Jewish surnames are among the most historically layered last names in the world. Some families have carried them for centuries, rooted in place names, trades, or Biblical Hebrew. Others were assigned by European governments in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, which is why so many Ashkenazi surnames have a distinctive German or Yiddish flavor. Sephardic and Mizrahi families, by contrast, often preserved Judeo-Spanish, Arabic, or Hebrew-origin surnames that trace an entirely different path through history.<\/p>\n
The result is a remarkable spread of Jewish surnames across linguistic traditions. This list covers 100 of the most significant, organized by origin and meaning, so you can see exactly where each name comes from and what it once signaled about a family’s identity.<\/p>\n
A handful of Jewish surnames carry direct tribal significance, marking descent from the priestly class (Kohanim) or the tribe of Levi. These are among the oldest and most widespread Jewish last names across all communities.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From the Hebrew kohen<\/em>, meaning “priest,” this is the single most common Jewish surname in the world. It marks descent from the ancient Israelite priestly caste, the Kohanim. Spelling variants include Kohn, Cohn, Kagan, and Kahn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An Ashkenazi acronym surname from the Hebrew phrase kohen tzedek<\/em>, meaning “righteous priest.” The acronym form was common among Ashkenazi Jews who wanted to signal priestly descent without using Cohen directly. It is one of the more ingenious naming conventions in Jewish surname history.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew levi<\/em>, meaning “joined” or “attached,” referring to the tribe of Levi. Levites served in the Temple and held a distinct religious role below the Kohanim. Variants include Levi, Levine, Levitt, and Levin.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A common Ashkenazi elaboration of Levi, adding the Slavic or German diminutive suffix to create a softer, more surname-like form. Widespread across Eastern European Jewish communities, particularly in Russia and Ukraine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Another direct variant of Levi, common among Russian and Lithuanian Jews. It functions as both a surname and, less commonly, a given name in modern usage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Slavicized form of Cohen, widespread among Eastern European Jews, particularly in Russia, Poland, and Ukraine. The transformation of the hard “c” into a Slavic-sounding form happened gradually as Jewish communities adapted to local phonology.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some Jewish surnames derive directly from Biblical Hebrew personal names or words, used as family identifiers across Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Mizrahi communities alike.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew mizrach<\/em>, meaning “east” or “eastern.” Originally used to describe Jews who originated from Middle Eastern lands, it became a family surname as well as a broad ethnic designator for non-European Jewish communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Derived from the German town of Speyer (called Shpira<\/em> in Hebrew), where a significant Jewish community flourished in the medieval period. One of the most recognizable Ashkenazi surnames, it traveled east with Jewish migration into Poland and Russia.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew name Ashkenaz<\/em>, a Biblical figure (Genesis 10:3) whose name came to denote the Germanic lands where Jews settled in the early medieval period. Used as a surname by families signaling their Central or Eastern European origin, particularly after Sephardic expulsion created a need to distinguish communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A spelling variant of Mizrahi, equally common in Israel and among Sephardic and Mizrahi diaspora communities. The -i<\/em> and -chi<\/em> endings are both standard Hebrew adjectival forms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Biblical Hebrew personal name Peretz<\/em>, meaning “breach” or “burst forth,” the name of a son of Judah. A classic Ashkenazi surname that also appears in Sephardic communities, particularly in North Africa.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew word for “pine tree” or “ash tree,” oren<\/em>. Used as both a given name and a surname in Israeli and diaspora contexts, it is particularly common in Sephardic and Mizrahi families.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A large portion of Ashkenazi Jewish surnames come from the towns and cities where families lived, particularly in Germany, Poland, Ukraine, and the broader Pale of Settlement. When European governments mandated that Jews take hereditary surnames in the late 1700s and early 1800s, place of origin was one of the most common sources.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meaning “one from Berlin,” this surname marks a family’s origin in the German capital. Berlin had one of the most significant German-Jewish communities before the modern era.