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Re: * the name Alexander among Jews #hungary

tom klein <h-sig@...>
 

i would just like to point out that "alexander" is common enough as a jewish name, that we have at least one in our rather small shul, for instance. since greek times, jews have used the name alexander, and it is listed as a proper jewish name for the purposes of a get, etc.

as has been pointed out frequently, secular names and jewish names are not necessarily the same (such as lajos/shlomo or erzsebet/feigele in the case of my family). i think we also have to be a little careful with the time period - prior to emancipation, i believe most jews used a hungarian version of their jewish name (mozes, salamon, izsak, etc.) , but after emancipation, many used a hungarian name, that was often *very* hungarian. (arpad, dezso, geza, and zoltan come to mind.)

in this case, i would expect alexander to be the person's hebrew name (in 1771), and later generations might have used it for either jewish or secular names.

(nu, so where did tamas come >from in YOUR family?)



....... tom klein, toronto



Tom Venetianer <tom.vene@...> wrote:


Thanks for your kind input. I know that the name was used by Jews,
but my comment refers to the *frequency* of its usage. If you examine
Jewish vital records anywhere it becomes very clear that the Moseses,
Abrahams, Isaacs, Solomons and Sauls are *very common* given names
whereas Alexander is seldom found. This is certainly more so back in
the 18th century. Now add to that that my ancestors dwelled in a
small shtetl. How many Jews called Alexander (not Sender, but
Alexander!) would one find there back in 1771? I found one, almost
100% sure, my ancestor. On my family tree we have over 20 Alexanders
(and Sandors), as a homage to this gentlemen. I know this >from very
secure sources. Don't you think this is quite unique and, in the case
of my family, a very important clue to pursue? :-)
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