Ashkenazi (surname) explained

Ashkenazi (he|אַשְׁכְּנַזִּי) is a surname of Jewish origin. The term Ashkenaz (he|אַשְׁכְּנַז) refers to the area along the Rhine in Western Europe where diaspora Jews settled and formed communities during the Middle Ages.

The usage of Ashkenazi (lit. of Ashkenaz) as a surname originated as a nickname for Ashkenazi Jews that arrived the Ottoman Empire and North Africa, settling in culturally Sephardic Jewish communities. Due to assimilation of those Jews in the dominant Sephardic culture, today the name is mainly held by Sephardic Jews despite the name suggesting the direct paternal line is ultimately Ashkenazic.^[1] It was the fourth most common surname among the Jews of Istanbul, and is common in Israel, where many Sephardic Jews live.^[2]

Variant spellings include Ashkenazy, Aschkenasi, Ashkenasi,^[3] and Eskenazi.^[4]

People

• Abraham Ashkenazi, 19th-century rabbi, Chacham Bashi of Jerusalem
• Adi Ashkenazi (born 1975), Israeli actress, comedian and television host
• Amir Ashkenazi (born 1971), Israeli businessman
• Benjamin Ashkenazi (1824–1894), Russian communal worker and philanthropist
• Bezalel Ashkenazi, 16th-century rabbi and Talmud scholar
• Dan Ashkenazi (13th century), German Talmudist
• David Ashkenazi (1915–1997), Russian pianist, accompanist and composer
• Eliezer ben Elijah Ashkenazi (1512–1585), rabbi, Talmudist, and physician
• Gabi Ashkenazi (born 1954), former Chief of the Israel Defense Forces General Staff
• Goga Ashkenazi (born 1980), Kazakh-Russian businesswoman
• Israel Sarug Ashkenazi (16th century), pupil of Isaac Luria
• Jacob ben Isaac Ashkenazi (1550–1625), rabbi and author of the Tseno Ureno
• Judah Ashkenazi (18th century), rabbi and author of the Ba'er Hetev
• Léon Ashkenazi (1922–1996), French rabbi and Jewish leader
• Lior Ashkenazi (born 1969), Israeli actor
• Malkiel Ashkenazi (16th century), Sephardic rabbi in Hebron
• Meir Ashkenazi (16th century), envoy of the Khan of Crimea
• Menachem Ashkenazi (1934–2000), Israeli football referee
• Mordechai ben Hillel Ashkenazi (1250–1298), German rabbi and legal authority
• Moses Ashkenazi (died 1701), also known as Johann Peter Spaeth, German convert to Judaism
• Motti Ashkenazi (born 1940), Israeli reserve captain
• Tzvi Ashkenazi (1656–1718), rabbi of Amsterdam
• Yisroel ben Shmuel Ashkenazi of Shklov (1770–1839), Lithuanian Talmudist
• Yitzhak Ashkenazi (1534–1572), also called Isaac Luria, rabbi and mystic, founder of an important branch of Kabbalah

Notes and References

1. Web site: Sephardic Names in the Ottoman Empire as Traces of the History of Judeo-Spanish/Ladino .
2. Web site: 2009-12-02 . Istanbul: Jewish community records . 2024-11-05 . Tracing the Tribe - The Jewish Genealogy Blog . en.
3. Web site: Ashkenazi . https://web.archive.org/web/20200807043054/https://dbs.bh.org.il/familyname/%7B%7Bcanonical_url%7D%7D . Museum of The Jewish People . dead. 2020-08-07.
4. Web site: Eskenazi Name Meaning & Eskenazi Family History at Ancestry.com® . 2023-11-13 . www.ancestry.com.