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German name for Warsaw (Warschau<\/em>), meaning “one from Warsaw.” Common among Jews who emigrated from the Polish capital or its surroundings into German-speaking lands.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Poznan (Posen in German), a major city in western Poland with a long-established Jewish community. Ashkenazi families from the region often adopted this place name as their surname.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Ukrainian city of Brody, a major center of Jewish life in the 18th and 19th centuries. The surname is common among families with Galician roots.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Derived from Franconia (Frank in German), a region of Germany, with the diminutive Yiddish suffix -el<\/em>. One of the most recognizable surnames of German-Jewish origin, widespread across Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Bohemian town of Horovice in what is now the Czech Republic. One of the oldest and most distinguished Ashkenazi rabbinic surnames, carried by numerous notable scholars and rabbis through the centuries.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Slavic adjectival form of Brody, meaning “one from Brody.” Common among Ukrainian and Russian Jews, and familiar to many through the poet Joseph Brodsky.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German city of Mainz (called Meintz<\/em> or Mintz<\/em> in Yiddish), one of the great centers of medieval Ashkenazi Jewish scholarship. Families bearing this name often trace roots to the Rhineland Jewish community.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Hebrew-script spelling of Shapiro, used more commonly in Israel and among Sephardic or Mizrahi communities. Both forms trace back to the city of Speyer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German town of Eppstein in Hesse. A classic Ashkenazi surname associated with scholarly and rabbinic families, particularly those with roots in the Rhineland.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German city of Landau in the Rhineland-Palatinate region. Carried by one of the most prominent Ashkenazi rabbinic dynasties, the name spread widely through Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Polish adjectival form of Poznan, meaning “one from Poznan.” Used by Jewish families from the Poznan region who adopted or were assigned Polish-style surnames.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Krakow (Krakau in German), the historic capital of Poland and one of the most important centers of Jewish life in Europe. Families bearing this name signal deep roots in the Polish-Jewish heartland.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Polish-style form meaning “one from Warsaw,” parallel to Warschauer but in a Slavic rather than Germanic mold. Both forms circulated among Jewish families from the Warsaw area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Trades and occupations were another major source of Ashkenazi surnames, either in German, Yiddish, or Hebrew. These names give a vivid picture of the economic life of Jewish communities in early modern Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “tailor,” Schneider<\/em>. Tailoring was one of the most common occupations in Ashkenazi Jewish communities, making this surname widespread across Germany, Austria, and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “scribe” or “writer,” Schreiber<\/em>. Jewish scribes (sofrim) held an important religious role, copying Torah scrolls and other sacred documents.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German Kaufmann<\/em>, meaning “merchant” or “trader.” Commerce was central to Jewish economic life in pre-modern Europe, and merchant surnames are common across Ashkenazi communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An English-language occupational surname for a worker in gold, used by Jewish families who anglicized their names upon immigration to Britain or America. The German equivalent Goldschmidt carries the same meaning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The German form of “goldsmith,” meaning a craftsman who worked with gold. A prominent surname in German-Jewish banking and business families, most famously associated with the Goldschmidt banking dynasty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “fisherman,” Fischer<\/em>. Common among Ashkenazi families near rivers and lakes in Central and Eastern Europe, where fishing communities existed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “judge,” Richter<\/em>. While used broadly in German-speaking lands, it was adopted by Jewish families as well and is found across Ashkenazi communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “butcher,” Fleischer<\/em>. Kosher butchers (shochtim) were essential figures in Jewish community life, and the surname reflects that role.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Directly from the Hebrew sofer<\/em>, meaning “scribe.” Used as a surname by families of scribes or by those who wished to signal a learned, scribal heritage.