NAMES ANALYSIS REPORT
You searched for:"Leon",
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The name Leon is of Spanish origin.
The surname Leon is aToponymic name, which means that it is derived from a man's given name, usually a father , paternal ancestor or patron.
There are many indicators that the name Leon may be of Jewish origin, emanating from the Jewish communities of Spain and Portugal.
When the Romans conquered the Jewish nation in 70 CE, much of the Jewish population was sent into exile throughout the Roman Empire. Many were sent to the Iberian Peninsula. The approximately 750,000 Jews living in Spain in the year 1492 were banished from the country by royal decree of Ferdinand and Isabella. The Jews of Portugal, were banished several years later. Reprieve from the banishment decrees was promised to those Jews who converted to Catholicism. Though some converted by choice, most of these New-Christian converts were called CONVERSOS or MARRANOS (a derogatory term for converts meaning pigs in Spanish), ANUSIM (meaning "coerced ones" in Hebrew) and CRYPTO-JEWS, as they secretly continued to practice the tenets of the Jewish faith.
Our research has found that the family name Leon is cited with respect to Jews & Crypto-Jews in at least 74 bibliographical, documentary, or electronic references:
Jews in Colonial Brazil, by Arnold Wiznitzer
Professor Wiznitzer gathered detailed information about individual Jewish settlers in colonial Brazil and about cases where they were brought before the Inquisition at Lisbon, and his study throws new light on some phases of Brazilian colonial history. Many Jews fled to Brazil and others were deported to the colony as convicted heretics after the King of Portugal attemtped to compel all of his Jewish subjects to accept Christianity in 1497.They were active in the establishment of the sugar industry and in trade, and they maintained close relations with another large group of exiles who had taken refuge in Amsterdam.Most of the "new Christians" continued to practice the old religion secretly.
Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy, by Dan Rottenberg
In this work Dan Rottenberg shows how to do a successful search for probing the memories of living relatives, by examining marriage licenses, gravestones, ship passenger lists, naturalization records, birth and death certificates, and other public documents, and by looking for clues in family traditions and customs. Supplementing the "how to" instructions is a guide to some 8,000 Jewish family names, giving the origins of the names, sources of information about each family, and the names of related families whose histories have been recorded. Other features included a country-by-country guide to tracing Jewish ancestors abroad, a list of Jewish family history books, and a guide to researching genealogy.
Abraham Abulafia - List of surnames of Jews who lived in Toledo (Spain) prior to the expulsion edict.
List of surnames of Jews from Toledo (Spain)
Dicionario Sefaradi De Sobrenomes (Dictionary of Sephardic Surnames), G. Faiguenboim, P. Valadares, A.R. Campagnano, Rio de Janeiro, 2004
A bilingual (Portugese/English)reference book of Sephardic surnames. Includes New Christians, Conversos, Crypto-Jews (Marranos), Italians, Berbers and their history in Spain, Portugal and Italy. Contains over 16,000 surnames presented under 12000 entries, with hundreds of rare photographs, family shields and illustrations.It also contains a 72-page summary of Sephardic history, before and after the expulsion from Spain and Portugal, as well as a 40-page linguistic essay about Sephardic names, including an interesting list of the 250 most frequent Sephardic surnames. The period covered by the dictionary is of 600 years, from the 14th to the 20th century, and the area covered includes Spain and Portugal, France, Italy, Holland, England, Germany, Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Ottoman Empire, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, North America, Central America and the Caribbean, South America and more.
From the publication, "Los Sefardíes" (The Sephardim),by Jose M. Estrugo. Published by Editorial Lex La Habana, 1958.(Surnames common among the Sephardim)
When the Romans conquered the Jewish nation in 70 CE, much of the Jewish population was sent into exile throughout the Roman Empire. Many were sent to the Iberian peninsula. The area became known by the Hebrew word "Sepharad". The JEWS in SPAIN and PORTUGAL became known as "Sephardim" or and those things associated with the SEPHARDIM including names, customs, genealogy and religious rituals, became known as SEPHARDIC.
From the records of Bevis Marks, The Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of London
Bevis Marks is the Sephardic synagogue in London. It is over 300 years old and is the oldest still in use in Britain.The Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation of London has published several volumes of its records: they can be found in libraries such as the Cambridge University Library or the London Metropolitan Archive
History of the Sephardic Israelite Community in Chile by Moshe Nes-El. Editorial Nascimiento, Chile, 1984.
Most Jews arrived in Chile between 1934–1946, half being from Eastern Europe, 40 percent from Germany, and 10 percent were Sephardic Jews. Many Chilean Jews fled Chile in 1970 after the election of socialist Salvador Allende Gossens as president.
Jewish names contained in Medieval documents from the Kingdom of Murcia.
Most of these names, if not all, appear to be original Sephardic names not changed by conversion.
List of (mostly) Sephardic brides from the publication, "List of 7300 Names of Jewish Brides and Grooms who married in Izmir Between the Years 1883-1901 & 1918-1933". By Dov Cohen.
Dov Cohen has created an index of brides and grooms based on the organization of Ketubot (Jewish wedding contracts) from marriages within the Turkish community of Izmir. From this material we can identify the Jewish families who lived in Turkey since the Spanish expulsion in 1492 in two periods: the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of the secular government of Turkish Republic. Events of these periods forced this community to emigrate to America.
List of (mostly) Sephardic grooms from the publication, "List of 7300 Names of Jewish Brides and Grooms who married in Izmir Between the Years 1883-1901 & 1918-1933". By Dov Cohen.
Dov Cohen has created an index of brides and grooms based on the organization of Ketubot (Jewish wedding contracts) from marriages within the Turkish community of Izmir. From this material we can identify the Jewish families who lived in Turkey since the Spanish expulsion in 1492 in two periods: the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of the secular government of Turkish Republic. Events of these periods forced this community to emigrate to America.
Sangre Judia (Jewish Blood) by Pere Bonnin. Flor de Viento, Barcelona, 2006. A list of 3,500 names used by Jews, or assigned to Jews by the Holy Office (la Santo Oficio) of Spain. The list is a result of a census of Jewish communities of Spain by the Catholic Church and as found in Inquisition records.
Pere Bonnin, a philosopher, journalist and writer from Sa Pobla (Mallorca), a descendant of converted Jews, settles with this work a debt "owed to his ancestors", in his own words. The book, written in a personal and accessible style and based on numerous sources, includes a review of basic Jewish concepts, Jewish history in Spain, and Christian Anti-Semitism. There is also a section that focuses on the reconciliation between the Church and Monarchy and the Jews, which took place in the 20th Century. In this study, Bonnin deals in depth with the issue of surnames of Jewish origin. In the prologue, the author explains the rules he followed in the phonetic transcription of surnames of Hebrew origin that are mentioned in the book. The researcher cites the Jewish origin, sometimes recognized and other times controversial, of historically prominent figures (like Cristobal Colon, Hernan Cortes, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and many others) and links between surnames of Jewish origin with some concepts in Judaism.. The book also includes an appendix with more than three thousands surnames "suspected" of being Jewish, because they appear in censuses of the Jewish communities and on the Inquisitorial lists of suspected practitioners of Judaism, as well as in other sources. In the chapter "Una historia de desencuentro", the author elaborates on surnames of Jewish origin of the royalty, nobility, artistocracy, clergy, and also of writers, educators and university teachers during the Inquisition. Special attention is given to the "Chuetas" of Mallorca, the birthplace of the author.
Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews, by David Gitlitz
Despite the increased attention given to Hispano-Jewish topics, and the "conversos" or Crypto-Jews in particular, this is the first thorough compilation of their customs and practices. The author has culled from Inquisition documents and other sources to paint a portrait of the richness and diversity of Crypto-Jewish practices in Spain, Portugal, and the New World. The history of Spanish Jews, or Sephardim, stretches back to biblical times. The Jews of Spain and Portugal made formative contributions to all Hispanic cultures, the impact of which is first being measured and recognized today. The Sephardim experienced a Golden Age in Iberia between 900-1100, during which they acted as the intermediaries between the rival political and cultural worlds of Islam and Christianity. This Golden Age ended with the Reconquest of Spain by Catholic overlords, though for another 300 years the Jews continued to contribute to Iberian life. In 1391 and again in 1492, intense and violent social pressures were put upon the Jews to join the larger Christian community. Many Jews converted, often unwillingly. In 1492 the remaining Jews were exiled from Spain. The converted Jews (Conversos) became an underclass in Spanish society. Many of them clung tenaciously to Jewish practices in the face of torture and death at the hands of the Inquisition. Having lost contact with other Jews, these people developed a religion which was an admixture of Catholic and Jewish rituals. David Gitlitz examines these practices in detail and attempts to answer the question of whether the Conversos were in fact Jewish. Gitlitz's research is exhaustive. He has combed through thousands of Inquistion records, showing that a sense of "Jewishness" if not Jewish practice remained a core value of many Spaniards' lives well into the 1700s. Gitlitz is convincing in showing that the Inquisition unwittingly aided crypto-Jews in perpetuating themselves by publishing Edicts of Faith. Essentially checklists for informers, they described the behavior of "Judaizers" (sometimes the practices listed were absurd or simply erroneous). These, ironically, were used by Judaizers as guides to religious behavior. It is revealing that as the Inquisition faded, crypto-Judaism waned, though never totally vanished. Gitlitz's knowledge and research on the subject is encyclopedic. The book is written in a "textbook" style which makes it somewhat technical and dry, though it is enlivened by excerpts from Inquisition records, which Gitlitz has apparently chosen for their interest, irony, unintended comedy, or spiritedness. It is difficult to imagine that human beings would face the tortures of the rack for not eating pork. That these same tortured people could summon the will to laugh at their executioners is something wondrous. The book includes the names of the Sephardim (and sometimes their residences too).
