Some parallels between Khazar Hebrew names and ancestral names in contemporary Jewish communities,

 

 

עברית

Hebrew

Khazar

‘Ivri

Ebraeli

Ashkenazim

Crymchak

Spharadim

Iraqi

Kurdish

Bukhara

Comments

פסח

Pesakh

Pesakh

Pisakh (m)

Pisakhov (s)

Pesakh

Peysekh (m/s) *4

Pesakhovich (s)

Pesakhover (s) [12]

Peysakh (s) *5

Pessah *6,7

 

 

 

“Khag Pesakh” - Pesah holiday,

Khazarian general Pesakh

חנוקה

Khanuka

Khanuka

Khanuko (m),

Khanukaev (s)

Khanuka (m),

Khanukashvili (s) [12]

Khanukovich (s) [12]

 

 

 

 

 

“Khag Khanuka” – holiday of Hanukkah.

Male name “Khanuka” appears 4 times in Khazaria, and only twice outside Khazaria: once in Jerusalem X century and once in Byzantium XII century.

פורים

Purim

 

Purim (f)

 

Purimski (s) [12]

Purim (s) *5

Purim *8

 

 

 

"Khag Purim" - holiday of Purim

מזל טוב

Mazal-tov

 

Mazaltu,

Mazantu (f)

Mazaltov (f)

 

Mazultu,

Mazulta (f)

Mazaltov (f/s) *6,7,9,10

Mezeltob

Muzli Toba (f)

Mazaltov (f/s) [11]

 

 

Blessing "mazal tov" - good luck

סימן טוב

Siman-tov

 

Simandu (m),

Simanduev(s)

Samintov

Semantovski (s) [12]

Saminto

 Semantov *15

 

Simantov *11

Simantov

Blessing "siman tov" - good sign

יום טוב

Yom-tov

 

Yumtu

Yomtov

Yom-tov

 

Yomtob

Yomtov

 

 

 

"yom tov" – holiday (lit. “good day”)

שם טוב

Shem-tov

 

Shumtu

Shemtov

Shem-tov

 

Shem Tov Ibn

Shemtob

Shemtov

Sem Tob

Semtob Ibn

Shemtob (s) [11]

Shemtu [7]

 

"shem tov" - good reputation (lit. “good name”)

סיני

 Sinai

Sinai *1

Sinai *2

 

Sinai (m/f/s)

 

Sinai,

Sinay (m/f)

 

 

 

Biblical mount Sinai

שרח

 Serakh (f) *12

Serakh (f)

Serakh (f)

Serakh (f)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israelite wife of first Khazarian king

סבריאל

 Savriel

Savriel

Savriil

 

 

Savvariy

 Sabriel *14

 

 

 

First Khazarian king

ניסי

 Nissi

Nisi,

Nissi

Nisu,

Nusu *3

 

 

Nason *3

Niso *3

 

 

 

My G-d - my flag

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

בכור

Bekhor

Bihor, Biheros, Bihar, Virhor

Biror *13

 

 

 

Bekhor

 

 

 

Firstborn

 

 

Bagatyr

Bogatyrev (s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Turkic for “brave warrior”

 

 

Katun (f)

 

 

 

 

 

Katun,

Khatoun,

Khatoon (f) [11]

 

 

Khazar princess “Katun” (also title)

 

 

Notes:

 

m - male name (not shown by default)

f - female name

s - surname

 

 

  1. Name "Sinai" frequently used by Hungarians (Madyars). As we know Khabar tribes from Khazaria, which had Judaic religion, formed a union with Madyars and was their leading military force. It's possible that Khazarian and Hungarian name "Sinai" have Turkic or Finno-Ugrian origin and have no relation to biblical mount Sinai.

 

  1. There are only one documented case of "Sinai" name among East-Caucasian Jews: in "Family lists of inhabitants of a country part of city of Derbent" for 1873 among inhabitants of settlement Hosh-Manzil found "Sinai son of Aharun", 1876 of the birth, moved from village Maraga. [3, pg. 11]

 

  1. Instead more likely that "Nisu" is a short form of "Nison"/"Nisan" or "Nitzan".

 

  1. Pesah - rather new Jewish name, which has received especial distribution among Jews in Germany [15, pg. 47]. It is certified, however, by documents already for the end XIII century. See in [16, pg. 19], where in the list of victims in Mainz in 1298 some persons with name "Pesah" appear.