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Latin-origin word for a synagogue cantor or chazzan, adopted into Yiddish and German as Kantor<\/em>. Families of cantors often carried this name across Central and Eastern European communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew chazzan<\/em>, the term for a synagogue cantor or prayer leader. The surname appears in Sephardic and Mizrahi communities as well as Ashkenazi ones.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many Ashkenazi surnames, particularly those assigned during the mandatory surname period, were drawn from nature: flowers, trees, animals, colors, and landscapes. Some were chosen or purchased; others were simply assigned by bureaucrats.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “gold mountain,” combining Gold<\/em> and Berg<\/em> (mountain). One of the most common Ashkenazi surnames in the world, it was likely assigned or chosen for its pleasant, prosperous-sounding imagery.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “rose mountain,” combining Rose<\/em> and Berg<\/em>. Another of the most widespread Ashkenazi surnames, common across Germany, Austria, Poland, and beyond.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “flower field,” combining Blumen<\/em> (flowers) and Feld<\/em> (field). A beautiful and evocative nature surname that was often chosen voluntarily during the mandatory surname period.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “rose valley,” combining Rose<\/em> and Tal<\/em> (valley). Common across German and Central European Jewish communities, it projects a pastoral, picturesque image.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “green mountain,” combining Gruen<\/em> (green) and Berg<\/em> (mountain). A classic Ashkenazi surname that appears in many variant spellings including Greenberg and Grunberg.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The anglicized spelling of Gruenberg, widely used by families who emigrated to English-speaking countries and adapted the spelling. One of the most recognizable Jewish surnames in the United States.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “black mountain,” combining Schwarz<\/em> (black) and Berg<\/em> (mountain). Less common than Goldberg or Rosenberg but from the same tradition of compound nature surnames.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German or Yiddish word for “flower,” Blum<\/em>. A simple, elegant Ashkenazi surname that appears widely across Central and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “roses,” Rosen<\/em>. One of the most recognizable short-form Ashkenazi surnames, used independently and as the root of longer compound names like Rosenberg and Rosenthal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “white,” Weiss<\/em>. A color-based descriptive surname common across Ashkenazi communities in Germany, Austria, Hungary, and Eastern Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “black,” Schwartz<\/em>. One of the most common Ashkenazi surnames, likely used originally as a descriptive term for dark hair or complexion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “small,” Klein<\/em>. A widespread Ashkenazi surname that may have been descriptive (referring to physical stature or a smaller branch of a family) or assigned arbitrarily.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “large” or “great,” Gross<\/h3>\n . Often used in contrast to Klein within the same communities; together they form one of the most complementary pairs of Ashkenazi surnames.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “stone mountain,” combining Stein<\/em> (stone) and Berg<\/em> (mountain). Common across Ashkenazi communities, it carries the same landscape-naming logic as Goldberg and Rosenberg.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German word for “river,” Fluss<\/em>. A geographic surname used by Jewish families near rivers, found in Ashkenazi communities across Central Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many Ashkenazi surnames were formed from father’s given names, using Hebrew, Yiddish, or Slavic suffixes. The -son<\/em>, -wicz<\/em>, -owitz<\/em>, and -sky<\/em> endings are all markers of this pattern.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Avraham<\/em> (Abraham) plus the Slavic patronymic suffix -owitz<\/em> or -wicz<\/em>, meaning “son of Abraham.” A classic Eastern European Jewish patronymic surname with deep Biblical roots.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Jacob plus the Scandinavian or Germanic -son<\/em> suffix, meaning “son of Jacob.” Common among Ashkenazi families in Northern Europe and among those who anglicized Slavic forms like Jakobowitz.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Isaac plus -son<\/em>, meaning “son of Isaac.” One of the straightforward Biblical patronymic surnames used by Ashkenazi families, particularly in Scandinavian and Anglo-Jewish communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Moshe (Moses) or from Moscow (Moskva<\/em>), with the Slavic patronymic or place suffix. The name blurs the line between a geographic surname (one from Moscow) and a patronymic one, and both origins appear in Ashkenazi families.