Sephardic names from the site TARAZONA JUDIA.
The site is presented as a memorial to the Jews of TARAZONA
The Circumcision Register of Isaac and Abraham De Paiba (1715-1775) from the Archives of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews Congregation of Bevis Marks (London England).
The circumcision register of Isaac and Abraham de Paiba (1715-1775): from the manuscript record preserved in the Archives of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation of London named "Sahar Asamaim" transcribed, translated and edited by the late R.D. Barnett, with the assistance of Alan Rose, I.D. Duque and others; There is also a supplement with a record of circumcisions 1679-1699, marriages 1679-1689 and some female births 1679-1699, compiled by Miriam Rodrigues-Pereira. The register includes surnames of those circumsized as well as the names of their Godfathers & Godmothers.
The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World, by Seymour B. Liebman
Except for a brief introduction, the entire book is a listing of Inquisition Records in the New World. This is a source for converso names in the New World.
The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World, by Seymour B. Liebman. Reports the names of people who appeared before the inquisition in El Peru.
Except for a brief introduction, the entire book is a listing of Inquisition Records in the New World. This is a source for converso names in the New World.
The Jews of the Balkans, The Judeo-Spanish Community , 15th to 20th Centuries, by Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue
This volume is a history of the Sephardi diaspora in the Balkans. The two principal axes of the study are the formation and features of the Judeo-Spanish culture area in South-Eastern Europe and around the Aegean littoral, and the disintegration of this community in the modern period. The great majority of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 eventually went to the Ottoman Empire. With their command of Western trades and skills, they represented a new economic force in the Levant. In the Ottoman Balkans, the Jews came to reconstitute the bases of their existence in the semi-autonomous spheres allowed to them by their new rulers. This segment of the Jewish diaspora came to form a certain unity, based on a commonality of the Judeo-Spanish language, culture and communal life. The changing geopolitics of the Balkans and the growth of European influence in the 19th century inaugurated a period of westernization. European influence manifested itself in the realm of education, especially in the French education, dispensed in the schools of the Alliance Israelite Universelle with its headquarters in Paris. Other European cultures and languages came to the scene through similar means. Cultural movements such as the Jewish Enlightenment (haskalah) also came to exert a distinct influence, hence building bridges between the Ashkenazi and Sephardi worlds
The Sephardim of England, by Albert M. Hyamson
A history of the Spanish & Portugese Jewish Community, 1492-1951.
Sephardic names from the magazine "ETSI". Most of the names are from (but not limited to) France and North Africa. Published by Laurence Abensur-Hazan and Philip Abensur.
ETSI (a Paris-based, bilingual French-English periodical) is devoted exclusively to Sephardic genealogy and is published by the Sephardi Genealogical and Historical Society (SGHS). It was founded by Dr. Philip Abensur, and his professional genealogist wife, Laurence Abensur-Hazan. ETSI's worldwide base of authors publish articles identifying a broad spectrum of archival material of importance to the Sephardic genealogist. A useful feature of ETSI is the listing, on the back cover, of all Sephardic family names, and places of origin, cited in the articles contained in each issue
The Abarbanel Foundation Website, "Reintegrating the Lost Jews of Spain & Portugal"
List of names of forcibly converted Jews who were tried by the Spanish Inquisition for practicing Judaism in Mexico in the years 1528 - 1815
Surnames of Spanish-Portuguese Jews of Ecuador from The Jewish Sephardic Community "Bet Aharon"
In 1999, the first Spanish-Portugese Sephardic organization named "Agudath Sfarad of Loja", was established in Ecuador, by the initiative of Eng. Gerardo Ramirez Celi. The Sephardic Jewish community Bet Aharon arose in 2001 from this organization. The community's website provides a partial list of Sephardic surnames of Ecuador.
Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía,"Jewish Families of Santo Domingo",August 2007.
A genealogical profile prepared by Antonio José Ignacio Guerra Sanchez – entitled "Jewish Families of Santo Domingo" .
Ruth Reyes, "Sephardic Family Names from Puerto Rico", The Casa Shalom Journal, Volume 10, Published by The Institute for Marrano-Anusim Studies, Gan Yavneh, Israel 2008
This list is compiled from a catalogue the author found on a visit to Puerto Rico in the Museum of San Juan.
Laurence Abensur-Hazan. La Boz del Pueblo,(The People's Voice) from "CGJ: Cercle de Genealogie Juive", the Jewish Genealogical Society in France, Publication No. 49,t.13, Paris, 1997.
Genealogical data records on Jews from Izmir from "La Boz del Puevlo", by Laurence Abensur-Hazan. The author is a founder and president of Etsi ("my tree" in Hebrew), the Sephardi Historical and Genealogical Society based in Paris. A graduate notary and lawyer, she is currently a professional genealogist in Paris. She works on the French naturalization of Jews from the Ottoman Empire and on the Alliance Israelite Universelle Archives.
Laurence Abensur-Hazan. Genealogical Review & Sephardic History, Paris, 1997.
The author is a founder and current President of Etsi ("my tree" in Hebrew), the Sephardi Historical and Genealogical Society based in Paris. A graduate notary and lawyer, she is currently a professional genealogist in Paris. She works on the French naturalization of Jews from the Ottoman Empire and on the Alliance Israelite Universelle Archives.
Bernard Allali. La saga des noms des familles juives tunisiennes(The saga of the names of Tunisian Jewish families) en "Le Voyage Loisirs", France, 1977
The story of Jewish surnames in Tunisia.
David F. Altabe. The Portuguese Jews of Salonica, in "Studies on the History of Portuguese Jews", New York, pp. 119-124, 2000.
This article lists the Portuguese synagogue members in Thessaloniki. The work is based on an article published in the Haggadah of Baruch Schiby in 1970 and was compiled from the four Portuguese synagogues.
Avram Pinto. The Jews of Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina, Rome, 1996
The first Jews did not immigrate to Bosnia until the Spanish Inquisition and expulsion in 1492. When the area was taken over by the Austrian-Hungary empire in 1878 these Sephardic Jews were joined by many Ashkenazi Jews. In this book, the author presents a colorful history of the different Jewish communities.
Robert Attal and Joseph Avivi. "Registres Matrimoniaux de la Comminaute Juive Portugaise de Tunis. XVIII-XIX Siecles" (Matrimonial records of the Tunisian Portuguese Jewsih Community 18th-19th Centuries), Oriens Judaicus, Ben Zvi Institute, Israel 1989
Listing of marriages that occurred in the Portuguese Jewish Community of Tunis which kept itself separate from the local Tunisian Jews and kept careful records. French and Hebrew editions are available.
Marcelo Benveniste. "Origen: La Isla de Rodas" (Origin: The Island of Rhodes), in Boletin No.3, Sociedad Argentina de Genealogia Judia, Buenos Aires, apr 1997.
Marcelo Benveniste, List of Holocaust Victims (online)
List of names based on the book "The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos" by Hizkia Franco (Rhodes, 1947) and in "History of the Jews of Rhodes, Chios and Cos" (Istanbul, 1948) by Abraham Galante. Revised and corrected by David Galante and Rita Eskenazi de Levitus.
Matilde Gini de Barnatan. Picciotto, originals, Sao Paulo, 1996.
Genealogy of the descendants of Daniel Pichoto (b.1605), a family originating from Livorno and based in Alepo. It is a branch that became a consular dynasty, representing European powers in the East.
Synagogue Beth Yaacov Sao Paulo, list of members, Sao Paulo, 1996.
There are about 96,500 Jews in Brazil today. The current Jewish community is mostly composed of Ashkenazi Jews of Polish and German descent and also Sephardic Jews of Spanish, Portuguese, and North African descent. Brazilian Jews play an active role in politics, sports, academia, trade and industry, and are overall well integrated in all spheres of Brazilian life. The majority of Brazilian Jews live in the State of São Paulo although there are sizeable communities elsewhere. Jews lead an open religious life in Brazil and there are schools, associations and synagogues where Brazilian Jews can practice and pass on Jewish culture and traditions. The Beit Yaakov synagogue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is an imposing temple, built in the 90s, a gift of the brothers Joseph and Moise Safra to the Jewish community of Sao Paulo. Also known as the Safra Synagogue, it is the largest synagogue in the city of São Paulo.
Paul Armony. "Apellidos sefardies mas frecuentes obtenidos de los cementerios Avellaneda - Lomas de Zamora - Ciudadela (Acis y Asia) - Tablada Sefaradi y Bancalari" (Common sephardic names as taken from the Avellaneda Cemetery). SEFARAires Nº9 / 2003 página 7.
Paul Armony, President of the Jewish Genealogy Association in Argentina, collected and organized 19,060 records from six Jewish Sephardic cemeteries in Argentina. Of the 3682 surnames of deceased found there, 58% were found to have the same 334 surnames.
List of the Interior Ministry -Sepharadic Community of Chile, Chile, 1999.
