Why do I look Jewish only if I have a "Jewish" last name?

Question

This is kind of a funny story. I work in a setting w/ a lot of Jewish people, maybe 25%. I like & respect them. But I get asked an awful lot if I am Jewish. Or better yet, I just get asked how my Hannukah or Seder or Shabbat was (like I am so obviously Jewish they needn't even question it). Often, when I say" no" or "not at all", they say "Oh, well, you look it." (Jewish people would ask & say this 99% of time) or "Are you sure? You look it."

Ok, so I got married 1.5 years ag. I would say I used to get asked once a month.
So far (1.5 years), not once.

My new last name is very waspy sounding, English ,etc.

So the thing is, why do I "look" Jewish only w/ the "Jewish" last name (which was actually Austrian).

I think maybe sometimes people say you "look it" just because they feel a little foolish when they are wrong, and want to justify it. no?

Thanks & remember I love the Jewish people I work w/ I just find it amusing & odd!

Answer 1

I have the opposite problem. I am Jewish and people always assume I am not. They say I don't look Jewish. I still haven't figured out what Jewish looks like.

Answer 2

hehe yeah, I find it funny too. Actually, I was raised Jewish and I look nothing like your typical brown haired, brown eyed, tan with an extremity on my face that tends to be large in orgin (sorry guys! My family has the big noses too! My mom and I just wound up without one! hehe). I am dark blonde, very fair skinned, green eyed and I have a normal sized nose. And all my life, I had a maiden name that was very Irish...my father's side of the family stemming from my grandfather (who in fact is Prodestant. Dad just chose Judaism from his mom's side of the family). So I was never asked if I was Jewish, I was in fact never asked if I was anything. The only way people knew I was Jewish is if I opened my mouth and said something, or was wearing my Star of David.

But oddly enough, I began to get caught up in this hype at Temple amdist my peers, and thier parents and everyone else there...yes they would ask if people were Jewish by thier last names or appearances alone. Sometimes they would be right, sometimes they would be wrong. I actually got off that bandwagon about the age of 16/17. I found it a waste of my time. But my mother still does that to this day. Actually she did it just the other day. Over the phone I was telling her about our new vet we take our cat to, and her last name happens to be a last name that many Jews have out there in the world. And my mother said, "Oh! How nice, a nice Jewish woman!" I giggled and replied to her, "Uh mom, she is not Jewish. She is Christian." She asked, "Well how do you know?" I responded to her, "Ummm, the cross she wears around her neck and her telling me in conversation." She was like, "Oh. Well maybe she is married to a Jewish man." I said, "No, she is not married either." LOL I found this hilarious, because she came back and just said, "Oh." LOL So I know what you are talking about, it is silly...but good fun.

Answer 3

Since today's Jews come in all shapes and sizes (personally, I like the little dark haired Jewish boys from the Midwest), you probably still look Jewish. It's just now people have no real backup for their stereotypical reasoning.

Answer 4

I do not see any thing wrong of being or looking Jew, so don't let that bother you.

Answer 5

because you same like me