 

  1. In 1913 census, 153 Crymchaks had surname "Peysakh" (2.8% of total), and 158 had surname "Purim" (2.9% of total) [9].

 

  1. List of (mostly) Sephardic brides from the publication, "List of 7300 Names of Jewish Brides and Grooms who married in Izmir Between the Years 1883-1901 & 1918-1933." [10].

 

  1. List of (mostly) Sephardic grooms from the publication listed above (Izmir lists provided by Dov Cohen, Shimshon Israel). Email address dkcohen@bezeqint.net [10].

 

  1. From the burial register of Bethahaim Velho Cemetery, Published by the Jewish Historical Society of England. [10].

 

  1. There are 16 women named “Mazaltov” in 1839 Jerusalem census [13]. From them 6 was born in Jerusalem, 1 from North Africa and the rest came from Turkey (Constantinople, Izmir), Greece (Salonica), Bulgaria (Burgas) or Macedonia (Monastir).

 

  1. Name “Mazaltov” found frequently on tombstones located in the Jewish cemetery of Rhodes. The tombstones are dated from the 1840’s to the 1940’s. [14].

 

  1. In 1839 Jerusalem census [13] found record “Simantov Gurji , birthplace – Kurdistan”. But according to his surname “Gurji” (Georgian), it’s possible that he is from Georgia or Caucasus in general.

 

  1. Serakh - the extremely rare Jewish female name, which, alongside with other old biblical names, was kept in the use by Caucasian Jews [17, pg. 13].

 

  1. “Biror” means “brother” in Juwuri language – rather strange name to call your son! It’s unclear if it’s etymologically related to Khazarian name “Bihor” or to Hebrew “Bekhor” (firstborn).

 

  1. From Genealogy.com: “Sabriel Medina (son of Samuel Medina and Sarah R. Maysonet)”.

 

  1. “The ceremony, held in front of the Thanksgiving Monument, was opened by chairman of the Shalom Jewish organization in Plovdiv [Bulgaria] Semantov Madjar”, from http://www.aba.government.bg/JewsMem/Jews.html

 

 

REFERENCES:

 

1. О РАННИХ КОНТАКТАХ ВОСТОЧНОКАВКАЗСКИХ ЕВРЕЕВ И ХАЗАР, Игорь Семенов

(About early contacts between East-Caucasian Jews and Khazars, by Igor Semenov)

 

2. РЕЕСТР ТРАДИЦИОННЫХ ИМЕН ГОРСКИХ ЕВРЕЕВ КУБИНСКОЙ ОБЩИНЫ, Яков Абрамов

(Registry of traditional names of Mountain Jewish community of Kuba, by Yakov Abramov)

 

3. Посемейный список жителей загородной части гор. Дербента/

Дагестанский областной статистический комитет.Темир-Хан-Шура, 1873//

Центральный Государственный архив Республики Дагестан.- Ф.21. Оп.5. Д.5.

(Family lists of inhabitants of a country part of city of Derbent/

Daghestani Regional Committee of Statistics. Temir-Khan-Shura, 1873//

Central State archive of Republic of Daghestan)

 

4. Khazarian Names, by Christian Settipani and Kevin Alan Brook

 

5. Антропонимика горских евреев, Др. Мурат Каракетов

(Antroponimics of Mountain Jews, by Dr. Murat Karaketov)

 

6. Об антропонимии грузинских евреев. Имена грузинских евреев, Др. Гиви Цулая

(About antroponimics of Georgian Jews. Names of Georgian Jews, by Dr. Givi Tsulaya)

 

7. Имена ассирийских евреев, Лев МИНЦ

(Names of Assyrian Jews, by Lev Mintz)

 

8. Крымчаки. Имена крымских евреев, В.М. Ачкинази

(Crymchaks. Names of Crimean Jews, by V.M. Achkinazi)

 

9. Фамилии крымчаков как источник их этнической истории, Лев МИНЦ

(Family names of Crymchaks, as a source of their ethnic history, by Lev Mintz)

 

10. SEPHARDIC NAMES SEARCH ENGINE, Sepharadim.com

 

11. IRAQI JEWS. GENEALOGY.

 

12. BEZEQ Phone Directory

 

13. Census for Ottoman Controlled Jerusalem, Eretz Yisrael 1839 CE,

Data compiled by Matilde Tagger of Jerusalem (in PDF format)

 

14. Rhodes Jewish Museum

 

15. Zun. Namen der Juden. 1837

 

16. Neubauer Ad. Le Memorbuch de Mayence // REJ. 1882

 

17. Миллер Вс. Материалы для изучения еврейско-татского языка. 1892

(Miller Vs. Materials for studying Judeo-Tat language. 1892)