Jewish Last Names: 51 Powerful Picks & Their Deep Meanings

Unlike many cultures, Jews didn’t adopt permanent last names until the 1700s and 1800s. Before then, you were “Miriam bat Eliezer” or “Jacob ben Isaac”. It meant being daughter or son of someone. But under pressure from empires, Jews were ordered to choose fixed surnames. Some chose names to avoid taxes. Others were handed names by clerks, for better or worse.

Below, the BLN presents 31 powerful Jewish surnames each with its origin, meaning, and emotional undertone. 

 23 Common Jewish Last Names & What They Really Mean

Jewish surnames were worn, like armor or invitation. Some offered protection. Others signaled pride. Today, a handful of names echo across continents, tracing Jewish history like scattered stones in a riverbed.

Let’s explore 23 of the most common Jewish last names. Each is given with meaning stitched into its syllables:

Surname	Meaning	Origin
Cohen	Priest (from biblical Kohanim caste)	Hebrew
Levy	Joined, attached; tribe of Levi	Hebrew
Kaplan	Chaplain, priest (borrowed from Latin)	German/Yiddish
Katz	Acronym for “Kohen Tzedek” (righteous priest)	Hebrew acronym
Friedman	Man of peace (Yiddish “frid”)	Yiddish/German
Weiss	White, fair	German
Shapiro	From Speyer, Germany	Toponymic (Ashkenazi)
Rosenberg	Rose mountain	German ornamental
Goldberg	Gold mountain	German ornamental
Roth	Red (hair or skin tone)	German/Yiddish
Steinberg	Stone mountain	German ornamental
Schwartz	Black	German/Yiddish
Klein	Small	German descriptive
Gross	Big	German descriptive
Silverman	Silversmith	Occupational
Horowitz	From Hořovice, Czechia	Toponymic
Dreyfus	From Trier, Germany	Toponymic
Isaacs	Son of Isaac	Patronymic
Abramson	Son of Abraham	Patronymic
Blum	Flower	Ornamental
Adler	Eagle	Animal-based
Hirsch	Deer	Animal-based
Greenberg	Green mountain	Ornamental

These names travel differently across the Jewish world. In Israel, Cohen and Levy dominate government records. In the United States, names like Friedman, Rosenberg, and Shapiro are more common. They reflect Ashkenazi immigration from Eastern Europe. Meanwhile, Sephardic communities often carry names like Navon or Toledano, which rarely appear on American lists.

A user on r/Jewish shared, “When I learned my last name meant ‘rose mountain,’ I cried. It made my family’s story feel beautiful again.”

Jewish Last Name List: 51 Notable Surnames with History

Below is a list of 51 notable Jewish surnames, organized by origin, with brief meanings.

Religious Lineage & Roles

These names are tied directly to biblical families or priestly roles.

Surname	Meaning / Story
Cohen	Temple priest; descendants of Aaron
Levi	Member of the Levite tribe
Katz	Acronym for “Kohen Tzedek”
Segal	Assistant Levite (Segan Levi)
Kaplan	Chaplain/priest (borrowed from Latin)
Azoulay	Sephardic priestly family, acronym-based
Rappaport	Noted rabbinic dynasty from Italy
Dayan	Judge in Jewish law

Occupational Names

Reflecting trades Jews were often confined to in European societies.

Surname	Profession
Schneider	Tailor
Becker	Baker
Shulman	Synagogue attendant or manager
Wechsler	Money changer
Sofer	Torah scribe
Fleischer	Butcher
Glaser	Glassmaker
Zucker	Sugar merchant

Toponymic (Place-Based) Names

These surnames tell you where a family once lived.

Surname	Place of Origin
Shapiro	Speyer, Germany
Epstein	Eppstein, Germany
Horowitz	Hořovice, Czechia
Dreyfus	Trier, Germany
Toledano	Toledo, Spain
Ashkenazi	From Germany/France (Ashkenaz)
Itzkowitz	Town of Itzkow
Zabludovsky	Zabludovo, Belarus (rare)

Ornamental & Nature-Based Names

Often selected or imposed during the 18th–19th centuries. Chosen for their sound and appearance, not ancestry.

