Hebrew and Yiddish names: Experts and Guessers
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One of the beauties of Jewishgen is the many, many people who offer to help
out--especially those who help our newbies become mayvins.
Unfortunately, in their eagerness to help, some of us exceed the limits of
our knowledge. At that point too little knowledge becomes not just useless
but dangerous. Misleading responses are transmitted to all and accepted as
"expertise" by those with little experience in the topic. What's worse,
these "facts" are enshrined "for ever" in our most valuable asset: our
archives.
A common misleading postings is on the subject of names. If you're
familiar with Hungarian names or Turkish names, for instance, say a word or
two of the source of your knowledge; I am sure most of us know less than
you do and we'll be grateful to know that we can rely on your advice.
However, in the all-too-common case of Hebrew and Yiddish names, a little
knowledge is virtually useless and likely to confuse. To understand those
names and their changes and meanings and relationships, the ability to read
Hebrew and/or Yiddish is essential, as is an understanding of the
relationship between Biblical names and kinnuyim (non-Hebrew or non-Biblical
names and their common twinnings with names in the vernacular--including
Yiddish and occasionally Hebrew).
One should also know something about how diminutive names are formed, how
names change over time and region and local pronunciation.
Unfortunately, in recent weeks, I've come across some real bloopers
committed by otherwise knowledgeable and experienced genealogists.
"Noach is a misspelling of Noah by an immigration officer on Staten Island"
(No, Noach is the original Hebrew name; Noah is an error transmitted into
the English language through the Vulgate)
"Hirsch is the Hebrew equivalent for Wolf." (Not so. Hirsch is a kinnuy for
Naftali, as is the Hebrew name Tzvi; Wolf is the kinnuy for Benjamin, as is
the Hebrew name Ze'ev.)
"Hertz, which means heart, is the Yiddish for the Hebrew Lev." (Not so. Hertz is usually a variant form of Hirsch. Lev is usually a variant of Loeb
or Loew [meaning lion], which is the kinnuy for Yehuda [Judah] or Aryeh.
Occasionally Lev, from Leben, is derived from Chaim or Hayim ["life"]; more
rarely, it's a contraction of Levi.]
"Nathan is English for Nochem." No, Nathan is a venerable Biblical name; in
English it's rendered as Nathan. Surprise! Nochem is Yiddish for the Hebrew
name Nachum which is rendered Nahum in the English Bible. Nochem may also be
derived from the Hebrew Menachem, which is usually coupled with the kinnuy
Mendel. That name became Emanuel, Mandel and Emil in Germany; in English
speaking countries Manny.
"There's no correlation between the name in the old country and the name you
take in America." (Very misleading; the tendency in the case of surnames
was--and in many cases still is--to shorten it, simplify the spelling,
translate it into English, or find an "American" name that shares some
features--at the very least an initial letter--with the original name [e.g.
Rubenstein becomes Robbins].
A very similar pattern holds for the case of first names and even now,
parents usually call the child "after" a departed relative: a departed
"Bracha" is memorialized by a great granddaughter "Grace"; "Sasson" is named
after his grandmother Sassie. Grandfather Murray, called after Moyshe his
grandfather, is remembered through his own grandson, Malcolm.
It would be helpful if we clearly stated our limitations and the source of
our knowledge when we offer help. e.g.
* "I don't know Hebrew but I've learned that three women in my family, who
are registered as Sally, were called Sarah on their tombstones/ketubot."
* "I know a Rabbi Franklin; he told me his family name had once been
Frankel."
* "I'm guessing that the name Taylor may have been Schneider originally
because that's German and Yiddish for tailor. On the other hand, people
often take names that sound a little like their original name, so it might
have been Teller, or Thaler"
* "I checked out the name Feivish in Kaganoff's Dictionary of Jewish Names.
He claims that Fayvish doesn't come from the Greek sun god Phoebus, but is a
corruption of Vives, which is old French for "lives" and an early kinnuy for
Chaim."
Incidentally, every Jewish genealogist who wants to understand anything
about names should have her/his own copy of Kaganoff. It's out of print but
can still be found in some bookstores. Jason Aronson, the publishers, told
me they will reprint it if there is a demand; their website is
<http://www.aronson.com/jbookstore/resoures/contactus.shtml>
To the many gracious experts who help us all, many thanks. To those less
knowledgeable, many thanks too but please, don't confuse us with wrong
information. Check it out, or tell us just what you know and how and how
much you're guessing
Michael Bernet
New York
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