Several of the very first explorers to Chile were accompanied by Conversos. Legend maintains that the very first explorer in 1535, Diego de Almagro, came with a Converso by the name of Rodrigo de Orgonos. Five years later, Pedro de Valdivia, another conquistador, came with Diego Garcia de Caceres of Plasencia, Spain, who is also believed to have been a Converso. Scandals erupted in 1621 after the genealogy of Caceres was traced to include many prominent families in Santiago, including the founder of the Chilean independence movement, General José Miguel Carrera. Caceres' family roots were published in a pamphlet entitled La Ovandina, but the arrival of the Inquisition at that time forbade the circulation of the pamphlet, which was reprinted in 1915. The court of the Inquisition established in Lima in 1570 also had authority over what is now Chile, and the first auto-de-fé was held shortly afterward. Nevertheless, the Crypto-Jewish settlement in this relatively remote outpost of the Spanish Empire continued to grow. The persecution of Conversos ceased when the country gained formal independence from Spain in 1818. Jews have achieved prominent positions in the Chilean government and other realms of influence, and have played a key part in the founding of the country, both before and after its independence in 1818
Rio de Janeiro's Chevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society) lists, Rio de Janeiro, august 1998.
Dov Cohen. "Fuentes para la Genealogia de los Judios de Izmir (Esmirna)(Sources for the Genealogy of the Jews of Izmir (Smyrna)" Boletin n° 2 p. 18-9 Sociedad Argentina de Genealogia Judaica, Buenos Aires, dec 1996.
Joseph Covo. The Jewish community and family names of Sephardic Jews in Ruschuk (Rousse), Bulgaria, in Etsi n° 15, vol. 4, pp. 10-13, Paris, 2001.
Joseph Covo, is a native of Sofia, Bulgaria. He holds a B.A. in political science and journalism and an M.A. in international law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He immigrated to Palestine in 1944 after spending two years in a forced labor camp during World War II. After the establishment of the State of Israel and service in the Israel Defense Forces, he was sent by the Jewish Agency to South America to promote the Aliya of young Jews. He devoted his career to the advancement of Israeli technological training systems in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. After retiring he studied Ladino literature at Bar Ilan University. His book on the history of the Jews of Bulgaria was published in 2002. In the newly-liberated Bulgaria of the late 19th century, Ruse was a cosmopolitan city with a multi-ethnic population. According to the first census conducted in 1883, Ruse was populated by 26,156 people,of which 1943 were Sephardic Jews.
Babani and Weinfeld. Portugal Jewish Encyclopedia, Castellana, Mexico, 1948.
A Jewish Encyclopedia in 10 volumes: the Jewish people in the past and present - their history, their religion, their customs, their literature, their art, their leaders, and more.
Nissim Elnecave. Los Hijos de Ibero-Franconia. Breviario del Mundo Sefaradí desde los Orígenes hasta nuestros días(The Children of Iberia-Spain: World Sephardic Breviary from the beginning to today), Editorial "La Luz", Buenos Aires, 1981.
In this work on Sephardic history, the author argues his main thesis: Sephardic is a cultural concept, and therefore should not be restricted to descendants of Portuguese and Spanish Jews, but should also extend to France, Italy and the Arab world.
Esther Fintz Menasce. Gli Ebrei a Rodi (The Jews in Rhodes), Edizioni. Angelo Guerini e Associati, Milano, 1992.
This book is more than a history of what was the Jewish community of Rhodes - it is a vibrant chronicle of how the Jews have survived and how they have been perceived by travelers from other lands, and recounts their intimate relationships, their language, their folklore and their religious festivities. The text is enriched with 254 pages of documents in several languages dealing with governmental, communal, commercial and personal communications, photographs, maps (some dating back to the 15th century),musical notations, newspaper excerpts and much more. All this research is presented in a style that charms the reader.
Claudio Missistrano. El Tiempo, 1890-1891 et 1894-1897 published in ETSI n. 14, Paris, 2001.
Announcements of invitations for weddings and engagements published in the newspaper "El Tiempo" in 1890-1891 and 1894-1897.
List of surnames of Jews residing in Toledo prior to expulsion edict.
From Nahman Family Research.
M. Franco. Essai Sur L 'Histoire des Israelitas de L'Empire Ottoman (Essay on the Jews of the Ottoman Empire: From the beginning until today),Durlacher, Paris,1897.
This is a classic work about the Jews of Turkey. Many Jewish names are mentioned.
Vibeke Sealtiel Olsen. List of poor Jews who were removed from Amsterdam and received financial assistance to go live in other countries (1757- 1813), Website, Amsterdam, 1999.
This list organized by Olsen relates the names of Jews who received assistance from the Dutch community to emigrate to other countries. The list covers the period 1759-1813 with all the names of the poor Sephardic Jews who were granted Tzedaka(charity) - an amount in Dutch florins- against the promise to leave Amsterdam and not to return within the next 15 years. Despite the image of wealth in this community, this was not the reality. The author Crespo Fabiao, describes the local social pyramid: "On one occasion, during a wedding celebration in the community, the combined wealth of 40 of the guests exceeded 40 million guilders ... By the late eighteenth century, more than half of 2,800 members of the Sephardic-Jewish from the main Synagogue of Amsterdam received financial assistance, and around 17,500 of the Ashkenazim Jews (from a total of 20,304) of that city, were classified as homeless."
Genaro Garcia. La lnquisicion de Mexico. Autos de Fe. Tumultos y Rebeliones en Mexico (The Inquisition in Mexico: Autos de Fe,Riots & Rebellions), Mexico, 1982.
The Mexican Inquisition was an extension of the Spanish Inquisition into the New World. Almost all of events associated with the official establishment of the Holy Office of the Inquisition occurred in Mexico City, where the Holy Office had its own headquarters. The official period of the Inquisition lasted from 1571 to 1820. A group that suffered during this time were the so-called “crypto-Jews” of Portuguese descent. Many converted Portuguese Jews came to New Spain looking for commercial opportunities. In 1642, 150 of these individuals were arrested within three or four days, and the Inquisition began a series of trials. These people were accused of being ‘judaisers,’ meaning they still held Judaic beliefs. Many of these were merchants involved in New Spain’s principal activities. On 11 April 1649, the viceregal state staged the largest ever auto da fe in New Spain, in which twelve of the accused were burned after being strangulated and one person was burned alive. Most of the remainder were ‘reconciled’ and deported to Spain
Matilde Gini de Barnatan. Patronymes. Sovre Siertes Alkunyas Sefaradis / Los Judios en Murcia / Los San Roman de Zamora: del siglo XV hasta nuestros dias, Madrid.
Liz Hamui de Halabe and Fredy Charabati(co-editors), Los Judios de Alepo en Mexico,(The Jews from Alepo in Mexico), Mexico,1989.
History and genealogy of the Jews from Aleppo, Syria who emigrated to Mexico; with index, bibliography and maps.
Albert Montefiore Hyamson. The Sefaradim of England, Methuen, 1951.
This is a history of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community in the years 1492-1951 by Albert Montefiore Hyamson (1875-1954),a British zionist and historian who served as chief immigration officer in the British Mandate of Palestine from 1921 to 1934. He argued that Christians should assist the Jews in creating and protecting the new state to atone for their persecution of the Jews in the past.
Jean Pierre Filippini. Il Porto di Livorno e La Toscana (1676-1814)(The Port of Livorno and Tuscany 1676-1814), Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Napoli, 1998.
Contains the census of Jews in Livorno in 1809.
List of Members and Rabbis of the Congregation "Kahal Kadosh Neveh Shalom", founded in 1704, Website, Jamaica.
Neveh Shalom - Dwelling Place of Peace - was one of the first synagogues built in Spanish Town, Jamaica during the 17th century. The Neveh Shalom Institute is chartered to promote projects to preserve the history, culture, and artifacts of the Jewish existence in, and contribution to Jamaica, from the 17th century.
Ketuboth van de Portugees-Israelietische Gemeente te Amsterdam van 1650-1911 (Index of Ketuboth of the Portuguese Jewish Congregation in Amsterdam from 1650 and 1911). D. Verdooner and H.J.W.Snel.
The Portuguese Jewish Community in Amsterdam was formed by Marranos who returned to Judaism after they had been converted to Catholicism in 1492 (Spain) and 1497 (Portugal). Families who lived in Toledo before 1492 reappear in Amsterdam in the 17th century, showing that for five generations (120 years) they succeeded in maintaining some form of Judaism behind the Catholic image. In the Amsterdam Municipality between 1598 and 1811 about 15,000 marriage certificates of Jews were registered. This Index mainly pertains to the richer and influential Sephardic community of Amsterdam. The great merchants, ship owners, rabbis and philosophers (Spinoza, Menasse ben Israel, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca) all appear on it. There are also families from other Sephardic communities from Livorno and Tunis. Many times weddings represented the creation and maintenance of commercial alliances.
Plaque honoring the victims of the Holocaust who belong to the Synagogue "Kahal Shalom", Rhodes
In July 1944 the Nazis rounded up the more than 1600 Jews of Rhodes and sent them off to Auschwitz. Only 120 men and 30 women survived the ordeal.
Laurence Abensur-Hazan. "La fievre dengue a Smyrne en 1889" (Dengue fever in Smyrna in 1889), published in ETSI No.7, Paris, Dec 1999
In the Winter issue of ETSI (Sephardi Genealogical and Historical Review) there is an article concerning Smyrna - "Dengue Fever in Smyrna in 1889". A French benefactor, Baron de Hirsch, helped the Jewish community of Smyrna. The directors of the Alliance Israelite Universelle schools established lists of persons receiving help, with comments about their families. The most interesting sections of these lists are reproduced in the article.
