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Quiz about German Jewish Surnames  Their Meanings
Quiz about German Jewish Surnames  Their Meanings

German Jewish Surnames - Their Meanings Quiz


Some of these names may sound familiar, some may be unusual, but they all have a story to tell.

A multiple-choice quiz by severnriver. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
severnriver
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
279,879
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
1394
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
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Question 1 of 10
1. Before the early 1800s, most German Jews (as well as Jews in other parts of Europe) did not have formal surnames. What event forced many Jews into choosing last names? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. One type of German Jewish surname is a personal descriptive name. What is the meaning of the descriptive name Klein? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Some names are not descriptive but ornamental, describing something pleasant or fanciful. What is the meaning of the name Rothstein? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Biblical first names may occur in German Jewish names. For example, what biblical first name is the origin of the surname Rubin? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Sometimes, a German surname would become changed when a person came to another country, like the United States. What would have been the original German form of the name Needleman? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. One common German Jewish name, Katz, is actually formed from the initial letters of a Hebrew phrase. What does this phrase mean? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. One of the longer and more unusual German Jewish names is the name Ellenbogen. What is the meaning of this name? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Here are two German Jewish names, Gelber and Geller, with similar meanings. What is the common German origin for these two names? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Another origin of German Jewish names are cities or regions where the person came from. For example, what city is the place of origin for people with the name Shapiro? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. The last letter of the German alphabet, z, is represented by such German Jewish names as Zimmerman and Zucker. What do these two names have in common? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Before the early 1800s, most German Jews (as well as Jews in other parts of Europe) did not have formal surnames. What event forced many Jews into choosing last names?

Answer: Napoleon's administration of captured territories

Napoleon's capture of European territories put many people and their lands under his control. For tax purposes, Napoleon ordered that German Jews (and others) must have formal surnames. As you can imagine, people had to choose a variety of names in a fairly short time period. (Please note: other edicts and laws in the late 1700's and early 1800's also pressured European Jews into choosing formal last names, but Napoleon's rulings had the biggest influence on German Jews, according to Jewishwebindex.com.)
2. One type of German Jewish surname is a personal descriptive name. What is the meaning of the descriptive name Klein?

Answer: Small

Klein means small in German. Another variation of this name is Kleiner, which is a type of nickname for a small person. In contrast, a name for a large person is Grossman, from gross, or large, in German.
3. Some names are not descriptive but ornamental, describing something pleasant or fanciful. What is the meaning of the name Rothstein?

Answer: Red stone

This name is from the German words roth or red, and stein or stone. Other ornamental names are Rosenberg, or mountain of roses, and Rosenfeld, or a field of roses.
4. Biblical first names may occur in German Jewish names. For example, what biblical first name is the origin of the surname Rubin?

Answer: Reuben

Reuben, one of the twelve tribes of Israel, was Jacob's first-born son. Other biblical first names might occur as patronymic names or "son of" names, such as Davidson, son of David, and Abramson, son of Abram. These names would refer to the person's immediate ancestors, who were in turn named for the famous biblical personality.
5. Sometimes, a German surname would become changed when a person came to another country, like the United States. What would have been the original German form of the name Needleman?

Answer: Nadelman

The name Needleman is derived from the German word for needle - nadel. The meaning of the name is someone who made needles, or a user of needles, like a tailor. Shortened English and German forms of this name include Needle and Nadel.
6. One common German Jewish name, Katz, is actually formed from the initial letters of a Hebrew phrase. What does this phrase mean?

Answer: Righteous priest

The name Katz is derived from the Hebrew phrase Kohen tzadik, where kohen is the Hebrew word for priest and tzadik is the Hebrew word for righteous. It is also the German word for cat, but its use among German Jews is more likely from the religious meaning.
7. One of the longer and more unusual German Jewish names is the name Ellenbogen. What is the meaning of this name?

Answer: Elbow

Ellenbogen means elbow in German (I actually met someone by this name in Maryland). According to the website ancestry.com, this name could be an ornamental name, or one describing someone from the Ellenbogen region of Germany (from a bend or an elbow in a river). According to Neil Rosenstein, the names Ellenbogen and Katzellenbogen actually date back to the 1500s; some of the oldest Jewish surnames in Europe.
8. Here are two German Jewish names, Gelber and Geller, with similar meanings. What is the common German origin for these two names?

Answer: Yellow

Originally, these names may have been nicknames for people with yellow (or even reddish) hair, from the German word for yellow, gelb. The German word for white is weiss, and the German word for black is schwarz.
9. Another origin of German Jewish names are cities or regions where the person came from. For example, what city is the place of origin for people with the name Shapiro?

Answer: Speyer

The city of Speyer is in the Rhineland-Palatinate region of Germany, according to the website ancestry.com. Another way of forming a surname is based on adding the suffix "er" to the name of the city where the person comes from. Hence, Berliner is a name for someone from Berlin, according to the website Jewishgen.com. (Please note: as Funtrivia readers have pointed out, Shapiro can have another, Sephardic or eastern origin, meaning good or beautiful.

This German or Ashkenazic origin is cited in the question.)
10. The last letter of the German alphabet, z, is represented by such German Jewish names as Zimmerman and Zucker. What do these two names have in common?

Answer: They both describe occupations

Both of these names have their meanings in occupations: Zimmerman means carpenter in German, and Zucker is from the German word for sugar, describing a dealer in sugar. Another occupational name starting with the letter z is Zilberschlag, deriving from the Yiddish word for silver, Zilber, and describing someone who shapes or hammers silver. The closely related German word for silver is Silber.

Thanks for playing this quiz, and I hope you had fun.
Source: Author severnriver

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