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Mendel (a Yiddish form of Menahem or Menachem) plus -son<\/em>, meaning “son of Mendel.” Familiar to many through the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn, whose descendants carried the double-s spelling.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From David plus the Slavic -owitz<\/em> suffix, meaning “son of David.” A straightforward Biblical patronymic common in Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian Jewish communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Solomon plus the Russian or Slavic -ov<\/em> suffix, meaning “son of Solomon.” Found among Jewish families in Russia and the former Soviet Union who adapted Biblical names into Slavic patronymic forms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sephardic Jews — those with roots in the Iberian Peninsula before the 1492 expulsion from Spain and 1497 expulsion from Portugal — carried their surnames across the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, the Netherlands, and the Americas. Many Sephardic surnames are recognizably Spanish or Portuguese in origin, while others come from Hebrew, Arabic, or Berber roots.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A distinguished Sephardic surname of unclear ultimate origin, possibly from a Semitic root or a place name. Best known through Isaac Abravanel, the 15th-century scholar, statesman, and financier who served the Spanish crown before the expulsion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Sephardic surname of Portuguese origin, possibly derived from a place name meaning a place where thistles or thorns grew. Carried by prominent Sephardic families in the Netherlands, the Caribbean, and the United States, most famously by Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Spanish and Navarrese place name, referring to the Kingdom of Navarre in northern Spain. Used by Jewish families who originated from that region and carried the geographic surname into the diaspora after the expulsion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Meaning “one from Toledo,” the great Spanish city that was a center of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian coexistence in medieval Iberia. One of the most recognizable Sephardic surnames, common in North Africa and the Levant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From Zaragoza (Saragossa), the major city of Aragon. Jewish families from Zaragoza carried this geographic surname into the Ottoman Empire and North Africa after the expulsion.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Spanish castillo<\/em>, meaning “castle,” or possibly a variant of Castile, the central Spanish kingdom. A Sephardic surname found across North Africa, the Balkans, and the Middle East.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Portuguese word for “pear tree,” pereira<\/em>. A surname of Portuguese-Jewish origin, common among Sephardic families in Portugal, the Netherlands, England, and the Americas.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Portuguese form of Lopez, from the Latin lupus<\/em> meaning “wolf,” originally a patronymic from the given name Lopo or Lupe. Carried by Sephardic families who settled in Portugal or whose names took on Portuguese forms.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Portuguese and Spanish surname from the given name Mendo or Menendo, itself from a Visigothic root. One of the most prominent Sephardic surnames, associated with the powerful Mendes banking family that operated across 16th-century Europe.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Portuguese patronymic from the given name Nuno, meaning “son of Nuno.” A classic Sephardic-Portuguese surname carried by families in the Netherlands, the Caribbean, and Latin America.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Catalan-Jewish surname, most famously associated with Abraham Cresques, the 14th-century cartographer of Majorca who created the Catalan Atlas. Rare today but historically significant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Sephardic surname of Arabic origin, from the word farhi<\/em> meaning “my joy” or “my happiness.” Associated with a prominent Syrian-Jewish banking and commercial family that wielded influence across the Ottoman Empire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew name Sasson, meaning “joy” or “happiness.” A distinguished Sephardic surname associated with the great Baghdad-born Jewish trading dynasty that built a commercial empire across India, China, and Britain in the 19th century.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n An Italian-Sephardic spelling of Cohen, used by Jewish families in Italy, particularly in Venice and Livorno, where Sephardic communities settled after the expulsion. The Italian form carries a distinct Mediterranean character.