Yemenite Jewish surnames are those family names used by Yemenite Jews (also known as "Teimanim") and their descendants in Israel and smaller Yemenite Jewish communities in the UK, the USA, and the UAE, the newest diasporic Jewish community. Like many other Middle Eastern Jews, Yemenite Jews did not have hereditary surnames prior to their immigration to Israel.[1]
There has been a recorded Jewish presence in what today is Yemen since the days of the Himyarite Kingdom, which was established in 110 BCE.[2] While some Yemenite Jews settled later in what today is Eritrea and others immigrated to Jerusalem in the late 1800s, most emigrated to Israel under Operation Magic Carpet between 1949 and 1950. A very small community remained in Sana’a and the nearby town of Raydah, most of which was recently extracted and settled in Abu Dhabi by the government of the United Arab Emirates. In 2022, only one Jew remained in Yemen, according to the United Nations.[3]
History of Yemenite Jewish surnames
A number of Yemenite Jewish families claim lineage going back to biblical times, like Mughari and Pinhas, the latter of priestly (Kohen) origins. Other families, like the Dan family, claim to be descended from the biblical tribe of Dan. The family of the last chief rabbi of Yemen, Amram Qoraḥ, maintains direct descent from the children of the biblical tribe of Judah. Other families are reported to have similar traditions.[4]
Yemenite Jewish naming conventions
Yemenite Jews, as well as most people living under Muslim rule, were known primarily by patronymics, with men using the formula given name + "son of" + name of father, sometimes with the name of the grandfather added as well. Women, on the other side, used two slightly different formats: given name + "daughter of" + name of father, or given name + "wife of" + name of husband. However, the use of surnames could be found in larger communities. [5][6] After their arrival in Western countries, Yemenite Jews began using Western naming conventions.
Yemenite Jewish surnames of occupational origin
Yemenite Jewish surnames of toponymic origin
A significant number of Yemenite Jewish surnames indicate the region or town of ancestral origin by adding the suffix -i at the end, such as:
- Gadasi (from al-Gades)
- Manqadi (from Manqadah)
- Tzan'ani (from Sana'a)
- Marahbi (from Mareb)
- Amrani (from Amran)
- Habani (from Habban)
- Tavivi (from Tabib)
- Damari (from Dhamar)
- Adani (from Aden)
- Sharabi (from Shar'ab)
- Taizi (from Taiz)
Some Yemenite Jewish surnames indicate a foreign origin, like Eraki and Mishreqi, which is also found as Mizrahi in other Jewish communities in the Middle East and the Eastern Mediterranean.[4] While some of these surnames could be found anywhere in Yemen, they refer to the origins of the ancestors of the bearer. One noticeable exception is the names of the Jews of Najran (today's Saudi Arabia), who have been there since at least the year 500 CE and migrated to Yemen in the early 1930s after the Saudi conquest of Najran. Most of them migrated to Aden, but a few migrated to Cochin (India) where they integrated with the Paradesi Jews. Some common Najrani surnames are Shuker, Gavra, and Khorat.[7][8]
Yemenite Jewish surnames of descriptive origin
Hebraization of Yemenite Jewish surnames
Celebrities of Yemenite Jewish origin
- Avigail "Gali" Atari, Israeli singer, winner of the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest
- Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza, Israeli singer, 1983 first runner-up at the Eurovision Song Contest
- Achinoam Nini, better known as Noa, Israeli singer
- Shalom Shabazi, 17th-century Yemenite poet, often referred to as the national poet of Yemen
See also
Explore more about Yemenite Jewish surnames
- Last names on MyHeritage
- Historical records from Israel on MyHeritage
- Learn more about Jewish settlement in the UAE at JewishUAE.com
References
- ↑ Demsky, Aaron. The Hebraization of Names in Modern Israel. Brown Journal of World Affairs, 2018. ISSN: 1080-0786
- ↑ Robin, Christian. Himyar et Israël. Académie des inscriptions et belles lettres (eds): Comptes-Rendus of séances de l'année 2004th 148/2, pages 831–901. Paris 2004
- ↑ one Jew remains in Yemen, U.N. says. Jewish Insider
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Names and Naming Practices - Yemen. Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World. Brill
- ↑ Brauer, Erich. Ethnologie der Jemenitischen Juden (Heidelberg: C. Winters, 1934).
- ↑ . “The Names of Jewish Women in Yemen,” in These Are The Names: Studies in Jewish Onomastics, vol. 2, ed. Aaron Demsky (Ramat-Gan: Bar-Ilan University Press, 1999), pp. 41-62.
- ↑ Ahroni, Reuben. Jewish Emigration from the Yemen 1951-98: Carpet Without Magic. Routledge, 2001. ISBN-13 978-0700713967
- ↑ The last family of Pardesi Jews in Madras. Madras Musings.