Thread: Русские фамилии (имени) евреев

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.

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.)