Katzoff

[Yigal Levin]

Hello all,

 

I was asked about the name Katzoff – does anyone have any information about its origin and/or meaning. It seems to be Lithuanian, and is not derived from Katz. Any information would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Yigal

 

 

 

[Alexandre Beider]

Hello,

From my book "A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire" (2008, 2nd edition)

Katsov (Tel'shi, Kovno, Vilna, Drissa), Katsev (Riga, Shavli, Rossieny, Kovno, Vilkomir, common in Ponevezh, Vilna; Belostok, Minsk, Rogachev, Rovno, Ovruch, Ostrog, Gajsin)

  קַצָּב [Hebrew, pronounced katsev in Yiddish] butcher 

Regards,

Alexander Beider

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[Yigal Levin]

תודה יואל,

 

משפחת קצוף האמורה מתעקשת שאינם כהנים, וששמם הוא לא תולדה של כ"ץ. כמובן יתכן שהם טועים. המסורת שלהם היא שפרוש השם משהו כמו "חוכר יערות", בשפה סלאבית כלשהי, אבל לא מצאו לזה אסמכתא.

 

יגאל

 

 

From: Yoel Elitzur [mailto:Yoel.E...@mail.huji.ac.il]
Sent: 24 December 2018 04:35
To: Yigal Levin <Yigal...@biu.ac.il>; jewish...@googlegroups.com
Cc: demsky...@gmail.com
Subject: RE: [Jewish Names] Katzoff

 

בקר טוב. לענ"ד בלי להיות בקי בנושא, הפתרון פשוט: סיומת –off/-ov/-ovitz/-ovski  ענינה 'בן' בכמה שפות. 'קצוף' הוא כמו 'כהנוב' = בן כהנים. הרב אלישיב ז"ל היה למעשה גירסה עברית של 'אליאשוב' = בן אליהו (אליאס ובנוסח הונגרי אליאש, וכעברה המשפחה מהונגריה לאזורים סלביים קיבלה את הסיומת לשם. יואל אליצור

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[Alexandre Beider]

The information about the priestly origin or its absence can be of crucial importance for the logical plausibility of etymological hypotheses. 

In addition to this case, one can cite the Katz(e)nel(en)son family. The family and its name are unrelated to the 

Katzenellenbogen rabbinical dynasty. Indeed, on the one hand, Katz(e)nel(en)son are Cohanim and, therefore, with a high probability related to Katz (the originally taken name was double: Katz-Nel(en)son). On the other hand, the Katzenellenbogen are not of the priestly origin and their name is derived from the German town of Katzenelnbogen. The coincidence of their initial sounds (a string that is much longer than in Katz versus Katzoff/Katsov) is purely fortuitous.