Abraham Monk and Jose Isaacson (editors). Jewish Communities of Latin America, Buenos Aires, 1968.
Gary Mokotoff. Avotaynu.
Gary Mokotoff is a noted author, lecturer and leader of Jewish genealogy. He has been recognized by three major genealogical groups for his achievements. Avotaynu, The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, was founded in 1985 as a 20-page semiannual; it has grown to 68-page quarterly that is one of the most respected magazines in genealogy. The Avotaynu Consolidated Jewish Surname Index (CJSI) enables search by surname on 42 different databases.
Michael Molho. Surnames of the Sephardic Jews in Salonika, Madrid, 1950.
This work focuses on the rich cultural traditions and heritage of the largest Sephardic Jewish Community in the Balkans and provides names of the Sephardic Jews from the Salonica community.
Ordem Circular n° 2217, 11-02-1949, concedendo nacionalidade espanhola a judeus da Grecia e do Egito(Circular Order No.2217,dated 11.2.1949, granting Spanish nationality to Jews of Greece and Egypt), Madrid
In 1949, Franco issued a decree granting Spanish citizenship to the descendants of those Jews expelled in 1492 and who appeared in Spain's population census or consular or diplomatic records, who were living in Greece and Egypt. This decree benefited only a few hundred Jews.
Ohel Yaakov Synagogue, members list, Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo is home to approximately half of Brazil's Jewish population. The Ohel Yaakov Synagogue is one of the two major Sephardic synagogues in the region.
Felipe Aira Pardo, "Jews, Converts in Monforte de Lemos", Monforte de Lemos, 1999.
Pardo Felipe Aira, historian and researcher, conducted a study on the Jewish community and Conversos in Monforte de Lemos in Western Spain. One of the most interesting episodes in the history of the valley de Lemos Monforte and its capital is related to the Jewish community of Conversos. The existence of several Jewish families who settled there in the fifteenth century is known. On the presence of Conversos in the town during the sixteenth century, there is extensive data: the Colonel, Guadalupe, Gaibor, Cespedes, Fonseca, Olibera, De Lucena, Leon, Avila and Pereira families are only some examples. Some of these families played prominent roles in the social and economic life of the city as aldermen, mayors, physicians and merchants.
Maria Jose Pimenta Ferro Tavares. Os judeus em Portugal no seculo XIV (The Jews in Portugal in the 14th century), Lisboa, 1979.
This study includes a name and place index.
Jacob Rubel et. al. (Editorial coordinator), "Sephardic Presence in Argentina" , published by the Sephardic Educational Center , Buenos Aires, 1992.
Book published by the Sephardic Educational Center on the occasion of 500th Anniversary of the Discovery of America.
J. Mendes dos Remedios, "Os Judeus Portugueses em Amsterdam" (The Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam), 1911, Coimbra
A compilation of Judeo-Portuguese texts published in Amsterdam can be found in this book and can now be downloaded. http://www.archive.org/details/osjudeusportugue00mend
R. Saul Jacob Rubin. Third to None. The Saga of Savannah Jewry (1733-1983), Savannah,GA USA, privately printed, 1983.
The first Jews to arrive in Georgia were a group of forty-two men and women who came on the schooner William and Sarah. They landed in Savannah on July 11, 1733, soon after founder James Edward Oglethorpe arrived with Georgia's first settlers. Thirty-four of the Jewish arrivals in 1733 were Sephardim, most of them having fled from Portugal to England before departing for the New World. Among them was the Portuguese doctor Diogo Nunes Ribeiro, who adapted the name Dr. Samuel Nunes, who was later creidted with saving many colonists who were ill with yellow fever.
Mario Javier Saban, "Judios Conversos: Los Antepasados Judios de las Familias Tradicionales Argentinas ",(Jewish Converts: Jewish Ancestors of the Traditional Argentinian Families), I,II-Nuestros Hermanos Mayores, Buenos Aires, 1991/1992.
Portuguese of Jewish descent entered Argentina as early as 1580. Non-Catholics endured religious persecution until about 1813, when the Inquisition was officially abolished. This book traces the immigration of converted Jews from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains over one hundred pages of genealogies.
W.S. Samuel. In Jewish Historical Society of England. Transactions. Sessions 1968-1969, vol. XXII & Miscellanies Part. VII, University College, London, 1970.
This collection includes a list of Jewish Persons endenizened and naturalised in England in the period 1609-1799.
Mario Cohen (editor).1992: El Descubrimiento de la Cultura Sefaradi, in Sefardica (Discovery of Sephardic Culture) n. 9, Buenos Aires, August 1992.
Mario Cohen is Director of the Sephardic Culture Research and Dissemination Center in Buenos Aires.
Ercole Sori. La comunità ebraica ad Ancona: la storia, le tradizioni, l'evoluzione sociale, i personaggi , Ancona, (The Jewish Community in Ancona) 1995.
The history, traditions, social development and characters of Ancona, prepared for the Department of Cultural Assets & Activities of the Ancona Municipality. The Jewish community of Ancona dates back to around 1300. In 1427 the Franciscan frairs tried to force the Jews of Ancona to wear the Jewish badge and to live in a single street, but apparently this attempt was unsuccessful. After the expulsion of the Jews from the Spanish Territories in 1492 refugees began to arrive in Ancona, to be joined later by others from the Kingdom of Naples. As Ancona was about to be declared a free port, Pope Paul III invited merchants from the Levant to settle in Ancona regardless of their religion. Promising protection against the Inquisition he encouraged the settlement of Jews and crypto-Jews. Thus many Jewish merchants took advantage of the harbor facilities and settled in town to trade with the Levant. About one hundred Portuguese crypto-Jewish families settled in Ancona.
Malcolm H. Stern. First American Jewish Families. 600 Genealogies. 1654-1988, Ottenheimer Editors, Inc., 1991.
When it first appeared in 1960, Malcolm Stern's Americans of Jewish Descent marked a milestone in the study of American Jewish genealogy. Researchers now have access to the complete text of Rabbi Stern's monumental volume that was published in 1991 as the updated and revised 3rd edition entitled: First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654-1988.
Renzo Toaff. La Nazione Ebrea a Livorno e a Pisa (1591-1700),(The Jewish Nation in Livorno and Pisa 1591-1700), Leo S. Olschki Editor, Florence, 1990.
The demographic history of Italian Jewry. Includes bibliographical references, with indexes and appendixes in Italian and Portuguese.
Genealogy Tree from the family "Vaz Dias" (18th century onwards), Amsterdam,2000.
When Portuguese conversos fled Portugal to settle in Amsterdam they were finally able to openly return to Judaism. However, they often had relatives and family still trapped in Portugal. These family contacts along with the Amsterdam Jews ability to speak both Portuguese and Dutch were great assets in their international trade ventures but also posed risks. To avoid endangering their relatives and friends in Portugal, the Portuguese Jews used aliases in their transactions with them. In the first half of the 20th century Abraham de Mordechai Vaz Dias went through the notarial records kept at the Amsterdam stadarchief and used these notarial records to identify many of the aliases.
Vittore Colorni. Cognomi Ebraici Italiani a Base Toponomastica Straniera (Italian Jewish Surnames of Foreign Toponymy), Italia Judaica, Rome, 1989.
A study on Jewish Italian family names with foreign toponomastic origins. Lists the etymology of about 130 family names from places in Germany, France, Spain, etc.
Dr. Albert de Vidas (editor). Erensia Sefardi, Fairfield, CT, USA.
This newsletter which is now online reports on a variety of topics related to the Sephardic world.
List of Directors of WIZO - Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 1996-1999.
The growth of the Jewish community of Brazil was very rapid during the period between the two World Wars, and it was at this time that the Brazilian branch of WIZO - the Womens International Zionist Organization - was established in 1926. The branch was formed to enlighten Jewish women in Jewish tradition, to assist in the education of the children by sending them to local Jewish schools, and to support the newly founded International WIZO in its struggle to improve conditions for women and children in Palestine.
Distinguished Jewish bearers of the Leon name and its variants include : Luis de Leon (1528-1591), Spanish Poet Harry Joshua Leon (1896-1967), historian USA Daniel de León (socialist leader; 1852-1914) Moisés de León (spanish kabbalist;1250-1305): Antonio Rodriguez de León Pinelo: Spanish historian (1595-1660)
Around the 12th century, surnames started to become common in Iberia. In Spain, where Arab-Jewish influence was significant, these new names retained their old original structure, so that many of the Jewish surnames were of Hebrew derivation. Others were directly related to geographical locations and were acquired due to the forced wanderings caused by exile and persecution. Other family names were a result of conversion, when the family accepted the name of their Christian sponsor. In many cases, the Portuguese Jews bear surnames of pure Iberian/Christian origin. Many names have been changed in the course of migration from country to country. In yet other cases "aliases", or totally new names, were adopted due to fear of persecution by the Inquisition.
