From roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Wed Sep 27 16:44:42 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k8RMigYn023283; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:44:42 -0600 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l.rootsweb.com [66.43.16.22]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with ESMTP id k8RMicRW002700 for ; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:44:38 -0600 Received: from roots-l.rootsweb.com (roots-l [127.0.0.1]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id k8RK2QFI006996 for ; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:02:26 -0400 Received: (from roots-in@localhost) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.8/Submit) id k8RK2Q9B006995 for roots-approved@rootsweb.com; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 16:02:26 -0400 Received: from lists5.rootsweb.com (lists5.rootsweb.com [66.43.27.41]) by roots-l.rootsweb.com (8.12.10/8.12.10) with SMTP id k8RJE7FI006856 for ; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:14:07 -0400 Received: (from slist@localhost) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) id k8RLu8MY014528 for roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:56:08 -0600 X-Envelope-From: hornbeck@s-hornbeck.com Wed Sep 27 15:56:08 2006 Received: from mail.rootsweb.com (mail.rootsweb.com [192.168.65.34]) by lists5.rootsweb.com (8.12.8/8.12.8) with ESMTP id k8RLu8Yn014519 for ; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:56:08 -0600 Received: from smtp107.plus.mail.mud.yahoo.com (smtp107.plus.mail.mud.yahoo.com [68.142.206.240]) by mail.rootsweb.com (8.13.4/8.13.4) with SMTP id k8RLsItM000905 for ; Wed, 27 Sep 2006 15:56:03 -0600 Received: (qmail 36051 invoked from network); 27 Sep 2006 21:54:13 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO Shirley.s-hornbeck.com) (shirleyhornbeck@sbcglobal.net@75.38.78.126 with login) by smtp107.plus.mail.mud.yahoo.com with SMTP; 27 Sep 2006 21:54:13 -0000 Message-Id: <6.2.3.4.2.20060927145238.024132f8@pop.mail.yahoo.com> X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Version 6.2.3.4 Date: Wed, 27 Sep 2006 14:52:56 -0700 To: ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com From: Shirley Hornbeck Cc: hornbeck@s-hornbeck.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 X-Scanned-By: MIMEDefang 2.52 on 192.168.65.34 Sender: roots-in@roots-l.rootsweb.com Subject: [ROOTS-L] This and That Jewish Surnames JEWISH SURNAMES: Visit these sites: Consolidated Jewish Surname Index: http://www.avotaynu.com/csi/csi-home.html for a database of more than 200,000 Jewish surnames found in 23 different sources. Key in the surname and the system will display all surnames that have the same Soundex code as the name you are searching. The Soundex system used is the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex system which is used in all Jewish genealogical databases and is gaining popularity in genealogical circles in general (a description of the D-M system is located at: Next to each spelling variant of the name are up to 23 codes which identify which of the sources contain the surname. Scroll down for a description of each source and a Web link to additional information about the source. Some other valuable research tools include: JewishGen Family Finder. This is a searchable database on the Internet which lists more than 25,000 Jewish surnames being researched by some 12,000 genealogists worldwide. It you get a hit, the JewishGen site will give you the postal and/or e-mail address of the submitter. "Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire" and "Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Kingdom of Poland." These two books list more than 80,000 different Jewish surnames from czarist Russia at the turn of the century. It includes the names etymology, where in the empire the name appeared, and all known variants of the name. If you are non-Jewish with ancestors from the Russian Empire, if the name in not in either of these books, it is unlikely the surname is Jewish. -- "First American Jewish Families." This book attempted to document all descendants of Jews who arrived in the U.S. prior to 1838. If you have colonial ancestors who you think may have been Jewish and the surname is not in the book, do not be disappointed. There is some evidence the book may have only captured half the possible people. In addition, the author did not include any Jews who came to America and brought up their children as non-Jewish; there had to be at least one generation of Jewish-Americans in the family. "Gedenkbuch." For non-Jews trying to determine if their German ancestors were Jewish, it is a good source of German-Jewish surnames. The book's origin is steeped in tragedy. The Gedenkbuch is a list of 128,000 German Jews murdered in the Holocaust. From a genealogical standpoint, it can be thought of as a list of virtually all German-Jewish surnames (about 25% of the Jews of Germany were murdered during this period). If your surname is not in the list, it is unlikely your ancestor is Jewish. For non-Jewish researchers, be cautious of the source of information; a few databases include non-Jewish surnames. For example, the Jewish Genealogical People Finder is a database of Jewish family trees. Clearly it includes non-Jewish persons who married Jews. Similarly, "First American Jewish Families" noted above, is also a database of family trees that definitely includes non-Jewish surnames (many of the earliest Jewish families assimilated into the Christian American environment. Another consideration is that many surnames are shared by Jews and non-Jews alike. The origins of surnames are often occupations or place names, either of which can occur in families independent of religion. The third most common Jewish surname in the United States is Miller. The first two are Cohen and Levy. Gary Mokotoff is the publisher of "Avotaynu, the International Review of Jewish Genealogy" - http://www.avotaynu.com or send e-mail to: info@avotaynu.com - co-author of "Where Once We Walked: A Guide to the Jewish Communities Destroyed in the Holocaust" and "How to Document Victims and Locate Survivors of the Holocaust," co-author of the Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex Code, and creator of numerous databases of interest to Jewish and Eastern European genealogists, including the Jewish Genealogical Family Finder, Jewish Genealogical People Finder, and the Consolidated Jewish Surname Index. See my This and That page for more tips. Shirley Hornbeck