tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post2318048528089536051..comments2024-03-11T10:32:34.217+00:00Comments on Conservative Tendency: English Jewish surnamesMark Englishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03506844097173520312noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-62019288573815595242022-06-11T21:33:44.510+00:002022-06-11T21:33:44.510+00:00Hi I am a Lester
David Lester from Manchester UK....Hi I am a Lester <br />David Lester from Manchester UK.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-73181976990276335272019-06-18T16:42:11.985+00:002019-06-18T16:42:11.985+00:00Interesting article on Jewish surnames - Thomas Ja...Interesting article on Jewish surnames - Thomas James Golding (my grandfather) <br /><br /><br />frederikohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06596902717227405868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-7660867910339918972013-09-15T08:52:11.219+00:002013-09-15T08:52:11.219+00:00Tikno .romany for @'small'..I have noticed...Tikno .romany for @'small'..I have noticed in the same surnames being used between gypsys and jews.anyone have a take on this ?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01620569328739266535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-2474020379872741312010-12-16T01:48:51.004+00:002010-12-16T01:48:51.004+00:00Ana, I am pretty sure some of those names listed c...Ana, I am pretty sure some of those names listed can indicate Jewish origins, but I have little evidence for those names I say I am "curious about". You would normally expect names like Russell, for instance, to indicate Norman origins.Mark Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506844097173520312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-50635651935333652522010-12-16T01:28:40.345+00:002010-12-16T01:28:40.345+00:00Yes indeed, graciousf. I really must do some resea...Yes indeed, graciousf. I really must do some research on this issue of English Jews. I am particularly interested in how Jews were perceived in the 19th century - and the writings of George Eliot might be a good place to start. The history of the (relatively small) Jewish community is clear enough, but what of those who - for whatever reason - joined Christian churches or sects: to what extent did they retain their Jewish identity, in terms of self-perception and in terms of the way they were seen by others?Mark Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506844097173520312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-73807850798783547322010-12-14T10:17:07.666+00:002010-12-14T10:17:07.666+00:00Mark, I have to say I would not have recognised an...Mark, I have to say I would not have recognised any of those names as indicative of Jewish ancestry. It's not a subject, I confess, on which I am very knowledgeable.Anastasia F-Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01284602529524462457noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-83226147975839202682010-12-14T05:30:46.502+00:002010-12-14T05:30:46.502+00:00George Elliot was a wonderfully philo-Jewish write...George Elliot was a wonderfully philo-Jewish writer, as witness "Daniel Deronda."GFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12178481549845796747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-69300236903399633902010-09-13T04:16:15.821+00:002010-09-13T04:16:15.821+00:00That given name I mentioned should be Keziah (not ...That given name I mentioned should be Keziah (not Kaziah). [Keziah is the name of one of Job's daughters.] Anyway, important or not (thanks for the input tikno!), I would be interested to hear from anyone who might be able to throw any light on these topics; particular names, or the general issue of whether assimilated Jews gravitated towards non-conformist Christian sects.Mark Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506844097173520312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-10465659944651508802010-09-12T08:41:57.120+00:002010-09-12T08:41:57.120+00:00George Eliot has written in vain, in my case, I...George Eliot has written in vain, in my case, I'm sorry to say. One day, maybe, I'll get started on her.Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16898681927233029900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-56738781405104431422010-09-12T08:30:54.882+00:002010-09-12T08:30:54.882+00:00I was stupidly supposing that being Jewish in Engl...I was stupidly supposing that being Jewish in England implied a German background, but of course that need not be so!Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16898681927233029900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-59269425038940653382010-09-12T06:17:20.525+00:002010-09-12T06:17:20.525+00:00tikno, no I don't think it's important (th...tikno, no I don't think it's important (though it's of historical interest). I think perhaps it's a bad time (and a bad day) to be talking about these things because there is so much intercultural tension in the air. I think everyone associated with this blog would agree that reason and decency are the important things. I personally feel that I have a lot more in common with people who share my values than with people to whom I might be closely related. First degree relatives are often aliens to one another.Mark Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506844097173520312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-45162217396750571322010-09-12T05:56:03.293+00:002010-09-12T05:56:03.293+00:00Is it important to know the origin of the name? Je...Is it important to know the origin of the name? Jewish, Christians, Moslem?Tiknohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05733973438543735098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-89593588830292230492010-09-12T05:13:03.280+00:002010-09-12T05:13:03.280+00:00One other angle on this is non-conformist sects. S...One other angle on this is non-conformist sects. Silas Marner was a member of such a strange quasi-Christian sect and the rites of the Church of England were alien to him. I wonder if there might be a connection between such sects and Jewish ancestry? The Sturgeons of East Anglia (my grandmother's mother was Caroline Sturgeon) were I think non-conformists of some kind. One first name I remember is Kaziah (?).Mark Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506844097173520312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-42891200285245400992010-09-12T04:34:07.617+00:002010-09-12T04:34:07.617+00:00CONSVLTVS, I see religion as the primary source of...CONSVLTVS, I see religion as the primary source of the arts, historically speaking (though of course in the past religion was not really a separate sphere of life).<br /><br />Alan, what about non-German English names? I know little about this, but I think I'm right about Lester, and I would be happy to learn more about this. Have you read Silas Marner (George Eliot)? Silas is described as being of a different race. Would 'Marner' be German?Mark Englishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03506844097173520312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-21603690459821360352010-09-12T01:35:07.213+00:002010-09-12T01:35:07.213+00:00I suppose the reasoning is this. German names can ...I suppose the reasoning is this. German names can usually be distinguished from English (Braun from Brown, etc). Most German names in England were Jewish, as Jewish Germans settled in England but non-Jewish Germans did not. So German names in England indicate Jewish ancestry. Nicht wahr?<br /><br />I'm not sure how far Jewish German names can be distinguished from non-Jewish German names, just taking the name itself. Were Marx and Heine plainly Jewish from their names alone? Mendelssohn?Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16898681927233029900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-34885333392555357632010-09-11T14:08:28.980+00:002010-09-11T14:08:28.980+00:00It's funny how old I was before I realized tha...It's funny how old I was before I realized that certain names implied Jewish ancestry. I still don't know them all, obviously, as Lester was new to me.<br /><br />I like your father's embrace of another, what, culture? For me, religion has always exercised an aesthetic appeal (at least until they started ditching the beautiful liturgy for "contemporary" services). Notre Dame is beautiful, but so is the calligraphic representation of Muhammed's name and the voice of a Jewish cantor.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-66573395745514921782010-09-11T06:55:12.833+00:002010-09-11T06:55:12.833+00:00Maybe you're related to Harold Lester:
http:/...Maybe you're related to Harold Lester:<br /><br />http://www.naxos.com/person/Harold_Lester/12024.htm<br /><br />I also thought of Richard Lester, but I'm surprised to learn that he was American:<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_LesterAlanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16898681927233029900noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4964847228497363438.post-57640388889025329362010-09-11T06:47:19.483+00:002010-09-11T06:47:19.483+00:00In his recent book, "Hitch-22", Christop...In his recent book, "Hitch-22", Christopher Hitchens describes his own late discovery of Jewish ancestry on his mother's side. His mother knew of this but his father didn't. It led him to track down his roots in Poland.<br /><br />He describes his possible demise rather humorously here:<br /><br />http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2010/09/hitchens-201009Alanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16898681927233029900noreply@blogger.com