July 25, 2008
Belke, Rivke and Gitl
Philologos writes of children who took their mothers’ names (“How Did Jews Choose Their Last Names?”, July 18. I know of no other culture where there are surnames based on women’s first names.
A remarkable number of names are based on Yiddish women’s names or diminutives of these names, which often ended in “l” or “ke.” A woman named Bella or Beyle might also be called Belke. A surname could be formed by adding “s,” the Yiddish possessive ending, or “in,” a Slavic suffix with many meanings.
Belkin, Beilin and Beylis would all be possible names based on the same first name. We also find Rivkin, Rivlin and Rivlis from Rivke; Dworkin and Dworin from Dvoyre; Gitlin, Gutkin and Gitlis from Gute or Gitl; and many other names of this type.
It is interesting that Yiddish is the only language that gave the world female-based surnames.
George Jochnowitz
Professor Emeritus of Linguistics
College of Staten Island, CUNY
New York, N.Y.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!