Surname	Meaning / Symbolism
Goldberg	Gold mountain
Rosenbaum	Rose tree
Silberstein	Silver stone
Blum	Flower
Greenberg	Green mountain
Eisenberg	Iron mountain
Rosenthal	Rose valley
Birnbaum	Pear tree

Descriptive or Character-Based Names

Often taken from physical traits, personality, or colors.

Surname	Meaning
Weiss	White/fair
Schwartz	Black
Klein	Small
Gross	Big
Roth	Red (hair or temperament)
Freund	Friend
Lieberman	Beloved man

Rare & Lesser-Known Jewish Last Names

These aren’t on most lists, but they hold deep history.

Surname	Origin/Note
Abarenboim	Possibly North African or Iberian origin
Maimon	Sephardic; from famed scholar Maimonides’ line
Safirescu	Romanian Jewish name
Skolnik	Eastern European synagogue beadle
Barzilai	Biblical tribe, revived by Sephardic families
Elgrably	North African Jewish lineage

As one user wrote on a genealogy forum, “I thought my last name was meaningless until I found it belonged to Torah scribes in Poland. It changed how I introduced myself.”

Ashkenazi Jewish Last Names: 25 Surnames from Central & Eastern Europe

Ashkenazi Jewish last names were shaped by German, Yiddish, Polish, and Russian languages. Many were adopted under compulsion during 18th- and 19th-century empire mandates.

Let’s look at 25 Ashkenazi surnames that carry the weight of this history:

Surname	Meaning
Goldberg	Gold mountain
Feldman	Field man
Blumenthal	Flower valley
Rabinowitz	Son of a rabbi
Eisenstein	Iron stone
Lieberman	Beloved man
Spiegelman	Mirror man
Weinberg	Wine mountain
Greenbaum	Green tree
Kaufman	Merchant or buyer
Silverstein	Silver stone
Bergman	Mountain man
Lowenstein	Lion stone
Witzman	Wise man
Horowitz	From Hořovice, Czechia
Halpern	From Heilbronn, Germany
Rosenblatt	Rose leaf
Schneiderman	Tailor man
Brodszky	From Brody, Ukraine
Perlstein	Pearl stone
Grunfeld	Green field
Zuckerman	Sugar man
Abramowitz	Son of Abraham
Mandelbaum	Almond tree
Kaganovich	Son of Kagan (Cohen variant)

A commenter on Reddit’s r/Judaism shared, “My grandfather’s name was Greenbaum. He used to say, ‘I’m not rich, just nature-themed.’”

Sephardic & Mizrahi Jewish Last Names: 27 Names with Deep Roots

Ashkenazi surnames echo German hills and Yiddish marketplaces. Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish last names are soaked in the shadow of lost empires. These names weren’t assigned by emperors, they were carried across oceans and centuries.

Iberian Peninsula Legacy

Sephardic Jews trace their roots to Spain and Portugal. A place where Jews lived openly until the exile in the late 15th century. Some escaped to the Ottoman Empire, North Africa, or Italy. Others stayed, practicing in secret, and became crypto-Jews.

Notable Spanish and Portuguese-origin surnames:

Surname	Meaning / Origin
Toledano	From Toledo, Spain
Abravanel	Prestigious family of scholars
Arias	Lion-like; common in Castilian Jews
Espinosa	Thorny; geographic origin
Fonseca	From Galicia; linked to Conversos
Navarro	From Navarre region
Cordova	From Córdoba, Spain
Delgado	Slender or refined (descriptive)
Franco	Frankish or free

North Africa, Persia, and the Middle East

Mizrahi Jews preserved Hebrew and Arabic name blends. They include those from Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Morocco, and other lands. Their names often connect to trade, Torah lineage, or geography.