Here are some locations where registries of Sephardic or Christianized Jewish families with this surname have been traced: Amsterdam, Netherlands,Brabant, Netherlands,Monforte de Lemos, Spain,Rousse (Ruse), Bulgaria,Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina,Smyrna, Netherlands,The Hague, Netherlands,Toledo, Spain,Bayonne, France,Bordeaux, France,Cadiz, Spain,Ciudad de Mexixo, Mexico,Rhodes, Greece,Rio de Janeiro, Brasil,Sao Paulo, Brasil,Aleppo, Syria,Alexandria, Egypt,Ancona, Italy,Badajoz, Spain,Belmonte (Castela), Spain,Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cairo, Egypt,Fes, Morocco,Florence, Italy,Hamburg, Germany,Jerusalem, Israel,Lima, Peru,Livorno (Leghorn), Italy,London, England,Mantova, Italy,Parana, Brasil,Pisa, Italy,Saloniki, Greece,Savannah, GA, USA,Spanishtown, Jamaica,Torino, Italy,Tucuman, Argentina,Tunis, Tunisia,Venice, Italy,Venice, Italy,
Some interesting facts about the name this name are : The name Leon existed before 1492.The name Leon appears in the records of the Inquisition in Mexico and Lima
Some common variations of Leon are de Leon, Leao, Leone, Lyon, Lion, Lione, León,
The following websites are relevant to the surname Leonhttp://sefardies.es/ver_biografias.php?id_biografia=5516,http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_De_Leon,The following websites are relevant to the surname Leonhttp://www.cryptojews.com/LetterFromBrazil.html,
There are many indicators that the name León may be of Jewish origin, emanating from the Jewish communities of Spain and Portugal.
When the Romans conquered the Jewish nation in 70 CE, much of the Jewish population was sent into exile throughout the Roman Empire. Many were sent to the Iberian Peninsula. The approximately 750,000 Jews living in Spain in the year 1492 were banished from the country by royal decree of Ferdinand and Isabella. The Jews of Portugal, were banished several years later. Reprieve from the banishment decrees was promised to those Jews who converted to Catholicism. Though some converted by choice, most of these New-Christian converts were called CONVERSOS or MARRANOS (a derogatory term for converts meaning pigs in Spanish), ANUSIM (meaning "coerced ones" in Hebrew) and CRYPTO-JEWS, as they secretly continued to practice the tenets of the Jewish faith.
Our research has found that the family name León is cited with respect to Jews & Crypto-Jews in at least 74 bibliographical, documentary, or electronic references:
Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy, by Dan Rottenberg
In this work Dan Rottenberg shows how to do a successful search for probing the memories of living relatives, by examining marriage licenses, gravestones, ship passenger lists, naturalization records, birth and death certificates, and other public documents, and by looking for clues in family traditions and customs. Supplementing the "how to" instructions is a guide to some 8,000 Jewish family names, giving the origins of the names, sources of information about each family, and the names of related families whose histories have been recorded. Other features included a country-by-country guide to tracing Jewish ancestors abroad, a list of Jewish family history books, and a guide to researching genealogy.
Abraham Abulafia - List of surnames of Jews who lived in Toledo (Spain) prior to the expulsion edict.
List of surnames of Jews from Toledo (Spain)
Dicionario Sefaradi De Sobrenomes (Dictionary of Sephardic Surnames), G. Faiguenboim, P. Valadares, A.R. Campagnano, Rio de Janeiro, 2004
A bilingual (Portugese/English)reference book of Sephardic surnames. Includes New Christians, Conversos, Crypto-Jews (Marranos), Italians, Berbers and their history in Spain, Portugal and Italy. Contains over 16,000 surnames presented under 12000 entries, with hundreds of rare photographs, family shields and illustrations.It also contains a 72-page summary of Sephardic history, before and after the expulsion from Spain and Portugal, as well as a 40-page linguistic essay about Sephardic names, including an interesting list of the 250 most frequent Sephardic surnames. The period covered by the dictionary is of 600 years, from the 14th to the 20th century, and the area covered includes Spain and Portugal, France, Italy, Holland, England, Germany, Balkans, Central and Eastern Europe, the former Ottoman Empire, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, North America, Central America and the Caribbean, South America and more.
From the publication, "Los Sefardíes" (The Sephardim),by Jose M. Estrugo. Published by Editorial Lex La Habana, 1958.(Surnames common among the Sephardim)
When the Romans conquered the Jewish nation in 70 CE, much of the Jewish population was sent into exile throughout the Roman Empire. Many were sent to the Iberian peninsula. The area became known by the Hebrew word "Sepharad". The JEWS in SPAIN and PORTUGAL became known as "Sephardim" or and those things associated with the SEPHARDIM including names, customs, genealogy and religious rituals, became known as SEPHARDIC.
From the records of Bevis Marks, The Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of London
Bevis Marks is the Sephardic synagogue in London. It is over 300 years old and is the oldest still in use in Britain.The Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation of London has published several volumes of its records: they can be found in libraries such as the Cambridge University Library or the London Metropolitan Archive
History of the Sephardic Israelite Community in Chile by Moshe Nes-El. Editorial Nascimiento, Chile, 1984.
Most Jews arrived in Chile between 1934–1946, half being from Eastern Europe, 40 percent from Germany, and 10 percent were Sephardic Jews. Many Chilean Jews fled Chile in 1970 after the election of socialist Salvador Allende Gossens as president.
Jewish names contained in Medieval documents from the Kingdom of Murcia.
Most of these names, if not all, appear to be original Sephardic names not changed by conversion.
List of (mostly) Sephardic brides from the publication, "List of 7300 Names of Jewish Brides and Grooms who married in Izmir Between the Years 1883-1901 & 1918-1933". By Dov Cohen.
Dov Cohen has created an index of brides and grooms based on the organization of Ketubot (Jewish wedding contracts) from marriages within the Turkish community of Izmir. From this material we can identify the Jewish families who lived in Turkey since the Spanish expulsion in 1492 in two periods: the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of the secular government of Turkish Republic. Events of these periods forced this community to emigrate to America.
List of (mostly) Sephardic grooms from the publication, "List of 7300 Names of Jewish Brides and Grooms who married in Izmir Between the Years 1883-1901 & 1918-1933". By Dov Cohen.
Dov Cohen has created an index of brides and grooms based on the organization of Ketubot (Jewish wedding contracts) from marriages within the Turkish community of Izmir. From this material we can identify the Jewish families who lived in Turkey since the Spanish expulsion in 1492 in two periods: the end of the Ottoman Empire and the beginning of the secular government of Turkish Republic. Events of these periods forced this community to emigrate to America.
Sangre Judia (Jewish Blood) by Pere Bonnin. Flor de Viento, Barcelona, 2006. A list of 3,500 names used by Jews, or assigned to Jews by the Holy Office (la Santo Oficio) of Spain. The list is a result of a census of Jewish communities of Spain by the Catholic Church and as found in Inquisition records.
Pere Bonnin, a philosopher, journalist and writer from Sa Pobla (Mallorca), a descendant of converted Jews, settles with this work a debt "owed to his ancestors", in his own words. The book, written in a personal and accessible style and based on numerous sources, includes a review of basic Jewish concepts, Jewish history in Spain, and Christian Anti-Semitism. There is also a section that focuses on the reconciliation between the Church and Monarchy and the Jews, which took place in the 20th Century. In this study, Bonnin deals in depth with the issue of surnames of Jewish origin. In the prologue, the author explains the rules he followed in the phonetic transcription of surnames of Hebrew origin that are mentioned in the book. The researcher cites the Jewish origin, sometimes recognized and other times controversial, of historically prominent figures (like Cristobal Colon, Hernan Cortes, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra and many others) and links between surnames of Jewish origin with some concepts in Judaism.. The book also includes an appendix with more than three thousands surnames "suspected" of being Jewish, because they appear in censuses of the Jewish communities and on the Inquisitorial lists of suspected practitioners of Judaism, as well as in other sources. In the chapter "Una historia de desencuentro", the author elaborates on surnames of Jewish origin of the royalty, nobility, artistocracy, clergy, and also of writers, educators and university teachers during the Inquisition. Special attention is given to the "Chuetas" of Mallorca, the birthplace of the author.
Secrecy and Deceit: The Religion of the Crypto-Jews, by David Gitlitz
Despite the increased attention given to Hispano-Jewish topics, and the "conversos" or Crypto-Jews in particular, this is the first thorough compilation of their customs and practices. The author has culled from Inquisition documents and other sources to paint a portrait of the richness and diversity of Crypto-Jewish practices in Spain, Portugal, and the New World. The history of Spanish Jews, or Sephardim, stretches back to biblical times. The Jews of Spain and Portugal made formative contributions to all Hispanic cultures, the impact of which is first being measured and recognized today. The Sephardim experienced a Golden Age in Iberia between 900-1100, during which they acted as the intermediaries between the rival political and cultural worlds of Islam and Christianity. This Golden Age ended with the Reconquest of Spain by Catholic overlords, though for another 300 years the Jews continued to contribute to Iberian life. In 1391 and again in 1492, intense and violent social pressures were put upon the Jews to join the larger Christian community. Many Jews converted, often unwillingly. In 1492 the remaining Jews were exiled from Spain. The converted Jews (Conversos) became an underclass in Spanish society. Many of them clung tenaciously to Jewish practices in the face of torture and death at the hands of the Inquisition. Having lost contact with other Jews, these people developed a religion which was an admixture of Catholic and Jewish rituals. David Gitlitz examines these practices in detail and attempts to answer the question of whether the Conversos were in fact Jewish. Gitlitz's research is exhaustive. He has combed through thousands of Inquistion records, showing that a sense of "Jewishness" if not Jewish practice remained a core value of many Spaniards' lives well into the 1700s. Gitlitz is convincing in showing that the Inquisition unwittingly aided crypto-Jews in perpetuating themselves by publishing Edicts of Faith. Essentially checklists for informers, they described the behavior of "Judaizers" (sometimes the practices listed were absurd or simply erroneous). These, ironically, were used by Judaizers as guides to religious behavior. It is revealing that as the Inquisition faded, crypto-Judaism waned, though never totally vanished. Gitlitz's knowledge and research on the subject is encyclopedic. The book is written in a "textbook" style which makes it somewhat technical and dry, though it is enlivened by excerpts from Inquisition records, which Gitlitz has apparently chosen for their interest, irony, unintended comedy, or spiritedness. It is difficult to imagine that human beings would face the tortures of the rack for not eating pork. That these same tortured people could summon the will to laugh at their executioners is something wondrous. The book includes the names of the Sephardim (and sometimes their residences too).
