To the Editor:
May I add some annotations to Rabbi Benzion Kaganoff’s essay “Jewish First Names Through the Ages” in the November 1955 issue of Commentary? An essay by me on the same subject will appear in the forthcoming issue of Tarbiz, Quarterly for Jewish Studies (The Hebrew University, Jerusalem).
1. In opposition to Hellenistic Jewry, the medieval Jews were very scrupulous in avoiding the use of names of pagan deities or Christian saints. Feibush is not Phoebus, but the French name Vives—Hayim; the Tosafist Peter was not named after the apostle (who by then had been “Pierre” in France for centuries) but was called by the Hebrew name Peter, which is identical wtih the Sephardic Hebrew name Bekhor; and Treindel is not the diminutive of Katharina, but the French Térine, reduction of Estérine.
2. Chanukah is a common name even today among Grusinian, Persian, and Bokharan Jews for persons born at the time of the feast, just as people born on Purim or Chanukah are called Nissim—miracles (they happened in those days).
3. The custom of naming a son Yehudah Aryeh Leb (Leone), Naphtali Zevi Hirz (Hirsh), Yissochor Dov Ber, Binyamin Zeev Wolf, is a comparatively recent one, not to be found before the 15th century, and then only in Germany and Italy. In this period animal names were not usual among Germans. The origin of this custom is Cabbalistic.
4. Not few, as Rabbi Kaganoff assumes, but comparatively many names of French origin have come down to our days, particularly feminine ones: Minkche, Sprinze, Kele, Bele, Treindel, Yente—Mince (tiny), Espérance, Célie, Belle, Estérine, Gentille. Names of flowers derive from medieval France; they survive in Blume, Rosel (Rayzel), Feile, Yachent (Yachne)—Fleur, Rose, Violette, Hyacinthe. Masculine names of French origin or French pronunciation are Zanwil, Zalman, Isac, Feivish, Benoit, Isserlin—Samuel, Salmin, Ishaque, Vives, Bénédit, Israelin. Bunem is a corruption of Bonhomme and of Bonami. Both names were specifically Jewish, not Gentile.
5. Curious name metamorphoses came about when parts of Hebrew words were taken for German diminutives in the Middle Ages; the –chem of Menachem was taken for the German –chen, so a grown-up Menachem became Mann, or in Austria-Bavaria, where the diminutive –el or –dl prevailed, Maennel (Emaniel!), Mendl. The same thing happened to Rachel, which became Recha; to Rivkah-Rivke, which became Rive or Rivlin in the –lin diminutive provinces; to Mordechai-Mottche-Mottke, which by the same process changed to Mottel in Austria-Bavaria.
(Dr.) F. Gumpertz
Jerusalem, Israel
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