From: sethr@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (seth.r.rosenthal)
Subject: Re: Davidic Lineage
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 1993 15:59:51 GMT

In article <1993Jan26.170145.19943@digi.lonestar.org>, gpalo@digi.lonestar.org (Gerry Palo) writes:
> In article <1993Jan25.220636.6510@cbnewsl.cb.att.com> sethr@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (seth.r.rosenthal) writes:
> >
> >There have occasionally been posts from people talking
> >about Davidic lines, in particular missionaries make the
> >claim that we have lost all of our Davidic lines.
> >
> >Interestingly, in "The Jews of Muslim Spain" there is
> >some discussion about the roots of various communities
> >of Jews in Spain, and in connection with this it is
> >stated that the Abrabanel (Abravanel) family tradition
> >was that it was Davidic, descended from Judaean
> >nobles who were brought to Spain at the time of the destruction
> >of the Second Temple.
> >
> >If anyone has to answer the question, from where can the Messiah
> >come, here is one answer.
> >
> >
> >		Seth Rosenthal
> >
> >Disclaimer: All opinions are my own not my employers'.
> 
> I heard once that names like "King", "Koenig", "Kingsley" were commonly 
> assumed by European Jews to preserve an indication of Davidic lineage.  

First I've heard of this.  I could propose other hypotheses but
they would be specualtive.  Maybe shortening of Koenigsberger,
or because their first names were names of Kings (commonly
people named for a Tribe like Simeon or Nathan would take on
the animal symbol of the tribe, Nathan became Hirsh or Hart
because of the symbol of the tribe Naphtali)

> If I am not mistaken, the large scale adaptation of non-Hebrew names 
> by Jews happened for political reasons in the eigteenth century. Does
> anyone know about this?
> 

I've read quite a few books about name adoption.  I can summarize
it as follows.

Sephardim had last names very early on.  Many as early as the
10th century in Spain.  Names curiously have the same forms
as Ashkenazi names, although in Spanish, Arabic or Persian.
Place names (Toledano, Laredo, etc.) are common as are
professions (Mercado - merchant).  Names apparently changed
as Jews fled Moslem oppression into the Christian kingdoms
to Romance or Spanish names like Gomes or Rodriguez.  Similarly
if Christians captured an area from the Moslems.  There are
pretty well-known Spanish families with Arabic names like
Abulafia or Alcalay.  Of course in his day Maimonides (I hate
using the Monastic Christian version of his name) was known
as Ibn Maimon.

Ashkenazi last names begin in Germany around the 14th century.
Frankfurt Ghetto names like Rothschild or Oliphant appear very
early on.  Most of Eastern European Jews got names either due
to later German origin (1066 is too early for German surnames),
or German occupation of lands where Jews lived.  They begin
in the late 18th century through the mid-19th.  Frequently
East European Jews dropped their Germanic surnames when
the Germans left an area, only to take on another different
surname when they came back in a few years.  Some names are
Yiddish in origin or even Hebrew (shammes for example).
Mine, Rosenthal is a name received for a bribe of a German
naming official.  In Russia, names tend to be more Slavic,
I once heard that Catherine the Great ordered Jews to take
Polish sounding names as a barb to Jews and Poles alike.
You can't tell what country an Ashkenazi Jew originates
solely from the name.  Lots of Posners come from Russia
despite Posen being a Prussian (now Polish Poznan) city.
Some Eastern European names show Sephardic backgrounds
like Luria (and derivatives) or Feitel (and derivatives).
Rappoport is also Italian in derivation.  Brabenel is the
Ukrainian branch of the Sephardic Abrabenel family.


		Seth Rosenthal


Disclaimer: all opinions are my own not my employers'.