Sephardic names from the site TARAZONA JUDIA.
The site is presented as a memorial to the Jews of TARAZONA
The Circumcision Register of Isaac and Abraham De Paiba (1715-1775) from the Archives of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews Congregation of Bevis Marks (London England).
The circumcision register of Isaac and Abraham de Paiba (1715-1775): from the manuscript record preserved in the Archives of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews' Congregation of London named "Sahar Asamaim" transcribed, translated and edited by the late R.D. Barnett, with the assistance of Alan Rose, I.D. Duque and others; There is also a supplement with a record of circumcisions 1679-1699, marriages 1679-1689 and some female births 1679-1699, compiled by Miriam Rodrigues-Pereira. The register includes surnames of those circumsized as well as the names of their Godfathers & Godmothers.
The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World, by Seymour B. Liebman
Except for a brief introduction, the entire book is a listing of Inquisition Records in the New World. This is a source for converso names in the New World.
The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World, by Seymour B. Liebman. Reports the names of people who appeared before the inquisition in El Peru.
Except for a brief introduction, the entire book is a listing of Inquisition Records in the New World. This is a source for converso names in the New World.
The Jews of the Balkans, The Judeo-Spanish Community , 15th to 20th Centuries, by Esther Benbassa and Aron Rodrigue
This volume is a history of the Sephardi diaspora in the Balkans. The two principal axes of the study are the formation and features of the Judeo-Spanish culture area in South-Eastern Europe and around the Aegean littoral, and the disintegration of this community in the modern period. The great majority of the Jews expelled from Spain in 1492 eventually went to the Ottoman Empire. With their command of Western trades and skills, they represented a new economic force in the Levant. In the Ottoman Balkans, the Jews came to reconstitute the bases of their existence in the semi-autonomous spheres allowed to them by their new rulers. This segment of the Jewish diaspora came to form a certain unity, based on a commonality of the Judeo-Spanish language, culture and communal life. The changing geopolitics of the Balkans and the growth of European influence in the 19th century inaugurated a period of westernization. European influence manifested itself in the realm of education, especially in the French education, dispensed in the schools of the Alliance Israelite Universelle with its headquarters in Paris. Other European cultures and languages came to the scene through similar means. Cultural movements such as the Jewish Enlightenment (haskalah) also came to exert a distinct influence, hence building bridges between the Ashkenazi and Sephardi worlds
The Sephardim of England, by Albert M. Hyamson
A history of the Spanish & Portugese Jewish Community, 1492-1951.
Sephardic names from the magazine "ETSI". Most of the names are from (but not limited to) France and North Africa. Published by Laurence Abensur-Hazan and Philip Abensur.
ETSI (a Paris-based, bilingual French-English periodical) is devoted exclusively to Sephardic genealogy and is published by the Sephardi Genealogical and Historical Society (SGHS). It was founded by Dr. Philip Abensur, and his professional genealogist wife, Laurence Abensur-Hazan. ETSI's worldwide base of authors publish articles identifying a broad spectrum of archival material of importance to the Sephardic genealogist. A useful feature of ETSI is the listing, on the back cover, of all Sephardic family names, and places of origin, cited in the articles contained in each issue
The Abarbanel Foundation Website, "Reintegrating the Lost Jews of Spain & Portugal"
List of names of forcibly converted Jews who were tried by the Spanish Inquisition for practicing Judaism in Mexico in the years 1528 - 1815
Surnames of Spanish-Portuguese Jews of Ecuador from The Jewish Sephardic Community "Bet Aharon"
In 1999, the first Spanish-Portugese Sephardic organization named "Agudath Sfarad of Loja", was established in Ecuador, by the initiative of Eng. Gerardo Ramirez Celi. The Sephardic Jewish community Bet Aharon arose in 2001 from this organization. The community's website provides a partial list of Sephardic surnames of Ecuador.
Instituto Dominicano de Genealogía,"Jewish Families of Santo Domingo",August 2007.
A genealogical profile prepared by Antonio José Ignacio Guerra Sanchez – entitled "Jewish Families of Santo Domingo" .
Ruth Reyes, "Sephardic Family Names from Puerto Rico", The Casa Shalom Journal, Volume 10, Published by The Institute for Marrano-Anusim Studies, Gan Yavneh, Israel 2008
This list is compiled from a catalogue the author found on a visit to Puerto Rico in the Museum of San Juan.
Laurence Abensur-Hazan. La Boz del Pueblo,(The People's Voice) from "CGJ: Cercle de Genealogie Juive", the Jewish Genealogical Society in France, Publication No. 49,t.13, Paris, 1997.
Genealogical data records on Jews from Izmir from "La Boz del Puevlo", by Laurence Abensur-Hazan. The author is a founder and president of Etsi ("my tree" in Hebrew), the Sephardi Historical and Genealogical Society based in Paris. A graduate notary and lawyer, she is currently a professional genealogist in Paris. She works on the French naturalization of Jews from the Ottoman Empire and on the Alliance Israelite Universelle Archives.
Laurence Abensur-Hazan. Genealogical Review & Sephardic History, Paris, 1997.
The author is a founder and current President of Etsi ("my tree" in Hebrew), the Sephardi Historical and Genealogical Society based in Paris. A graduate notary and lawyer, she is currently a professional genealogist in Paris. She works on the French naturalization of Jews from the Ottoman Empire and on the Alliance Israelite Universelle Archives.
Bernard Allali. La saga des noms des familles juives tunisiennes(The saga of the names of Tunisian Jewish families) en "Le Voyage Loisirs", France, 1977
The story of Jewish surnames in Tunisia.
David F. Altabe. The Portuguese Jews of Salonica, in "Studies on the History of Portuguese Jews", New York, pp. 119-124, 2000.
This article lists the Portuguese synagogue members in Thessaloniki. The work is based on an article published in the Haggadah of Baruch Schiby in 1970 and was compiled from the four Portuguese synagogues.
Avram Pinto. The Jews of Serbia and Bosnia Herzegovina, Rome, 1996
The first Jews did not immigrate to Bosnia until the Spanish Inquisition and expulsion in 1492. When the area was taken over by the Austrian-Hungary empire in 1878 these Sephardic Jews were joined by many Ashkenazi Jews. In this book, the author presents a colorful history of the different Jewish communities.
Robert Attal and Joseph Avivi. "Registres Matrimoniaux de la Comminaute Juive Portugaise de Tunis. XVIII-XIX Siecles" (Matrimonial records of the Tunisian Portuguese Jewsih Community 18th-19th Centuries), Oriens Judaicus, Ben Zvi Institute, Israel 1989
Listing of marriages that occurred in the Portuguese Jewish Community of Tunis which kept itself separate from the local Tunisian Jews and kept careful records. French and Hebrew editions are available.
Marcelo Benveniste. "Origen: La Isla de Rodas" (Origin: The Island of Rhodes), in Boletin No.3, Sociedad Argentina de Genealogia Judia, Buenos Aires, apr 1997.
Marcelo Benveniste, List of Holocaust Victims (online)
List of names based on the book "The Jewish Martyrs of Rhodes and Cos" by Hizkia Franco (Rhodes, 1947) and in "History of the Jews of Rhodes, Chios and Cos" (Istanbul, 1948) by Abraham Galante. Revised and corrected by David Galante and Rita Eskenazi de Levitus.
Matilde Gini de Barnatan. Picciotto, originals, Sao Paulo, 1996.
Genealogy of the descendants of Daniel Pichoto (b.1605), a family originating from Livorno and based in Alepo. It is a branch that became a consular dynasty, representing European powers in the East.
Synagogue Beth Yaacov Sao Paulo, list of members, Sao Paulo, 1996.
There are about 96,500 Jews in Brazil today. The current Jewish community is mostly composed of Ashkenazi Jews of Polish and German descent and also Sephardic Jews of Spanish, Portuguese, and North African descent. Brazilian Jews play an active role in politics, sports, academia, trade and industry, and are overall well integrated in all spheres of Brazilian life. The majority of Brazilian Jews live in the State of São Paulo although there are sizeable communities elsewhere. Jews lead an open religious life in Brazil and there are schools, associations and synagogues where Brazilian Jews can practice and pass on Jewish culture and traditions. The Beit Yaakov synagogue, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is an imposing temple, built in the 90s, a gift of the brothers Joseph and Moise Safra to the Jewish community of Sao Paulo. Also known as the Safra Synagogue, it is the largest synagogue in the city of São Paulo.
Paul Armony. "Apellidos sefardies mas frecuentes obtenidos de los cementerios Avellaneda - Lomas de Zamora - Ciudadela (Acis y Asia) - Tablada Sefaradi y Bancalari" (Common sephardic names as taken from the Avellaneda Cemetery). SEFARAires Nº9 / 2003 página 7.
