What are some Hebrew last names for my character?

Question

I'm writing a story about a girl in the distant future who is a descendent of a Jewish family. I don't really care of what region the name comes from, as long as it's Hebrew of some sort. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Horowitz?

Answer 2

You'll find that there are several 'types' of Hebrew last names.

Some take after the family's profession -

Cohen (priest), Katzav (butcher), Shoyer (doorman, in Yiddish pronunciation).

Some take after title of the family's forefather

Matzliah (successful), Ram (high), Tzadik (righteous).

Some are in a form of "Ben" (Son of) followed by a Hebrew first name. There you'll find Ben-Amotz, Ben-Avi, Ben-Zvi, Ben-Ammi etc.

Many other names are translations of names from other languages.

Answer 3

Yachanan which means gracious.

Answer 4

There are really only three surnames that are specifically Jewish in nature: variations on Cohen, Levy and Israel. These names are derived from tribal ancestry that were recorded by the Jewish people and recognized in synagogue with various distinctions.

The surname Cohen comes from kohein, the Hebrew word for priest, and refers to patrilineal descendants of Aaron. Variations on this surname include Cohn, Cahn, Cone, Kohn, Kahn and possibly Katz. Why Katz? I have been told that it is an acronym of Kohein Tzaddik, which means Righteous Priest, but is close enough to the German word for "cat" that it could be slipped past registrars who required German surnames!

The surname Levy comes from the biblical tribe of Levi, whose descendants the Levites had distinctive duties in the Temple period. Variations on this surname include Levin, Levine, Levitt and many others.

Cohen and Levy are the two most common surnames among Jews in the United States (Miller is third, as mentioned above). Another specifically Jewish surname is Israel, which is much less common. Jewish thought often divides Jews into three groups: Kohein, Levy and Israel. Israel basically means the rest of us. Variations on this surname include Israeli, Yisrael, Yisroel and most notably Disraeli (the surname of a Jewish-born British Prime Minister and Earl who was baptized as a child but apparently retained some sense of Jewish identity).

Even these common specifically-Jewish surnames can be misleading, though. The surname Cohan (as in songwriter George M.) is usually Irish rather than Jewish. The surname Lavigne (as in singer Avril) is pronounced much like Levine, but it is a common gentile name among French Canadians.