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Meanings of Polish Last Names #poland #names
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arnold friedman <afriedman21@...>
Main question: Is there a website or other resource that gives
meanings/origins for last names what the names means and why possible did a family choose that last name in 1826 Additional information. googling names have not been that helpful. my family is from Radom Poland and surround areas last names include #Frydman #Borensztajn #Pomeranc #Kun #Cukierman #Ajzman #Tenenbaum #Szpigielman #Swardburd #Kaplon #Goldberg #Wajsfeld So for example pomeranc means orange, does that mean the ancestor was an orange or fruit trader? Last names were required in this region starting in 1826 in this region My family tree is complete back to late 1700s/early 1800s. Thank you for your help with meanings for last names And a happy and healthy new year to all Arnold Friedman Redwood City, CA FRYDMAN RADOM POLAND
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Miriam Bulwar David-Hay
Arnold,
The YIVO Encyclopedia online has an excellent article on Jewish personal and family names in Eastern Europe: https://yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/names_and_naming
JewishGen too has a number of info files on names: https://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/
The ANU Museum in Israel (formerly Beit Hatfutsot) has a long article about Jewish family names and a database into which you can enter names and see information about them: https://www.anumuseum.org.il/databases/family-names/jewish-family-names-introduction/ And of course there are Dr. Alexander Beider’s comprehensive books on names in various regions, which are not online but which you could perhaps find in a library or for sale. The above sources should answer most if not all of your questions. All the best, Miriam Bulwar David-Hay, Raanana, Israel.
Professional journalist, writer, editor, proofreader.
Professional translator (Hebrew/Yiddish to English).
Certified guide, Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial and Museum.
Email: miriambdh@...
Researching: BULWA/BULWAR (Rawa Mazowiecka, Lodz, Paris); FRENKIEL/FRENKEL, FERLIPTER/VERLIEBTER (Belz); KALUSZYNER, KUSMIERSKI, KASZKIET, KUZKA, JABLONKA, RZETELNY, WROBEL (Kaluszyn, Lodz); KRYSKA/KRYSZKA, CHABIELSKI/HABELSKI (Sieradz, Lodz); LICHTENSZTAJN (Kiernozia, Wyszogrod, Lodz); ROZENBERG (Przedborz, Lodz); WAKS (Nowe Miasto nad Pilica, Lodz); PELCMAN, STORCZ (Rawa Mazowiecka); SOBEL (Paris); SAPIR/SZAFIR (Wyszogrod).
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Joel Novis <joel.novis@...>
Mr Friedman,
The sources in Ms Bulwar-Hay's very comprehensive list should get you what you need. Jewish onomastics is a fascinating field within Jewish genealogy and can become something of an obsession (ask me how I know this). However, I'd caution against reading too much into the literal meanings of names. Pomeranc (or its many alternative spellings) has its origins in Slavic (Polish pomarańcza, Russian померанец /pomeranets/), but it was adopted as what might be considered a "prestige" or "pretty" name with no other meaning. Many of the names on your list fall into that category. Names with obvious translations as professions (e.g. Plotnik, from Russian плотник, a carpenter, or its German equivalent, Zimmerman; Portnoy, from Russian портной, a tailor, in German/Yiddish Schneider/ שנײַדער) would more clearly indicate an ancestor who had that specific profession. Joel Novis Longmeadow, MA Researching NOVITSKIY (Vasil'kiv, Kyiv, Ukraine), OLSZTAJN (Łódź Województwo, Poland), GEYMAN/HYMAN (Ashmyany, Belarus), POTASNIK/LEVY (unknown)
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David Harrison <djh_119@...>
I think that you will find that most countries in Europe or that were colonies of a European power, started this about 1820 after the Napoleonic Wars were over. Napoleon had ruled France for several years and required his citizens to take a family name so
that he could distinguish between the different people with the same given name. He could then not only count them all in a census, but also tax them all. You will find that although most of the Kings were against Napoleon, they liked his ideas of being
able to tax everyone. That is why family names came in through much of the known world. In different languages the common names are of Smith, Farmer, Paviour or Carpenter or other similar trade names and their equivalent in other languages or dialects.
Within Britain the main dialect boundaries reflect those of the pre-Roman tribes 2000 years ago though the finer differences which defined a particular street started to disappear in 1950 with Television becoming more universal.
David Harrison
Birmingham, England
From: main@... <main@...> on behalf of arnold friedman <afriedman21@...>
Sent: 12 September 2021 06:34 To: main@... <main@...> Subject: [JewishGen.org] Meanings of Polish Last Names #names #poland Main question: Is there a website or other resource that gives
meanings/origins for last names what the names means and why possible did a family choose that last name in 1826 Additional information. googling names have not been that helpful. my family is from Radom Poland and surround areas last names include #Frydman #Borensztajn #Pomeranc #Kun #Cukierman #Ajzman #Tenenbaum #Szpigielman #Swardburd #Kaplon #Goldberg #Wajsfeld So for example pomeranc means orange, does that mean the ancestor was an orange or fruit trader? Last names were required in this region starting in 1826 in this region My family tree is complete back to late 1700s/early 1800s. Thank you for your help with meanings for last names And a happy and healthy new year to all Arnold Friedman Redwood City, CA FRYDMAN RADOM POLAND
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Not everything can be found on the Internet!
You need to get to Alexander Beider's books on Jewish surnames. One is from the Kingdom for Poland and the other is for the Russian Empire. Also, according to Beider, "Pomeranc" means "bitter orange" not "orange." Joel Ives Fair Lawn, NJ USA
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