Paul Armony, President of the Jewish Genealogy Association in Argentina, collected and organized 19,060 records from six Jewish Sephardic cemeteries in Argentina. Of the 3682 surnames of deceased found there, 58% were found to have the same 334 surnames.
List of the Interior Ministry -Sepharadic Community of Chile, Chile, 1999.
Several of the very first explorers to Chile were accompanied by Conversos. Legend maintains that the very first explorer in 1535, Diego de Almagro, came with a Converso by the name of Rodrigo de Orgonos. Five years later, Pedro de Valdivia, another conquistador, came with Diego Garcia de Caceres of Plasencia, Spain, who is also believed to have been a Converso. Scandals erupted in 1621 after the genealogy of Caceres was traced to include many prominent families in Santiago, including the founder of the Chilean independence movement, General José Miguel Carrera. Caceres' family roots were published in a pamphlet entitled La Ovandina, but the arrival of the Inquisition at that time forbade the circulation of the pamphlet, which was reprinted in 1915. The court of the Inquisition established in Lima in 1570 also had authority over what is now Chile, and the first auto-de-fé was held shortly afterward. Nevertheless, the Crypto-Jewish settlement in this relatively remote outpost of the Spanish Empire continued to grow. The persecution of Conversos ceased when the country gained formal independence from Spain in 1818. Jews have achieved prominent positions in the Chilean government and other realms of influence, and have played a key part in the founding of the country, both before and after its independence in 1818
Rio de Janeiro's Chevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society) lists, Rio de Janeiro, august 1998.
Dov Cohen. "Fuentes para la Genealogia de los Judios de Izmir (Esmirna)(Sources for the Genealogy of the Jews of Izmir (Smyrna)" Boletin n° 2 p. 18-9 Sociedad Argentina de Genealogia Judaica, Buenos Aires, dec 1996.
Joseph Covo. The Jewish community and family names of Sephardic Jews in Ruschuk (Rousse), Bulgaria, in Etsi n° 15, vol. 4, pp. 10-13, Paris, 2001.
Joseph Covo, is a native of Sofia, Bulgaria. He holds a B.A. in political science and journalism and an M.A. in international law from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He immigrated to Palestine in 1944 after spending two years in a forced labor camp during World War II. After the establishment of the State of Israel and service in the Israel Defense Forces, he was sent by the Jewish Agency to South America to promote the Aliya of young Jews. He devoted his career to the advancement of Israeli technological training systems in Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. After retiring he studied Ladino literature at Bar Ilan University. His book on the history of the Jews of Bulgaria was published in 2002. In the newly-liberated Bulgaria of the late 19th century, Ruse was a cosmopolitan city with a multi-ethnic population. According to the first census conducted in 1883, Ruse was populated by 26,156 people,of which 1943 were Sephardic Jews.
Babani and Weinfeld. Portugal Jewish Encyclopedia, Castellana, Mexico, 1948.
A Jewish Encyclopedia in 10 volumes: the Jewish people in the past and present - their history, their religion, their customs, their literature, their art, their leaders, and more.
Nissim Elnecave. Los Hijos de Ibero-Franconia. Breviario del Mundo Sefaradí desde los Orígenes hasta nuestros días(The Children of Iberia-Spain: World Sephardic Breviary from the beginning to today), Editorial "La Luz", Buenos Aires, 1981.
In this work on Sephardic history, the author argues his main thesis: Sephardic is a cultural concept, and therefore should not be restricted to descendants of Portuguese and Spanish Jews, but should also extend to France, Italy and the Arab world.
Esther Fintz Menasce. Gli Ebrei a Rodi (The Jews in Rhodes), Edizioni. Angelo Guerini e Associati, Milano, 1992.
This book is more than a history of what was the Jewish community of Rhodes - it is a vibrant chronicle of how the Jews have survived and how they have been perceived by travelers from other lands, and recounts their intimate relationships, their language, their folklore and their religious festivities. The text is enriched with 254 pages of documents in several languages dealing with governmental, communal, commercial and personal communications, photographs, maps (some dating back to the 15th century),musical notations, newspaper excerpts and much more. All this research is presented in a style that charms the reader.
Claudio Missistrano. El Tiempo, 1890-1891 et 1894-1897 published in ETSI n. 14, Paris, 2001.
Announcements of invitations for weddings and engagements published in the newspaper "El Tiempo" in 1890-1891 and 1894-1897.
List of surnames of Jews residing in Toledo prior to expulsion edict.
From Nahman Family Research.
M. Franco. Essai Sur L 'Histoire des Israelitas de L'Empire Ottoman (Essay on the Jews of the Ottoman Empire: From the beginning until today),Durlacher, Paris,1897.
This is a classic work about the Jews of Turkey. Many Jewish names are mentioned.
Vibeke Sealtiel Olsen. List of poor Jews who were removed from Amsterdam and received financial assistance to go live in other countries (1757- 1813), Website, Amsterdam, 1999.
This list organized by Olsen relates the names of Jews who received assistance from the Dutch community to emigrate to other countries. The list covers the period 1759-1813 with all the names of the poor Sephardic Jews who were granted Tzedaka(charity) - an amount in Dutch florins- against the promise to leave Amsterdam and not to return within the next 15 years. Despite the image of wealth in this community, this was not the reality. The author Crespo Fabiao, describes the local social pyramid: "On one occasion, during a wedding celebration in the community, the combined wealth of 40 of the guests exceeded 40 million guilders ... By the late eighteenth century, more than half of 2,800 members of the Sephardic-Jewish from the main Synagogue of Amsterdam received financial assistance, and around 17,500 of the Ashkenazim Jews (from a total of 20,304) of that city, were classified as homeless."
Genaro Garcia. La lnquisicion de Mexico. Autos de Fe. Tumultos y Rebeliones en Mexico (The Inquisition in Mexico: Autos de Fe,Riots & Rebellions), Mexico, 1982.
The Mexican Inquisition was an extension of the Spanish Inquisition into the New World. Almost all of events associated with the official establishment of the Holy Office of the Inquisition occurred in Mexico City, where the Holy Office had its own headquarters. The official period of the Inquisition lasted from 1571 to 1820. A group that suffered during this time were the so-called “crypto-Jews” of Portuguese descent. Many converted Portuguese Jews came to New Spain looking for commercial opportunities. In 1642, 150 of these individuals were arrested within three or four days, and the Inquisition began a series of trials. These people were accused of being ‘judaisers,’ meaning they still held Judaic beliefs. Many of these were merchants involved in New Spain’s principal activities. On 11 April 1649, the viceregal state staged the largest ever auto da fe in New Spain, in which twelve of the accused were burned after being strangulated and one person was burned alive. Most of the remainder were ‘reconciled’ and deported to Spain
Matilde Gini de Barnatan. Patronymes. Sovre Siertes Alkunyas Sefaradis / Los Judios en Murcia / Los San Roman de Zamora: del siglo XV hasta nuestros dias, Madrid.
Liz Hamui de Halabe and Fredy Charabati(co-editors), Los Judios de Alepo en Mexico,(The Jews from Alepo in Mexico), Mexico,1989.
History and genealogy of the Jews from Aleppo, Syria who emigrated to Mexico; with index, bibliography and maps.
Albert Montefiore Hyamson. The Sefaradim of England, Methuen, 1951.
This is a history of the Spanish and Portuguese Jewish community in the years 1492-1951 by Albert Montefiore Hyamson (1875-1954),a British zionist and historian who served as chief immigration officer in the British Mandate of Palestine from 1921 to 1934. He argued that Christians should assist the Jews in creating and protecting the new state to atone for their persecution of the Jews in the past.
Jean Pierre Filippini. Il Porto di Livorno e La Toscana (1676-1814)(The Port of Livorno and Tuscany 1676-1814), Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane, Napoli, 1998.
Contains the census of Jews in Livorno in 1809.
List of Members and Rabbis of the Congregation "Kahal Kadosh Neveh Shalom", founded in 1704, Website, Jamaica.
Neveh Shalom - Dwelling Place of Peace - was one of the first synagogues built in Spanish Town, Jamaica during the 17th century. The Neveh Shalom Institute is chartered to promote projects to preserve the history, culture, and artifacts of the Jewish existence in, and contribution to Jamaica, from the 17th century.
Ketuboth van de Portugees-Israelietische Gemeente te Amsterdam van 1650-1911 (Index of Ketuboth of the Portuguese Jewish Congregation in Amsterdam from 1650 and 1911). D. Verdooner and H.J.W.Snel.
The Portuguese Jewish Community in Amsterdam was formed by Marranos who returned to Judaism after they had been converted to Catholicism in 1492 (Spain) and 1497 (Portugal). Families who lived in Toledo before 1492 reappear in Amsterdam in the 17th century, showing that for five generations (120 years) they succeeded in maintaining some form of Judaism behind the Catholic image. In the Amsterdam Municipality between 1598 and 1811 about 15,000 marriage certificates of Jews were registered. This Index mainly pertains to the richer and influential Sephardic community of Amsterdam. The great merchants, ship owners, rabbis and philosophers (Spinoza, Menasse ben Israel, Isaac Aboab da Fonseca) all appear on it. There are also families from other Sephardic communities from Livorno and Tunis. Many times weddings represented the creation and maintenance of commercial alliances.
Plaque honoring the victims of the Holocaust who belong to the Synagogue "Kahal Shalom", Rhodes
In July 1944 the Nazis rounded up the more than 1600 Jews of Rhodes and sent them off to Auschwitz. Only 120 men and 30 women survived the ordeal.
