Jewish Surname Changes in Hungary (19th–20th Century)
Abstract
The paper presents Jewish surname changes as a part of the phenomenon of surname changes in Hungary,
as well as a part of the history of Jewish communities in a surrounding majority. It is based on social
historical studies and current onomastic research, and applies different sources (as Jewish jokes, original
petitions or propagandistic statements of their time) to investigate the social, historical, political and
ideological background, and the characteristics of surname changes of the Jews. It gives a summary on the
origin of Jewish surnames, analyzes the role of these surnames as symbols of Jewish origin, and the
different reasons that made the surname changes so typical for the Jews. It presents the assimilation process
of persons and their personal names in general, and the history of Jewish surname changes in Hungarian
history. The characteristic features of the surnames chosen and their typical motivations are also analyzed
here, also in comparison with those of the non-Jewish society.
as well as a part of the history of Jewish communities in a surrounding majority. It is based on social
historical studies and current onomastic research, and applies different sources (as Jewish jokes, original
petitions or propagandistic statements of their time) to investigate the social, historical, political and
ideological background, and the characteristics of surname changes of the Jews. It gives a summary on the
origin of Jewish surnames, analyzes the role of these surnames as symbols of Jewish origin, and the
different reasons that made the surname changes so typical for the Jews. It presents the assimilation process
of persons and their personal names in general, and the history of Jewish surname changes in Hungarian
history. The characteristic features of the surnames chosen and their typical motivations are also analyzed
here, also in comparison with those of the non-Jewish society.