Are you Jewish if you have a Jewish last name?

Question

To clarify- I know a man from the South with a Jewish last name. He is a blue eyed blond, (like his mother, who raised him as a Baptist, and her ancestors were from Ireland and Wales). His father's ancestor's with a Jewish last name came to America from Germany. What does it all mean? Can one only be a Jew if one's mother is Jewish, meaning she was born as a Jew and also practices the religion?

Yes, it is a biblical name. This man was once hired by a Jewish company because they picked his resume with his Jewish name. The guy said with that last name meant he was definitely from Jewish lineage. He worked there for many years.

And to whoever said am I "afraid" he might be a Jew- you are the kind of person who is just looking for people to be anti-Semitic, so you can be mean, and you are really reaching. I choose my friends based on their character, not on their religion or ethnicity. I have always been curious about the different peoples in the world, and how last names originated. Thank you to those who took time to answer my question. I will do some reading. In the meantime, it is always interesting to hear the different answers from people.

Answer 1

If the father has a Jewish name, but does not practice that religion, and the mother is a non-Jew, the person is not Jewish by Jewish rules. However, If that man has a Jewish grandma on his mother's side, he could convert. If he has a Jewish grandma on his father's side, he may be more Jewish than he is aware of.

Some families convert away from Judaism to save their lifes during the War. Some may have practiced Judaism secretly in Communist countries where the practice of any religion was against the law. He could have that type of background. Or he could have Jewish ancestors many generations ago who converted to a Protestant religion so they could eat.


Does he identify with the Jewish people? Does he feel he is Jewish? Maybe he needs to speak to a rabbi if he does.

Several people tell me, even though my mother does not practice the Jewish religion (and is Roman Catholic) since her mother was Jewish, and I am female that makes me Jewish! Judaism goes on the mother's side.

However, I have been a practicing Catholic most of my life. Currently, I have lost any sense of a religion to follow. I feel I am Jewish but do not fit in with the Jewish population. I feel I am Catholic - but feel like an outsider.

I feel it is up to the individual to determine his religion, not just by what his or her sir-name is. Do not judge a person by his sir-name, he or she may surprise you, as I surprised my employer by taking off Yon Kipper to honor my grandma family.

Answer 2

Having a Jewish last name does not mean that a person is Jewish. A person could have had Jewish ancestors thus the name. Also a "Jewish" name could be of a nationality like German or Russian. So you can't tell by a name.

Traditionally a Jew was someone whose mother was Jewish and follow the maternal line. However in Reform Judaism if a child has only a Jewish father they can still be considered Jewish. Of course someone could convert to Judaism and not have Jewish parents.

Being Jewish can refer to one who practices the religion of Judaism or it can refer to an ethnic heritage (ex. mother's ancestors). There are a lot of people who are secular Jews, their family heritage is Jewish but they do not practice Judaism the religion. So you can be considered Jewish by being born Jewish but not practice the religion.

Wikipedia also has a good article describing the tradition.

Answer 3

To set things straight, there ARE names that are Jewish in origin. They are Ashkenizaic names, and it means that the original bearer was Jewish. Whether the following generations stayed that particular religion is of no consequence, because they couldn't change it then.

There are also regional names that both Jews and Germans used. They denote a nationality, not a religion. Names ending in -berg, for instance. Berg meant town or city; anyone from that town could have used the same name, simply because they were from that town, and no other reason.

All his name means, depending on the name itself, is either that his ancestors came from a certain place, or that someone in his line was Jewish. They may not have been for centuries, but surnames don't change much except for misspellings.

As for the religion itself, you can be a Jew if you convert to Judaism. Genealogically speaking, you can only be a Jew if your female line was Jewish, i.e. your mother, grandmother, etc. Even if you do not practice, and never have. Judaism is one of the few religions where the lines are matrilineal.

Answer 4

To the guy wondering what the (F) is a Jewish name.... Believe it or not, there IS a Jewish race and a Jewish language and Jewish names. It is not strictly a religion! Your friend has a Jewish background in terms of race, but to be considered a "Jew" it terms of religion, traditional Jewish law states that the person's mother has to be Jewish. Anyone can convert to Judaism however and both North American and Reform movements consider a child Jewish if either parent is Jewish. But generally speaking, if a father has a child with a non-Jew and wants his child to be raised Jewish, the child can still be considered Jewish if raised in the religion. This also applies to adoption. The child's faith is confirmed when they reach the traditional age of adulthood (12-13) and are asked if they wish to continue with the religion.

Also, it could be that your friend only has what you might consider a "Jewish sounding" name. Several "Jewish names" are identical to ones in German, Polish, Russian etc. He would have to confirm that his ancestors were in fact Jewish. You can't go by a name alone. Here's a page with more info:
http://www.avotaynu.com/csi/csi-home.html

Answer 5

You’ve inadvertently raised a complex issue--- what does it mean to be Jewish?

That depends on who you ask. Different people have different definitions. The standard orthodox/traditional answer, is if your mother is Jewish then so are you, or you can undergo a rigorous conversion process and become a convert to Judaism. Other streams of Judaism are more open to converts and have more relaxed standards for conversion.

So those are some of the religious perspectives. But there are other element of a Jewish identity beyond the religion- it’s a culture, its diverse communities, and its an identity.
Who gets to decide who belongs to which culture?

I’ve lived in New York for 7 years and consider myself a New Yorker now, so if a non-Jew lived in a Jewish community and identified with it, could they consider themselves a Jew?

I don’t think there’s any easy or one answer to the question, I think it’s a matter of personal choice.

Answer 6

Judaism, the religion, "passes" through the mother (she doesn't have to practice it), while the child will be from a Jewish descent anyway.

What does it mean a "Jewish last name"? If his name is "Rosenstein", for example, it is very likely that he is from a Jewish descent, but not necessarily. If his name is "Cohen", or "Levi", or anything biblical, he is definitely Jewish (or at least from a Jewish descent).
For the record, there are many practicing and non- practicing Jews who have blue eyes and light hair. I myself have green eyes and freckles.

Answer 7

What is a Jewish last name?

Do you mean GERMANIC NAME or POLISH NAME?

My mother's family has a German name in our ancestry, but we were NEVER jewish.

Not all Polls and/or Germans are jewish. Jewish is a RELIGION not a race as you are aware of. It's obvious that you're fairly young.

Was Hilter Jewish? No, he attempted to murder all jews! But he was GERMAN!
WAS Stalin Jewish? NO, but he ran them out on a rail...he wa RUSSIAN!

Your user name sounds Russian, does that mean you're a commie?

Do you see how your assumption can be turned against you?

Answer 8

Name means nothing.According to Rabbis,your mom has to be Jewish in order for you to be a Jew without having to convert.Alot of Hebrews moved up the Ireland way about 650 BC.Some of their words mean the same in Irish as Hebrew . Jerimiah became Jeremy,Baruch became Breck. Dan became Dunn(both mean judge in Irish or Hebrew etc etc.What's a matter Hon,afraid he might be a....a....Jew?He probably isn't settle down.(just kidding)

Answer 9

some people with a jewish sounding last name have jewish ancestors who converted many years ago.

Answer 10

In the case that someone's father is Jewish, but his/her mother is not Jewish, he/she could have a Jewish-sounding last name but not be Jewish.

This is common.