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew word Sefarad<\/em>, the Biblical name used for Spain, meaning literally “one who is Sephardic.” Used as a surname by families signaling their Iberian origin, particularly in Israel and Mizrahi communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mizrahi Jews — communities from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Yemen, Egypt, and other Middle Eastern and Central Asian lands — have surnames that draw on Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, and Aramaic. These names carry the texture of ancient Jewish life in the lands where the diaspora was born.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Arabic rashid<\/em>, meaning “rightly guided” or “wise.” Used by Jewish families in Iraq and other Arabic-speaking lands who bore Arabic-style names indistinguishable in form from Muslim names of the same region.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Arabic word for “silk” or “silk merchant,” harir<\/em>. A surname used by Jewish families in Iraq and Syria involved in the silk trade, reflecting the occupational naming tradition common across Middle Eastern communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Arabic word for “Egyptian,” Masri<\/em>. Used by Jewish families of Egyptian origin, or by those who had spent time in Egypt, as a geographic identifier. Common among Mizrahi communities in Israel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the geographic name Iraq, used as a surname by Jewish families signaling their Mesopotamian origin. Found particularly among families who emigrated from Iraq to Israel in the mid-20th century.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the geographic name Yemen, used as a surname by Yemenite Jewish families, particularly after aliyah to Israel. A direct statement of origin used in the same way as Mizrahi or Masri.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A surname of North African Jewish origin, particularly associated with Moroccan and Algerian Jewish communities. The exact root is debated, but it is widely recognized as a distinctively Maghrebi Jewish surname.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew and Arabic root meaning “grease” or “oil,” possibly an occupational name for someone who worked with oils or fats. A very common Moroccan Jewish surname, widespread among North African Mizrahi communities in Israel and France.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Moroccan Jewish surname of Berber origin, possibly meaning “one who came from Azul” or derived from a Berber root. One of the most recognized North African Jewish surnames, associated with the great Kabbalistic scholar Chaim Joseph David Azulai (the Chida).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew-Arabic patronymic Ben<\/em> (son of) combined with a given name root. A surname found among North African Jewish communities, particularly Moroccan and Tunisian families.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Moroccan Jewish patronymic surname meaning “son of Susanna” or “son of the lily,” from Ben<\/em> (son of) and Soussan<\/em>, a Judeo-Berber form of the name Susan or Shushan. Very common among Moroccan Jewish families.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Spanish or Portuguese word meaning “painted” or “spotted,” originally a descriptive term. Carried by Sephardic families who settled in North Africa and the Levant after the expulsion, where it became embedded in Mizrahi communities as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A Sephardic and North African Jewish surname of uncertain origin, possibly from a place name or a personal name root. Associated with prominent rabbinical figures in Morocco and Gibraltar.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Arabic and Hebrew word for “saffron,” za’faran<\/em>. A North African Jewish surname that may have indicated a family involved in the spice trade or living near saffron-growing regions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some Ashkenazi surnames are inseparable from the history of Jewish learning. These names were carried by rabbinical dynasties and great scholars, and they spread through the communities their bearers served.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the town of Solovey or a related Slavic place name, carried by one of the most illustrious Ashkenazi rabbinic dynasties. The Soloveitchik family produced generations of leading Talmudic scholars, most famously Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, known as “the Rav.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the German for “fine stone,” combining fein<\/em> (fine, refined) and Stein<\/em> (stone). Associated with the preeminent 20th-century posek (legal authority) Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, whose responsa shaped modern Orthodox Jewish law.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A patronymic form of Schneerson, built on the Slavic place name Schneer or a variant, combined with the -son<\/em> suffix. Associated above all with the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the most influential Hasidic leader of the 20th century.