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- This name derives from the Ancient Greek “Iōánnēs (Ἰωάννης),” which in turn, is a form of the Hebrew name “Yôchânân / Yehochanan” meaning “graced by Yahweh, God is gracious.”
www.name-doctor.com/meaning/evan
Evan is a Welsh masculine given name, derived from Iefan, a Welsh form of the name John. Similar names that share this origin include Ivan, Ian, and Juan. "John" itself is derived from the ancient Hebrew name יְהֹוחָנָן (romanised: Yəhôḥānān), meaning "Yahweh is gracious".
- Aaronson. Literally "son of Aaron."
- Abelman. From an old German word meaning "noble one."
- Abrams. A reference to the biblical patriarch, Abraham.
- Alterman. Literally "old man."
This name derives from the Ancient Greek “Iōánnēs (Ἰωάννης),” which in turn, is a form of the Hebrew name “Yôchânân / Yehochanan” meaning “graced by Yahweh, God is gracious.”.
As a Scottish name, Evan comes from the Gaelic word iur, meaning "yew," giving the name the meaning "born of yew." Evan has been among the top 1,000 boys' names in the United States since the early 1900s, eventually breaking into the top 100 names in 1983.
- Cohen and Its Variants
- Levy and Its Variants
- Patronymics and Matronymics
- Location-Based Surnames
- Profession-Based Surnames
- Physical Features
- Nature-Based Mix-And-Match Surnames
- Acronyms
- Some Family Names of Older Origin
- So Where Is My Family from?
Among the most ubiquitous of Jewish last names, Cohen is common in families that descend fromAaron the High Priest. The priests, kohanim,served in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and they still enjoy distinction today(giving the priestly blessing and being called up first to the Torah, amongother privileges). Other priestly last names include Kohn, K...
Levy is a common surname among families descending from thetribe of Levi (one of the 12 tribes of Israel). Historically, this tribe wasresponsible for guarding the Temple and singing when sacrifices were brought.They also received a tithe from all produce grown in the Land of Israel. Common variations include Levi, Lewi, Levin, Levine, Lewin,and ma...
Many Jewish surnames are patronymic (based on the name of afather or other male ancestor), denoted by the suffix -s, -son, -ovitch/-owitz,or -ovics. Thus, if one’s father’s name was Abraham, his son might have adoptedthe name Abrams, Abramson or Abramowitz; if it was Isaac, he was Isaacs,Isaacson or Isaacowitz; Jacob—Jacobs, Jacobson or Jacobowitz;...
Very often a surname provides a clue as to the family’splace of origin. Location-based surnames include Brody (a city in present-dayUkraine), Halpern (the German city of Heilbronn), Frankel (the German region ofFranconia), Schlesinger (from Schlesien (Silesia)), Gordon(Grodno in Belarus) Pollack (from Poland), Auerbach and Epstein (both towns inGer...
A surname may have been chosen or assigned based on itsbearer’s occupation. Thus you have Schmidt or Kowalski (smith); Schuster orSandler (shoemaker); Kravitz, Schneider or Portnoy (tailor); Malamud (teacher);Schochet or Schechter (ritual slaughterer); Sofer or Schreiber (scribe);Kantor, Chazanor Spivak (cantor); Blecher (tinsmith); Kramer (storeke...
Sometimes names are associated with physical features ortraits. Examples include Klein/Kleinman (small), Gross/Grossman (large),Alt/Alter/Altman (old), Schwartz (black hair or dark complexion), Weiss (blondehair or fair complexion), Roth/Rothman (redhead), Ehrlich (upright),Reich/Reichman (rich), Fried/Friedman (peaceful), Scharf (sharp orintellige...
Many surnames reflect natural objects such as trees,minerals and animals. These are often compound names, taken from the Germanlanguage, and for the most part were randomly assigned. Here are some examples: -baum (tree): Teitelbaum (date palm), Mandelbaum (almondtree), Tannenbaum (fir tree), Appelbaum (apple tree), Birnbaum (pear tree),Nussbaum (nu...
Some last names are acronyms of Hebrew phrases. Katz, a Kohanic surname, stands for kohen tzedek, righteouspriest, while Segal (or Siegel), a Levite surname, stands for segan leviyah, Levitedeputy. Other acronyms include Ralbag (after an ancestor named RabbiLeib ben Gabriel), Babad (ben Av Bet Din,son of the leader of the Jewish court), and Bek (bn...
While legal names were assigned around the turn of the 19thcentury, there were certain families, mostly those blessed with wealth and/orTorahscholarship, which had names for many hundreds of years. Here are some ofthe most common:
With the understanding that Jews moved around a good deal,and that every rule has exceptions, here are some broad strokes with which youcan trace your family origin. 1. Language: If yourfamily name is neither Hebrew or German, the language is a great clue.Portnoy is Russian for “tailor,” so your family is probably from Russia. Farkas isHungarian fo...
Apr 22, 2014 · There are a lot of myths and fairy tales out there about Jewish family names — where they came from and what they mean, to name but two issues that often get mangled. Here we set the record straight.
The customary format for the Hebrew name of a Jewish male is [First name] ben [Jewish parent’s name] v’[other Jewish parent’s name], for example David ben Yosef v’Chanah or David son of Joseph and Hannah.
