The Jews of Stühlingen

2-3

Ralph

December 21, 2016

¶ 1 Leave a comment on paragraph 1 0 A male Jew firstly carries a religious name (shem ha kodesh) for primary use in the synagogue. It is usually a biblical name, further differentiated by the biblical name of his father. A secular name kinnui), or moniker, served for everyday purposes.6 In secular documents and records, one would only find the moniker or one of its variants. The situation is further complicated by familial naming patterns. In a small community, only a small subset of common biblical names would be found repeating over and over. Typically, a firstborn son would be named after his patrilineal grandfather. Often, the second son would carry the name of his matrilineal grandfather. As a result, the religious name will not uniquely distinguish coexisting individuals. Biblical name and moniker correlate somewhat, but not perfectly. For example, people with the biblical name Judah may be called by the monikers Judele, Jüdele, Leib, Lew, Löw, Leman, or Lehemann. In general, the major variant, that is, Judele, Leib, or Leheman, stays constant, but details in pronunciation and spelling may vary both over time and by recorder. This complexity is illustrated, for example, with Jacob (Jäggle) Bloch, the patriarch of the Bloch family (C2), who appeared at different times and in different documents under the moniker Jäcclin, Jäckle, Jäggle, Jägle, Jagli, Jägli, Jäglin, Jeckhle, Jegele, Jegg, Jeggle, Jegglin, Jögle, and Klein Jeggle.

¶ 2 Leave a comment on paragraph 2 0 At times when more than one individual with the same base name exist, a variety of attributes differentiate the moniker further. Relationships such as “son of,” “son-in-law of,” and “brother of” are often added. Alternatively, when individuals with a similar base name differ by generations, one may be designated “junior” (jung”) or “senior” (alt or der Alte). When that does not suffice, physical attributes can be added, such as “the fat” (dicker), “the tall” (lang), or “the bent” (krumm). In the case of protection privileges, the mention of a father’s name usually indicates that the protection has been acquired through filial entitlement.

¶ 3 Leave a comment on paragraph 3 0  

6Beider, A Dictionary of Ashkenazic Given Names, 1.