Examples include:

Surname	Meaning / Origin
Azoulay	Acronymic; used by priestly Moroccan families
Mizrahi	“Eastern” or from the East
Dahan	Possible Arabic/Hebrew mix; heritage debated
Elbaz	Falcon in Arabic; Moroccan-Jewish name
Sharabi	From Sharab, Yemen
Abadi	From Abbad (Arabic origin)
Yedid	Beloved
Baruch	Blessed
Saadia	From Sa’id (Arabic origin)

Crypto-Jewish Legacies in Mexico & Spain

In Mexico and the American Southwest names are tied to crypto-Jewish ancestry. Many families rediscover them through oral history or DNA.

One Quora user wrote: “My grandmother always lit candles on Friday nights. When we traced our name ‘Fonseca,’ it connected us to Jews expelled from Spain. It was like being handed back a piece of my identity.”

Jewish Names Around the World: A Regional Guide

Wherever Jews settled, their names absorbed the shape of the local tongue. It resulted in blending biblical roots with foreign endings.

Let’s take a quick journey across regions to see how Jewish last names evolved.

France

In France, Jewish surnames often reflect old Alsatian or Parisian roots. Some are biblical in form; others mirror Catholic-sounding French names adopted during the 1808 Napoleonic decrees.

Common Names	Notes
Lévy	Tribe of Levi
Weill	Variant of Weil; from Alsace
Dreyfus	From Trier, Germany
Blum	Flower; also popular in Germany
Salomon	Solomon; biblical origin

Hungary

Hungarian Jews often adopted Germanized surnames or Hungarian versions of Hebrew. Many carry Slavic suffixes like -ich or -itz.

Common Names	Notes
Fischer	Fisherman
Lichtmann	Light man; descriptive
Rosenfeld	Rose field; ornamental
Neumann	New man
Deutsch	German

Ukraine

In the Pale of Settlement, Jews lived under czarist rule. They used names with Russian, Polish, or Ukrainian endings. Many are patronymic or place-based.

Common Names	Notes
Abramchik	Son of Abraham (Slavic form)
Kaganovich	Son of Kagan (priestly variant)
Gurevich	Son of Gurev (Hebrew-origin name)
Zabludovsky	From Zabludovo; rare and place-based
Bronfman	Whisky distiller; occupational

United States

In America, many Jewish immigrants voluntarily shortened or translated their names. This “melting down” wasn’t forced at Ellis Island. Instead, it was survival by assimilation.

Original	Americanized Version
Goldberg	Golden
Abramov	Abrams
Schwartz	Black or Blake
Greenbaum	Greene
Rosenstein	Ross

One Reddit user wrote, “My great-grandfather was Aronowitz, but when he came through Boston, he became Aaron. He just wanted his kids to sound American.”

19 Jewish Last Names That Start with “S” (With Meanings)

There’s something poetic about Jewish last names that start with S. They feel strong. Sharp. Rooted. Many of these names tied to religious roles passed down from biblical times.

Let’s break down 19 of the most recognized (and lesser-known) Jewish surnames starting with “S”:

Surname	Meaning / Origin
Schwartz	“Black” in German/Yiddish
Shapiro	From Speyer, Germany
Silverman	Worker in silver; occupational
Steinberg	Stone mountain; ornamental
Segal	Assistant Levite; acronymic (Segan Levi)
Shulman	Synagogue servant or attendant
Stern	Star; also means strict or serious
Spiegel	Mirror; ornamental
Sandler	Shoemaker (Yiddish)
Singer	Cantor or performer
Shmuelovich	Son of Shmuel (Samuel)
Sasson	Joy (Hebrew origin, common in Mizrahi)
Serfaty	From Safed (Tzfat), Israel
Sephardi	From Sepharad (Spain); regional
Saban	Soap maker (Turkish/Sephardic roots)
Sokoloff	Falcon (Slavic origin)
Sacks	Possibly from Isaac or profession-based
Safran	Saffron merchant; North African roots
Schneerson	Descendant of Schneur Zalman; Chabad dynasty

Most “Jewish-Sounding” Last Names: 21 Names that Reveal Heritage

Perception plays a powerful role. On forums like Reddit and Quora, users often ask: “Is Roth a Jewish name?” or “Does having the last name Green mean I’m Jewish?” The answer? Sometimes yes. Sometimes no.

