Main contributor: Matan Shefi

See also: Jewish surnames

Polish Jewish surnames
Polish Jewish surnames

Official registration of all surnames in Poland, including Jewish surnames, started in the late 18th century. This does not mean people did not have surnames or family names up until that time, but that surnames were not used to identify people as they interacted with the government and administration on an official level. Surnames were earlier used mostly by the nobility (szlachta in Polish). Surnames, as an official and binding legal identification for all people, are thus a relatively modern phenomenon in Poland.[1]

Concerning Polish Jews in particular, Jewish families adopted or were assigned surnames sometime between 1790-1825, some of them returning to names that were transferred from generation to generation by oral tradition. Most people were known until that time by their first name (or names) and their father’s name. Notable examples are the 16th-century Rabbi Moses Isserles of Cracow (known as Remu), whose last name is derived from his father’s name: Israel.

Surname adoption in Poland

The Cover of the Napoleon Codex of Civil Registry - published in Warsaw 1813
The Cover of the Napoleon Codex of Civil Registry - published in Warsaw 1813

In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Poland did not exist as a defined and independent political entity, but was partitioned by its three neighbors: Tsarist Russia, the Habsburgian Empire, and Prussia. Each part of the partitioned lands was under a different law, and hence the adoption of names worked differently in the different areas. The areas under Russian rule were also divided between areas annexed to Russia and areas operating under the Kingdom of Poland, which was under Russian control. Yet all countries had in those years adopted some parts of the Napoleon Codex for civil registry, which introduced surnames to all the population under the ruler’s control. In some areas (the Habsburgian-controlled Galicia e.g.), the Jewish community’s council (kahal), was the administrative body responsible for such surname assigning, and in some countries, a clerk sent by the central government was the one doing the registry and name assignment. Family names were assigned to the heads of household (in most cases, the father of the family, male), and his name was given to the whole family.

Once the name was assigned, the descendants of the person would continue using the surname, even if it no longer described them (in terms of their occupation, physical traits, etc.)

Ancient Polish Jewish surnames

The hand gesture of the Kohanic-priestly blessing, in the signature of Gershom Katz, 1544
The hand gesture of the Kohanic-priestly blessing, in the signature of Gershom Katz, 1544

Up until governments required Jewish familes to take official last names,family names changed with every generation. Sons received a first name, then "ben (father's first name)", and daughters would be named with a first name, then "bas (mother's first name)".[2]

When it came time to choose or be assigned a surname, some Jewish families returned to oral traditions about their family’s origins and lineage. Some people adopted names to note their status as Kohen or Levite (both castes of priests and workers in the ancient temple of Israel-Judea) and adopted the name Kohn\Kagan\Katz or Lewi\Lewin\Lewita.

Some families, especially of rabbinic descent, adopted surnames originating in Germanic-Italian lands in medieval times, such as Shapiro (for the city of Speyer in Germany), Horowitz, or Rappaport. Some Jewish families that were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 15-16th centuries passed oral traditions of the last names they had back then and were re-used or reclaimed when the use of surnames was introduced to the general public in Polish lands. The best example of this is the famous Yiddish writer Yitzchak Leibush Peretz, born in Congress Poland Zamość, coming from a Portuguese family who settled in Poland in the 16th century that originally carried the Spanish surname Perez.

Other Polish Jewish surnames

Rabbi Moses Isserles
Rabbi Moses Isserles

There are many types of Polish Jewish surnames; some are a description of a person’s lineage, origin, physical traits, or occupation, and some are based on random, arbitrary administrative needs. It’s important to note that many surnames in Polish function as adjectives and have female and male versions: the wife of one Krakowski would be Krakowska, the daughter of one Chudy would be Chuda, etc. "Cki - zki" were variations of "ski - ska".

There were further distinctions made between surnames of married, or widowed, and unmarried women. A name starting with the father's root name and ending in "anka" or "owna" denoted a woman not yet married, while a name starting with the husband's root name and ending in "owa", "ina" or "yna" belonged to a woman who was or had been married.[3]

Some examples of the most common Polish Jewish patronymic surnames (based on the father), are as follows:

  • Danzon for son of Dan
  • Abramowicz or Abramsohn for son of Abram

Matronymic surnames, (deriving from the mother's name) are due to women trading or shopping in the marketplace, thus being more well-known to citizens of a town. The men were more likely craftsmen working from home or deeply involved in religious study.[4]

Some matronymic surnames are also derived from a woman who had a significant role in a man's life.

  • Ending in "s", as a possesive - Menkes, son of Menke[4]
  • Ending in "man" or "mann", as in Perlman, son of Perla[5]
  • Ending in "kin", such as Dvorkin, son of Dvorka (Deborah)[4]
  • Ending in "in", as in Goldin, son of Golda[5]

Other common names are derived from a place of origin: a person coming from Cracow could be assigned the name Krakower, or Krakowski.

Note that people named Krakowski were usually not living in Cracow at the time they adopted the surname. Place-based surnames were usually given to people who came from that place originally, or traced their roots to that place, and were living elsewhere. This is because surnames were chosen according to what made a person or family distinct from the people living around them, so naming everyone in a town after their place of residence would undermine the purpose of the surnames.

There are also names describing physical traits, including Chudy (thin), Wysoki (high or tall), or Ceimny (dark).

Germanic Polish Jewish names and the myth of purchased surnames

Many surnames which are today considered typically Jewish are beautiful phrases in German that do not relate to anything about the person, such as Goldman (gold person), Silberberg (mountain of silver), or Rosenthal (rose valley).

There were legends of price lists for such names, but those were never confirmed, and this is most likely a myth. There is one thesis that such names in German were given to Jews, especially in Russian-controlled territories, in order to distinguish them from the Polish-Catholic population, which at that time fought for independence from Russian control with the support and participation of a significant number of local Jews.

Can Jews be recognized by their surnames?

A writer of Holy Scripts (Heilikschreiber)
A writer of Holy Scripts (Heilikschreiber)

In general, it is not possible to tell whether a person is Jewish simply by knowing their surname. Most surnames were used by both Jews and non-Jews. Some names are more typical for Jews, like those describing farm animals (e.g. Kozia or Gęs) or natural landscapes, but these surnames were used for non-Jews as well.

Surnames that are almost exclusively Jewish are patronymics from Jewish first names (like Berkowicz or Mordkowicz, coming from Ber-Dov and Mordechai-Mordko respectively), or those regarding religious Jewish occupations, such as:

Explore more about Polish Jewish surnames


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Contributors

Main contributor: Matan Shefi
Additional contributor: Loesje Shema