Nahim .
• Nahshon is a "prophet", Aaron's son-in-law, who first entered the Red Sea.
• Noah is "peace," the righteous who escaped the flood.
• Ovadia is "God's servant," a small prophet. The options are Obadiah, Obadiah.
• Pesach - "Missed", the name of Easter.
• Pinchas is a "snake's mouth", Aaron's grandson, who has turned away the wrath of the Israelites.
• Rafael is "healed by God," the angel of healing.
• Tanhum is "consolation," the wise man of the Talmud.
• Uriel - "my light is God", the name of the angel.
• Fivel - "breast-fed" in Yiddish. Options - Fayvish, Feivel, Feishiv, Favish.

The list of Jewish male names on the last letters of the alphabet is the most significant, so we should focus on the most important.

• Hagai - "celebrating", a small prophet, the grandson of Jacob. Option - Hagi .
• Hanan - "pardoned", with him began the tribe Binyamin.
• Hanoch is "consecrated," the son of Cain.
• Zadok is "righteous", who has pacified the uprising against David.
• Zion - "superiority", is used as a synonym for Jerusalem.
• Cephania is "hidden by God," a small prophet.
• Shalom is "the world," the king of Israel. Shimon - "heard by God," the son of Jacob. Option - Simon .
• Shmuel is "the name of God," the prophet.
• Ephraim is "prolific", the grandson of Jacob.
• Yaakov - "overtaken", forefather. Variants - Jacob, Jacob, Yankees, Yankel.

Borrowed names

Are there any borrowed Jewish male names? The list can be replenished with those that appeared in everyday life, until the Talmud played an important role. Calling children in honor of relatives, the Jews contribute to their spread. From the Hebrew language came the names: Meir, Menuh, Nehama. The Babylonians brought Mordechai, the Chaldeans - Atlas and Bebai. Greek rule gave the Jews the name Alexander (option - Sender ). The Georgian Jews appeared: Irakli, Guram ; In Tajik - Bovozjon, Rubensivi, Estermo.

Their peculiarity is A small area of distribution. There are names that appeared because of the beliefs. So, the name Alter ("old man") called all the newborns, but a month later he was changed. It was believed that it protects from evil spirits.

Jewish surnames

The list of Jewish male names is very important, because before the beginning of the XIX century they did not have names (in the Austrian Empire appeared in the late XVIII century.). How were they created?

• On behalf of the father or the biblical characters: Benjamin, Israel, David, Abram.
• From female names: Rivman (Riva's husband), Tsivyan (the name of Tsivya), Mirkin (Mirka).
• From the appearance or character of the owner: Schwartz ("black"), Weissbard ("white-bearded").
• From the profession: Rabinovich ("rabbi"), Dayan ("judge").
• From geographical names: Lifshits ("Silesian city"), Gurevich (Czech town).
• From any things that occur in life. They are called decorative: Bernstein ("amber"), Jaglom ("diamond").

As we have seen, the origin of the names are Jewish male names, the list of which is presented in the text.