Thread: Русские фамилии (имени) евреев

Много евреев живут в Россий. Может быть самый популярный Ходорковский!
Есть способ сделать вывод из фамилии, еврей ли один россиянин.

If you didnt' understand the question with my awful russian:
Is there a way to conclude whether a Russian has Jews ancestors just from his surname?

Is there a way to conclude whether a Russian has Jews ancestors just from his surname?

Perhaps, first and foremost such surnames should not have Russian (Ukrainian, Belorussian, Tatar, etc) known roots. For example, Путин is derived from путь (the way).On the other hand, Фельдман sounds pretty Jewish to me. But you can easily confuse some Jewish surnames with Polish or German ones, if you are not an expert.

Many Jews bear surnames Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov these days. So no, it's impossible.

Originally Posted by maxmixiv

Many Jews bear surnames Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov these days. ...

Really? Many? This is kind of creepy and... sad.

These days... they last for centuries already. It confused me already in 1970s, in kindergarten.
Anecdote, as usually, demonstrates better:
После Октябрьской революции обеспокоенный бог послал в Россию
трёх наблюдателей: Луку, Илью и Моисея. От них поступают
телеграммы:
"Попал в ЧК. Святой Лука."
"Попал и я. Пророк Илья."
"Жив-здоров. Нарком Петров."

Originally Posted by Lampada

Really? Many? This is kind of creepy and... sad.

I had to stop and think for a moment about Lampada's remark, because here in the US, I've certainly met some Jews who had "very non-Jewish" surnames. Often, they were the children (or grandchildren) of a Jewish woman whose non-Jewish husband was agnostic or atheist and didn't object to the children being raised in the Jewish faith. So, the kids inherited their mother's Jewish religion and cultural identity, but inherited their father's non-Jewish surname.

But perhaps this scenario is much rarer in Russia -- and Jews there who are named "Ivanov" may have changed their surnames out of shame or fear of antisemitism, and not because their fathers happened to be non-Jews named "Ivanov." (Historically, this happened in America too, but not so much anymore.)

To Antonio, it is possible. The names of some of the so called 'oligarchs' (this word should always be in quotes, you know, given the original Greek meaning of the roots) end with -ий (Ходороковский, Березовский, well the latter is no longer a factor), -ич (Абрамович). These people are Jewish and it's possible to guess it from their names, and well - the way they look))) Another identifier would be name with a double German root (like Einstein, or similar) as there are Jews who took German names while residing in Germany and Eastern Europe. I am not sure about Polish names, but some Russian Jews may have Polish names too (not very often though). And there are also names that don't look Russian at all, and it's easy to guess that such names are Jewish. The reason I have seen so many Jewish names here in Russia is that I work in power system engineering, and this has always been one of the traditional fields where 'Jewish technical intelligentsia' applies their knowledge.

To Throbert, Jews were changing names in USSR due to political situation. An example, just off the top of my head, which I remember is Яков Казаков (one of the first Jews in USSR who managed to fight the system and emigrate to Israel in the 70s when it was almost impossible to do it at that time). Their family name was Казаков, a common Russian name, i don't remember why particularly this name now, but it was due to the political situation. In Israel he became an army officer with combat experience, intelligence officer and close to prime ministers and he took a Jewish name (Яков Кедми).

Originally Posted by alexsms

To Antonio, it is possible. The names of some of the so called 'oligarchs' (this word should always be in quotes, you know, given the original Greek meaning of the roots) end with -ий (Ходороковский, Березовский, well the latter is no longer a factor), -ич (Абрамович). These people are Jewish and it's possible to guess it from their names, and well - the way they look))) Another identifier would be name with a double German root (like Einstein, or similar) as there are Jews who took German names while residing in Germany and Eastern Europe. I am not sure about Polish names, but some Russian Jews may have Polish names too (not very often though). And there are also names that don't look Russian at all, and it's easy to guess that such names are Jewish. The reason I have seen so many Jewish names here in Russia is that I work in power system engineering, and this has always been one of the traditional fields where 'Jewish technical intelligentsia' applies their knowledge.

To Throbert, Jews were changing names in USSR due to political situation. An example, just off the top of my head, which I remember is Яков Казаков (one of the first Jews in USSR who managed to fight the system and emigrate to Israel in the 70s when it was almost impossible to do it at that time). Their family name was Казаков, a common Russian name, i don't remember why particularly this name now, but it was due to the political situation. In Israel he became an army officer with combat experience, intelligence officer and close to prime ministers and he took a Jewish name (Яков Кедми).

Excellent information alexsms and extremely helpful.

It's kinda creepy that people want to find out how to distinguish between Jewish people and other ethnic groups living in Russia, especially based on last names.
Maybe it's just me.