Here are some items of information that might be of use to the reader. Most of it came from the excellent preface in Abraham Laredo's book: "Les Noms des Juifs du Maroc". Corrections and additions are welcome.
For the
meaning and origins of some specific Sephardic names, go to the page on
meaning and orgins. However it helps to read this page
before going there.
Surnames
T
he origins of ancient Jewish names go back to the original structure of Jewish society. Ancient Jewish society was structured into
three societal groups. The top level was that of the
tribe (mateh or shebet) ruled by a patriarchal ancestor, (later a judge and later still an elected king) and the priesthood in matters that were in their pervue. Below that came the extended family or
clan (
Mishpacha or aloof) governed by the elders (
zekenim) or leaders
aloofim. This was made up of related families within the tribe. The third level was the group living within the same
tent ohel) or house (
bayit) - what we would call today the
family unit.
In those early days the only proof of belonging to a tribe and thus sharing in its assets lay in the
carefully maintained lists of generations. These official lists were called the
Sepher Toledot (book of generations) and later in history, after the exile, the
Sepher Yohasin (from
yachas, to enroll) and were considered of the utmost importance.
When some of these lists of generations were lost in the turmoil after the Babylonian exile it was a cause for great anguish and fervent efforts to reconstruct them. Shortly thereafter
knowledge of law and science became of greater importance than descent from royalty and this was repeatedly stated in the Talmud as in "
a bastard (mamzer) educated in the law is nobler than an ignorant high priest"". Certain families then began to take surnames based on notable ancestors (see below).
As we see the
individual's identity was closely tied to individual's name and his genealogy (sephirim toledot or yohasin). The family name denoted the individual's belonging to one or the other families, clans or tribes. Thus members of the nation of Israel were
bene Israel; those of the Gad tribe
bene Gad (or
ha Gadi); those of the Sasson or Zakai families were
ben Sasson or
ben Zakai, or just
Sasson or
Zakai, and so on.
Taking it to the next level down surnames could specify the individual's father as in
Shlomo ben Maimon ben Hasdai. Sometimes, especially if the ancester was a notable person that became the new family name as in
Ben David (
ibn Daoud) a Sephardic family claiming descent from King David.
Individual Names
J
ewish first names were inextricably linked to the
individual's spiritual identity not only through life but also after death and was considered an
alter ego of the individual. In Ashkenazi tradition naming a child after a living relative was avoided for fear the
angel of death might mistakenly take the child instead of the older namesake. Sephardim imbued by
mysticism and
Kabbalah were careful to choose names that would not portend bad destinies. Both traditions saw the name as linked to the
individual's destiny.
Name changes were infrequent and undertaken in cases of grave illness and similar and followed specific rituals. An error in spelling a name in a religious divorce document (
get) would render the divorce religiously invalid.
It should be noted that changes in the
individual colloquial name or nickname did not alter the Jewish name which represented the spiritual identity. The importance of the individual Jewish name in Jewish tradition is also repeatedly illustrated in the bible, by admonishments to voice the name of G-d, terms such as the "
Holy Name", the implications seen in the change of names of
Abram to
Abraham, of
Jacob to
Israel, etc.
Common Sephardic Naming conventions
Firstborn son named after the paternal grandfather,
second male child after the maternal grandfather,
first daughter named after the paternal grandmother,
second female child after the maternal grandmother,
next child after the paternal uncle or aunt,
next after maternal uncle/aunt,
etc.
If a grandparent (paternal or maternal) or sibling was
deceased, his/her name would often
take precedence over the living relative. Some
Spanish exiles named children after their own parents.
Glossary
takkanot: customs or ordinances
toledot: generations
yohasim: enrollments (from yahas-to enroll)
zekenim: elders (of tribe or clan)
nomen: Ancestral name (Roman)
cognomen: Name of branch (Roman)
agnomen: personal name
Evolution of names
In
Biblical days, patronymic names revealing genealogic ancestry only start appearing
after Abraham. Prior to Abraham the bible does not mention the individual's ancestral line. From Abraham on these lineages were
carefully maintained until Talmudic times and after which they became disrupted by the dispersal of Jews in to the diaspora.
Biblical individual names were given with an express purpose to describe an
individual's hoped destiny or characteristics. King David named his son
Shlomo (from
shalom, peace) because he hoped he would transmit to him a kingdom in peace.
Adam named his wife
Hava (
life) because she was to be the mother of all living people. Other names during the biblical era
incorporated the name of G_d as in
Eliahu or
Adoniram or were based on
animal names as in
Deborah (
bee),
Yonah (
pigeon),
Yael (
mountain goat).
In the Babylonian period it became customary, especially for the leadership of the exiled Jews, to acquire Aramaic names - the language of the Babylonians. This could be done by adding the
suffixes
alef-yod implied "connected with" as in Barzelai (Barzel=iron)
or alef as in Malka, from the Hebrew Melekh.
Others took on names that
incorporated non Jewish deities as
Esther (from
Ishtar) or
Mordekhai (from
Mordok). Still others used the names of
Babylonian angels or
months of the Babylonian year.
In the
Roman era, Romans carried three names. Based on the
Aryan cult of the ancestor and maintenance of family hearth fires, these names consisted of the
agnomen (the individuals's own name), the
cognomen (usually the father's name) and the ancestral
nomen (common ancester or guild name).
This system was demolished with the devellopment of
Christianity which placed the emphasis on the individual as a member of a new universal family. From then on the
babtismal or "
christian name" became the only name of importance and the only names used. Around the
XII century patronymic names started to return in Europe but they were now
related to land (de Valois), descriptive (Carpenter, Butler) or similar. So now the individual's name became the "
name" and the other the "
surname". In
Spain, where arab-jewish influence was significant, these new name structures retained their old original designations and were called
apellido (name meaning family name) and
nombre (first name).
Among Jews, the dispersal into the Diaspora and loss of continuity in the carefully maintained genealogies left gaps that precluded for most the ability to identify with one of the twelve tribes of Israel except for the
Levites and
Cohens. It became the habit to take on the name of a
notable ancestor as the family name. this occured even when the genealogy was known. An example is the
Ben Maimon family named after
Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon whose genealogy could be traced back to
Obadiah.
[back to Top of Page]Spelling and other Variations
As most genealogists know,
spelling is an invention and pre-occupation of the 20th century. Prior to that numerous spellings could and were used for the same name.
Among Sephardic names, these are some
common variations of the same name from which you can deduce others:
(The Spanish "
ç" with a cedilla under it has a sound similar to "
s")
Aben, Ibn, Aven, Avin, Ben - all meaning "son of"
Abram, Abraham, Ibrahim, Abrahim
Aaron, Aron, Aharon
Cavalleria, Caballeria, Cabellera, Cavallera
Elazar, Alazar, Alacar
Esther, Ester, Azter, Ezter
Hasdai, Chasdai, Azday, Acday
Isaac, Isach, Azach, Acach
Jacob, Jaco, Iacob, Iaco
Reyna, Reina, Avenreina, Avireina
Sahadia, Cahadia, Sadia
Salamon, Solomon, Culema, Salamo, Shlomo
Shaprut, Saprut, Caprut, Xaprut
Sasson, Cacon
etc.
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