Let’s look at 21 surnames frequently seen as “Jewish-sounding” and the truth behind them:

Surname	Jewish Origin?	Notes
Cohen	Yes	Priestly caste; widely recognized
Levi	Yes	Levite tribe; religious role
Katz	Yes	Acronym for “Kohen Tzedek”
Rosenberg	Often	Common Ashkenazi ornamental name
Goldman	Often	Occupational or ornamental
Weiss	Often	German for “white”; common in Jewish families
Friedman	Often	Ashkenazi, linked to “peace”
Greenberg	Often	Ornamental name—green + mountain
Stein	Mixed	German root; can be Jewish or non-Jewish
Schwartz	Often	Means “black”; Yiddish influence
Roth	Sometimes	German for “red”; used by Jews & non-Jews
Schultz	Rarely	German occupational name (village mayor); not distinctively Jewish
Green	Rarely	Common in Anglo cultures too
Ross	Rarely	Scottish or German origin; not typically Jewish
Abrams	Sometimes	From Abraham; adopted across cultures
Isaacson	Often	Patronymic; more common in Jewish families
Silverman	Often	Occupational; tied to silversmithing
Horowitz	Yes	From Hořovice; notable rabbinic family
Kagan	Yes	Variant of Cohen; Eastern European origin
Lieberman	Often	Means “beloved man”; German-Jewish roots
Shapiro	Yes	From Speyer, Germany; iconic Ashkenazi name

Names like Schultz, Green, or Ross can belong to Jewish families. But they also appear in German, Anglo, or Scottish lineages. A name alone is rarely a proof.

Finding Your Jewish Roots: How to Research Your Last Name

For tracing your Jewish last name start with JewishGen, a global database of Jewish communities, cemeteries, and surname registries. It’s especially strong for Eastern Europe. For Holocaust-era research, Yad Vashem’s Central Database of Shoah Victims is essential. Because in this, names, towns, and testimonies are preserved in stark detail. Ellis Island records help track arrivals to America between 1892 and 1924. Combine that with AncestryDNA or 23andMe to find living relatives or ancestral regions.

Clues in Suffixes and Prefixes

• –witz / –vich / –ski → Slavic origins (e.g., Rabinowitz, Abramovich)
  
• –berg / –stein / –feld → Germanic influence (e.g., Goldberg, Eisenstein)
  
• Ben– / Bar– → Hebrew “son of” (e.g., Ben-David, Bar-Lev)
  
• Al– / El– → Arabic/Hebrew roots in Mizrahi/Sephardic names (e.g., Elbaz, Alhadeff)
  

Eastern Europe vs. Sephardic Spain

If your name ends in –man, –baum, or –thal, you likely have Ashkenazi ancestry. Search for shtetls in Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, or Lithuania. Use resources like JRI-Poland or LitvakSIG.

If your name is Toledano, Navarro, or Maimon, your roots may lead back to Sephardic Spain or Portugal. Look at SephardicGen or check Ottoman immigration routes into Turkey, Morocco, or Greece.

One Quora user wrote: “I thought my name, Baruch, was just a first name reused. Then I found a 1600s rabbi in Izmir with it as a surname. That changed everything.”

Final Thoughts:

A Jewish last name is like a living echo. It remembers cities you’ve never seen and prayers you’ve never said. It survived empires, exiles, and name changes. Some names are clear: Cohen, Levi, Abravanel. Others, like Green or Schultz, leave more questions than answers. But that doesn’t make them less valuable. Complexity is part of the legacy.

As one Reddit user put it: “My name isn’t famous, but it carried my family through pogroms, wars, and Ellis Island. That’s enough meaning for me.”