Hebraization of surnames

{{Short description|Adoption of Hebrew-language Jewish surnames}}

{{Short description|Adoption of Hebrew-language Jewish surnames}}

[[File:Hebraization of surnames.jpg|thumb|Poster in the [[Yishuv]] offering assistance to [[Palestinian Jews]] in choosing a [[Hebrew name]] for themselves, 2 December 1926]]

[[File:Hebraization of surnames.jpg|thumb|Poster in the [[Yishuv]] offering assistance to [[Palestinian Jews]] in choosing a [[Hebrew name]] for themselves, 2 December 1926]]

The '''Hebraization of surnames''' (also '''Hebraicization''';{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Hebraize|title=Hebraize—Define Hebraize at Dictionary.com}}{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hebraize|title=the definition of Hebraize}} {{langx|he|עִברוּת}} {{Transliteration|he|Ivrut}}) is the act of amending one's [[Jewish surname]], so that it is tied to the [[Hebrew language]], which was natively spoken by [[Jews]] and [[Samaritans]] until it died out of everyday use by around 200 CE. For many Jews of [[diaspora Jews|diaspora]] and [[Palestinian Jews|Palestinian]] origin, [[Aliyah|immigration]] to [[Land of Israel|the land of Israel]] and taking up a Hebrew surname has long been conceptualized as a way to erase remnants of their diaspora oppression, particularly since the inception of [[Zionism]] in the 19th century. This notion, which was part of what drove the [[revival of the Hebrew language]], was further consolidated after the founding of [[State of Israel|Israel]] in 1948.

The '''Hebraization of surnames''' (also '''Hebraicization''';{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=Hebraize|title=Hebraize—Define Hebraize at Dictionary.com}}{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hebraize|title=the definition of Hebraize}} {{langx|he|עִבְרוּת}} {{Transliteration|he|Ivrut}}) is the act of amending one's [[Jewish surname]], so that it is tied to the [[Hebrew language]], which was natively spoken by [[Jews]] and [[Samaritans]] until it died out of everyday use by around 200 CE. For many Jews of [[diaspora Jews|diaspora]] and [[Palestinian Jews|Palestinian]] origin, [[Aliyah|immigration]] to [[Land of Israel|the land of Israel]] and taking up a Hebrew surname has long been conceptualized as a way to erase remnants of their diaspora oppression, particularly since the inception of [[Zionism]] in the 19th century. This notion, which was part of what drove the [[revival of the Hebrew language]], was further consolidated after the founding of [[State of Israel|Israel]] in 1948.

Hebraizing surnames has been an especially common practice among [[Ashkenazi Jews]]; many Ashkenazi families had acquired permanent surnames (rather than patronyms) only when surnames were forced upon them by [[Emperor Joseph II]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] following an official decree on 12 November 1787.{{cite web|url=http://jewishcurrents.org/november-12-jews-acquire-family-names-12794|title=November 12: Jews Acquire Family Names|date=12 November 2012|access-date=28 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911220039/http://jewishcurrents.org/november-12-jews-acquire-family-names-12794|archive-date=11 September 2015|url-status=dead}} [[Sephardic Jews]] often had hereditary family names (e.g., Cordovero, Abrabanel, Shaltiel, de Leon, Alcalai, Toledano, Lopez) since well before the [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|Spanish expulsion of Jews]] near the end of the ''[[Reconquista]]'', which had begun after the [[Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula]] in the 8th century.

Hebraizing surnames has been an especially common practice among [[Ashkenazi Jews]]; many Ashkenazi families had acquired permanent surnames (rather than patronyms) only when surnames were forced upon them by [[Emperor Joseph II]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]] following an official decree on 12 November 1787.{{cite web|url=http://jewishcurrents.org/november-12-jews-acquire-family-names-12794|title=November 12: Jews Acquire Family Names|date=12 November 2012|access-date=28 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150911220039/http://jewishcurrents.org/november-12-jews-acquire-family-names-12794|archive-date=11 September 2015|url-status=dead}} [[Sephardic Jews]] often had hereditary family names (e.g., Cordovero, Abrabanel, Shaltiel, de Leon, Alcalai, Toledano, Lopez) since well before the [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain|Spanish expulsion of Jews]] near the end of the ''[[Reconquista]]'', which had begun after the [[Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula]] in the 8th century.