Names of Jews in Medieval Navarre (13th–14th Centuries)
Abstract
This paper analyses names of Jews in the rich diplomatic collection “Navarra Judaica. Documentos para la
Historia de los judíos del reino de Navarra” (Juan Carrasco Pérez, Fermín Miranda García, Eloísa Ramírez
Vaquero; vols. 1–3.2; 1994–1999) in an attempt to contribute to the so far little investigated area of Jewish
Name Studies, that is, Medieval Names of Jews in the Iberian Peninsula. After general observations on the
onomasticon of the Navarrese Jews relating to statistics, etymological layers, differences between the
names of men and women, etc., special attention is paid to the first names of Jews of Latin-Romance
etymology, like 'Bueno', 'Abenveniste', 'Buenastruga' (f.), 'Vita', 'Horabuena Sol' (f.), etc.; surnames or
nicknames, like 'Ezquerra', 'Falaguero', 'Pesat', 'Gordo', 'Moreno', 'Amarillo', including professions like
'Argentero' or 'Peletero', etc. The primary aim of the analysis is to detect the naming mechanisms within the
Navarrese Jewish community in the Mediterranean Sephardic context.
Historia de los judíos del reino de Navarra” (Juan Carrasco Pérez, Fermín Miranda García, Eloísa Ramírez
Vaquero; vols. 1–3.2; 1994–1999) in an attempt to contribute to the so far little investigated area of Jewish
Name Studies, that is, Medieval Names of Jews in the Iberian Peninsula. After general observations on the
onomasticon of the Navarrese Jews relating to statistics, etymological layers, differences between the
names of men and women, etc., special attention is paid to the first names of Jews of Latin-Romance
etymology, like 'Bueno', 'Abenveniste', 'Buenastruga' (f.), 'Vita', 'Horabuena Sol' (f.), etc.; surnames or
nicknames, like 'Ezquerra', 'Falaguero', 'Pesat', 'Gordo', 'Moreno', 'Amarillo', including professions like
'Argentero' or 'Peletero', etc. The primary aim of the analysis is to detect the naming mechanisms within the
Navarrese Jewish community in the Mediterranean Sephardic context.