Romaniote Jewish Male Names

Where names have both a Hebrew and a Turkish form, the name is listed as Hebrew form [Turkish form].

Many Biblical names had Arabic forms in general use, but I did not list the Arabic form unless it was given in the sources as an alternative to a Romaniot name. This is because different religious groups spelled certain names–like Sara–slightly differently, and may have made a distinction between, say, the Hebrew name Yosef and the Quran-derived form Yusuf.

Afendopoulo, Afedopoulo: Greek, “son of a lord.” From afendo, Greek form of the Turkish effendi, “lord” + Greek poulos, “son of”

Aharon

Altina: From Turkish altın, “gold.”

Aryeh [Arslan]: Lion.

Avraham

Avshalom [Afsalom]

Barukh

Bruto: Meaning and derivation unknown.

David

Ele’azar

Elias

Eliyah [Eliya]: Hebrew. The most popular name among Romaniot Jews, three and a half times as common as the next runner-up.

Eliyahu

Eliyapoulo: “Son of Elijah.” Hebrew Eliyah + Greek poulos, “son of.”

Hayim

Hizqiyah [Haskye]

Ishaq

Kalev: Hebrew. A very popular name among Romaniot Jews.

Kaludi (?)

Menahem

Mikhael

Mordekhai [Mordehay]

Mosheh [Musa]

Papula: Greek, “grandpa.” Expresses the wish that the child will live to become a grandfather.

Polikhrono: Greek, “old.” Reflects the wish that the child will live to grow old.

Sha‘aban

Shabetai [Sabbetay]

She’altiel [Salto]

Shelomoh [Süleyman]

Shemaryah [Samariyya]

Tzadiq

Ya‘aqov [Ya‘aqub, Yako]

Ye’udah

Yesh‘ayah [Isaya]

Yitzhaq

Yosef

These Hebrew given names appeared as family names in my sources. They were used as personal names in other sources about Jewish names, so it’s possible that they were also part of the Romaniot pool of personal names.

Gibor

Meshulam

Peretz

Comments are closed.