The Ghertner Genealogy Blog

In my post Who put the ‘h’ in Ghertner, I discussed the origin of that name, from ‘gardener’. I’ve just tackled some of the surnames of some of your Jewish ancestors. The fact they had Jewish names is a clue our Jewish roots go way back. My source for most of my maternal side was origins of popular Jewish names).

Ashkenazic Jews were among the last Europeans to take family names. Some German-speaking Jews took last names as early as the 17th century, but the overwhelming majority of Jews lived in Eastern Europe and did not take last names until compelled to do so. The process began in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1787 and ended in Czarist Russia in 1844.

• Maternal relatives (Click here for my paternal relatives)

Altshul/Althshuler — associated with the old synagogue in Prague. [Religious/communal name]
(for ancestors see 2)

Altschul – Jewish (Ashkenazic): from the name of a synagogue in Prague, literally ‘old synagogue’.
(for ancestors see 2)

Baum (click here) – Jewish (Ashkenazic): ornamental name from German Baum ‘tree’, or a short form of any of the many ornamental surnames containing this word as the final element, for example Feigenbaum ‘fig tree’ (see Feige) and Mandelbaum ‘almond tree’ (see Mandel). [place names]

Bloch (foreigner) [place name] (for ancestors see 3)

Block – Jewish (Ashkenazic): Americanized spelling of Bloch (Vlach). [place name]
(for ancestors see 3)

Bloom (flower) [Other names, chosen or purchased, were combinations with these roots] (for ancestors see 5)

Eisenkramer – eisen is German for iron. Krämer is ‘seller/handler/peddler’ (in hochdeutsch, the “official” German spoken today). Kramer = ‘grocer. (in old norddeutsch, old German). Eisenkramer was ‘seller of (probably small) ironwares. [Occupational]
(for ancestors see 10)

Gruber — coarse or vulgar [personal trait]  (for ancestors see 6)

Some Jews either held on to or adopted traditional Jewish names from the Bible and Talmud. The big two are Cohen (Cohn, Kohn, Kahan, Kahn, Kaplan) and Levi (Levy, Levine, Levinsky, Levitan, Levenson, Levitt, Lewin, Lewinsky, Lewinson). [Hebrew names]
(for Cohen ancestors see 6) and (for Picard-Weil-Levy ancestors see 11) and (for Emile Levy ancestors see 10)

Levinson – patronymic from the personal names Levin or Levy.
(for ancestors see 3)

Marcus/Marx — from Latin, referring to the pagan god Mars. [Jewish family names from non-Jewish languages]
(for ancestors see 4)

Marks – German and Jewish (western Ashkenazic): reduced form of Markus, German spelling of Marcus (see Mark 1).
(for ancestors see 2)

Feifer/Pfeifer — whistler [personal trait] (for ancestors see 8)

Picard – Jewish (western Ashkenazic): Frenchification of the German name Bickhart. patronymic
(for Picard-Weil-Levy ancestors see 10)

Rhine – Americanized form of German Rhein. [place name]
(for ancestors see 7)

Blumen (flower), Fein (fine), Gold, Green, Lowen (lion), Rosen (rose)  [Other names, chosen or purchased, were combinations with these roots] (for ancestors see 3)

Scharf/Scharfman — sharp, i.e  intelligent. [personal trait]
(for ancestors see 4)

Schwartz/Shwartzman/Charney — black hair or dark complexion [personal trait]  (also here)

Strauss — ostrich (or bouquet of flowers). [Animal Name]
(for ancestors see 2)

Weil – habitational name from any of various places so named in Baden, Bavaria, and Württemberg.
(for Picard-Weil-Levy ancestors see 10)

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