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Italian town of Loria or Luria, this surname was carried into Ashkenazi communities through early rabbinic migration. It is most famous as the surname of Rabbi Isaac Luria (the Ari), the 16th-century Kabbalist of Safed who transformed Jewish mysticism.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Spanish or Italian word for “dear” or “beloved,” or possibly a place name. Carried by Rabbi Joseph Caro, the 16th-century Sephardic scholar who authored the Shulchan Aruch, the definitive code of Jewish law. The surname bridges Sephardic and broader Jewish scholarly identity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From a Yiddish diminutive of the given name Israel, with the -les<\/em> suffix. Inseparable from Rabbi Moses Isserles (the Rema), the 16th-century Krakow-based scholar whose Ashkenazi glosses on the Shulchan Aruch made it applicable to all Jewish communities.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When the State of Israel was established and waves of Jewish immigrants arrived, many families Hebraized their surnames, either adopting existing Hebrew words as family names or creating new ones. These modern Hebrew surnames have a distinctive clarity and rootedness.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew for “son of David,” ben<\/em> meaning “son.” One of the most common Hebraized surnames in Israel, directly linking a family to the Biblical King David.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew for “son of my people,” combining ben<\/em> (son) and ami<\/em> (my people). A surname adopted during the period of Hebrew name revival, projecting a strong Zionist and communal identity.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew for “son of strength” or “son of vigor,” combining bar<\/em> (son, in Aramaic) and on<\/em> (strength). A modern Israeli surname with a strong, direct quality.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew word for “oak tree,” alon<\/em>. Adopted as a surname by Israeli families seeking a rooted, nature-based Hebrew name, and familiar internationally through Israeli general and politician Yigal Allon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew for “vineyard of God” or simply the name of the famous Mount Carmel in northern Israel. A surname with strong geographic and spiritual resonance, used by Israeli families of various backgrounds.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew meaning “strength” or “ram,” originally a Biblical given name that became a modern Israeli surname as well. Common in Israel as both a first name and a family name.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew place name of the Golan Heights region, itself of uncertain etymology but deeply embedded in Israeli geographic identity. Used as a surname by families with connections to that region.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the Hebrew word for “east” or “antiquity,” kedem<\/em>. A surname that projects historical depth and eastern identity, used by Israeli families who Hebraized their names in the early statehood period.<\/p>\nKatz<\/h3>\n
Levy<\/h3>\n
Levine<\/h3>\n
Levin<\/h3>\n
Kagan<\/h3>\n
Biblical Hebrew Surnames<\/h2>\n
Mizrahi<\/h3>\n
Shapiro<\/h3>\n
Ashkenazi<\/h3>\n
Mizrachi<\/h3>\n
Peretz<\/h3>\n
Oren<\/h3>\n
Ashkenazi Place-Name Surnames<\/h2>\n
Berliner<\/h3>\n
Warschauer<\/h3>\n
Posner<\/h3>\n
Brody<\/h3>\n
Frankel<\/h3>\n
Horowitz<\/h3>\n
Brodsky<\/h3>\n
Mintz<\/h3>\n
Shapira<\/h3>\n
Epstein<\/h3>\n
Landau<\/h3>\n
Poznanski<\/h3>\n
Krakauer<\/h3>\n
Warsawski<\/h3>\n
Ashkenazi Occupational Surnames<\/h2>\n
Schneider<\/h3>\n
Schreiber<\/h3>\n
Kaufman<\/h3>\n
Goldsmith<\/h3>\n
Goldschmidt<\/h3>\n
Fischer<\/h3>\n
Richter<\/h3>\n
Fleischer<\/h3>\n
Sofer<\/h3>\n
Kantor<\/h3>\n
Hazzan<\/h3>\n
Ashkenazi Nature and Descriptive Surnames<\/h2>\n
Goldberg<\/h3>\n
Rosenberg<\/h3>\n
Blumenfeld<\/h3>\n
Rosenthal<\/h3>\n
Gruenberg<\/h3>\n
Greenberg<\/h3>\n
Schwarzberg<\/h3>\n
Blum<\/h3>\n
Rosen<\/h3>\n
Weiss<\/h3>\n
Schwartz<\/h3>\n
Klein<\/h3>\n
Gross<\/h3>\n
Steinberg<\/h3>\n
Fluss<\/h3>\n
Patronymic Ashkenazi Surnames<\/h2>\n
Abramowitz<\/h3>\n
Jacobson<\/h3>\n
Isaacson<\/h3>\n
Moskovitz<\/h3>\n
Mendelson<\/h3>\n
Davidowitz<\/h3>\n
Solomonov<\/h3>\n
Sephardic Surnames<\/h2>\n
Abravanel<\/h3>\n
Cardozo<\/h3>\n
Navarro<\/h3>\n
Toledano<\/h3>\n
Saragossi<\/h3>\n
Castiel<\/h3>\n
Pereira<\/h3>\n
Lopes<\/h3>\n
Mendes<\/h3>\n
Nunes<\/h3>\n
Cresques<\/h3>\n
Farhi<\/h3>\n
Sassoon<\/h3>\n
Coen<\/h3>\n
Sefardi<\/h3>\n
Mizrahi and Middle Eastern Jewish Surnames<\/h2>\n
Al-Rashid<\/h3>\n
Hariri<\/h3>\n
Masri<\/h3>\n
Iraqi<\/h3>\n
Yemeni<\/h3>\n
Choueka<\/h3>\n
Dahan<\/h3>\n
Azoulay<\/h3>\n
Benisti<\/h3>\n
Bensoussan<\/h3>\n
Pinto<\/h3>\n
Bibas<\/h3>\n
Zafrani<\/h3>\n
Prominent Ashkenazi Surnames from Rabbinic and Scholarly Dynasties<\/h2>\n
Soloveitchik<\/h3>\n
Feinstein<\/h3>\n
Schneerson<\/h3>\n
Luria<\/h3>\n
Caro<\/h3>\n
Isserles<\/h3>\n
Modern Israeli and Hebrew-Origin Surnames<\/h2>\n
Ben-David<\/h3>\n
Ben-Ami<\/h3>\n
Bar-On<\/h3>\n
Allon<\/h3>\n
Carmel<\/h3>\n
Eyal<\/h3>\n
Golan<\/h3>\n
Kedem<\/h3>\n