Laurence Abensur-Hazan. "La fievre dengue a Smyrne en 1889" (Dengue fever in Smyrna in 1889), published in ETSI No.7, Paris, Dec 1999
In the Winter issue of ETSI (Sephardi Genealogical and Historical Review) there is an article concerning Smyrna - "Dengue Fever in Smyrna in 1889". A French benefactor, Baron de Hirsch, helped the Jewish community of Smyrna. The directors of the Alliance Israelite Universelle schools established lists of persons receiving help, with comments about their families. The most interesting sections of these lists are reproduced in the article.
Abraham Monk and Jose Isaacson (editors). Jewish Communities of Latin America, Buenos Aires, 1968.
Gary Mokotoff. Avotaynu.
Gary Mokotoff is a noted author, lecturer and leader of Jewish genealogy. He has been recognized by three major genealogical groups for his achievements. Avotaynu, The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, was founded in 1985 as a 20-page semiannual; it has grown to 68-page quarterly that is one of the most respected magazines in genealogy. The Avotaynu Consolidated Jewish Surname Index (CJSI) enables search by surname on 42 different databases.
Michael Molho. Surnames of the Sephardic Jews in Salonika, Madrid, 1950.
This work focuses on the rich cultural traditions and heritage of the largest Sephardic Jewish Community in the Balkans and provides names of the Sephardic Jews from the Salonica community.
Ordem Circular n° 2217, 11-02-1949, concedendo nacionalidade espanhola a judeus da Grecia e do Egito(Circular Order No.2217,dated 11.2.1949, granting Spanish nationality to Jews of Greece and Egypt), Madrid
In 1949, Franco issued a decree granting Spanish citizenship to the descendants of those Jews expelled in 1492 and who appeared in Spain's population census or consular or diplomatic records, who were living in Greece and Egypt. This decree benefited only a few hundred Jews.
Ohel Yaakov Synagogue, members list, Sao Paulo.
Sao Paulo is home to approximately half of Brazil's Jewish population. The Ohel Yaakov Synagogue is one of the two major Sephardic synagogues in the region.
Felipe Aira Pardo, "Jews, Converts in Monforte de Lemos", Monforte de Lemos, 1999.
Pardo Felipe Aira, historian and researcher, conducted a study on the Jewish community and Conversos in Monforte de Lemos in Western Spain. One of the most interesting episodes in the history of the valley de Lemos Monforte and its capital is related to the Jewish community of Conversos. The existence of several Jewish families who settled there in the fifteenth century is known. On the presence of Conversos in the town during the sixteenth century, there is extensive data: the Colonel, Guadalupe, Gaibor, Cespedes, Fonseca, Olibera, De Lucena, Leon, Avila and Pereira families are only some examples. Some of these families played prominent roles in the social and economic life of the city as aldermen, mayors, physicians and merchants.
Maria Jose Pimenta Ferro Tavares. Os judeus em Portugal no seculo XIV (The Jews in Portugal in the 14th century), Lisboa, 1979.
This study includes a name and place index.
Jacob Rubel et. al. (Editorial coordinator), "Sephardic Presence in Argentina" , published by the Sephardic Educational Center , Buenos Aires, 1992.
Book published by the Sephardic Educational Center on the occasion of 500th Anniversary of the Discovery of America.
J. Mendes dos Remedios, "Os Judeus Portugueses em Amsterdam" (The Portuguese Jews in Amsterdam), 1911, Coimbra
A compilation of Judeo-Portuguese texts published in Amsterdam can be found in this book and can now be downloaded. http://www.archive.org/details/osjudeusportugue00mend
R. Saul Jacob Rubin. Third to None. The Saga of Savannah Jewry (1733-1983), Savannah,GA USA, privately printed, 1983.
The first Jews to arrive in Georgia were a group of forty-two men and women who came on the schooner William and Sarah. They landed in Savannah on July 11, 1733, soon after founder James Edward Oglethorpe arrived with Georgia's first settlers. Thirty-four of the Jewish arrivals in 1733 were Sephardim, most of them having fled from Portugal to England before departing for the New World. Among them was the Portuguese doctor Diogo Nunes Ribeiro, who adapted the name Dr. Samuel Nunes, who was later creidted with saving many colonists who were ill with yellow fever.
Mario Javier Saban, "Judios Conversos: Los Antepasados Judios de las Familias Tradicionales Argentinas ",(Jewish Converts: Jewish Ancestors of the Traditional Argentinian Families), I,II-Nuestros Hermanos Mayores, Buenos Aires, 1991/1992.
Portuguese of Jewish descent entered Argentina as early as 1580. Non-Catholics endured religious persecution until about 1813, when the Inquisition was officially abolished. This book traces the immigration of converted Jews from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains over one hundred pages of genealogies.
W.S. Samuel. In Jewish Historical Society of England. Transactions. Sessions 1968-1969, vol. XXII & Miscellanies Part. VII, University College, London, 1970.
This collection includes a list of Jewish Persons endenizened and naturalised in England in the period 1609-1799.
Mario Cohen (editor).1992: El Descubrimiento de la Cultura Sefaradi, in Sefardica (Discovery of Sephardic Culture) n. 9, Buenos Aires, August 1992.
Mario Cohen is Director of the Sephardic Culture Research and Dissemination Center in Buenos Aires.
Ercole Sori. La comunità ebraica ad Ancona: la storia, le tradizioni, l'evoluzione sociale, i personaggi , Ancona, (The Jewish Community in Ancona) 1995.
The history, traditions, social development and characters of Ancona, prepared for the Department of Cultural Assets & Activities of the Ancona Municipality. The Jewish community of Ancona dates back to around 1300. In 1427 the Franciscan frairs tried to force the Jews of Ancona to wear the Jewish badge and to live in a single street, but apparently this attempt was unsuccessful. After the expulsion of the Jews from the Spanish Territories in 1492 refugees began to arrive in Ancona, to be joined later by others from the Kingdom of Naples. As Ancona was about to be declared a free port, Pope Paul III invited merchants from the Levant to settle in Ancona regardless of their religion. Promising protection against the Inquisition he encouraged the settlement of Jews and crypto-Jews. Thus many Jewish merchants took advantage of the harbor facilities and settled in town to trade with the Levant. About one hundred Portuguese crypto-Jewish families settled in Ancona.
Malcolm H. Stern. First American Jewish Families. 600 Genealogies. 1654-1988, Ottenheimer Editors, Inc., 1991.
When it first appeared in 1960, Malcolm Stern's Americans of Jewish Descent marked a milestone in the study of American Jewish genealogy. Researchers now have access to the complete text of Rabbi Stern's monumental volume that was published in 1991 as the updated and revised 3rd edition entitled: First American Jewish Families: 600 Genealogies, 1654-1988.
Renzo Toaff. La Nazione Ebrea a Livorno e a Pisa (1591-1700),(The Jewish Nation in Livorno and Pisa 1591-1700), Leo S. Olschki Editor, Florence, 1990.
The demographic history of Italian Jewry. Includes bibliographical references, with indexes and appendixes in Italian and Portuguese.
Genealogy Tree from the family "Vaz Dias" (18th century onwards), Amsterdam,2000.
When Portuguese conversos fled Portugal to settle in Amsterdam they were finally able to openly return to Judaism. However, they often had relatives and family still trapped in Portugal. These family contacts along with the Amsterdam Jews ability to speak both Portuguese and Dutch were great assets in their international trade ventures but also posed risks. To avoid endangering their relatives and friends in Portugal, the Portuguese Jews used aliases in their transactions with them. In the first half of the 20th century Abraham de Mordechai Vaz Dias went through the notarial records kept at the Amsterdam stadarchief and used these notarial records to identify many of the aliases.
Vittore Colorni. Cognomi Ebraici Italiani a Base Toponomastica Straniera (Italian Jewish Surnames of Foreign Toponymy), Italia Judaica, Rome, 1989.
A study on Jewish Italian family names with foreign toponomastic origins. Lists the etymology of about 130 family names from places in Germany, France, Spain, etc.
Dr. Albert de Vidas (editor). Erensia Sefardi, Fairfield, CT, USA.
This newsletter which is now online reports on a variety of topics related to the Sephardic world.
List of Directors of WIZO - Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo 1996-1999.
The growth of the Jewish community of Brazil was very rapid during the period between the two World Wars, and it was at this time that the Brazilian branch of WIZO - the Womens International Zionist Organization - was established in 1926. The branch was formed to enlighten Jewish women in Jewish tradition, to assist in the education of the children by sending them to local Jewish schools, and to support the newly founded International WIZO in its struggle to improve conditions for women and children in Palestine.
The Abarbanel Foundation Website, "Reintegrating the Lost Jews of Spain & Portugal"
List of names of forcibly converted Jews who were tried by the Spanish Inquisition for practicing Judaism in Mexico in the years 1528 - 1815
Distinguished Jewish bearers of the León name and its variants include : Luis de Leon (1528-1591), Spanish Poet Harry Joshua Leon (1896-1967), historian USA
Around the 12th century, surnames started to become common in Iberia. In Spain, where Arab-Jewish influence was significant, these new names retained their old original structure, so that many of the Jewish surnames were of Hebrew derivation. Others were directly related to geographical locations and were acquired due to the forced wanderings caused by exile and persecution. Other family names were a result of conversion, when the family accepted the name of their Christian sponsor. In many cases, the Portuguese Jews bear surnames of pure Iberian/Christian origin. Many names have been changed in the course of migration from country to country. In yet other cases "aliases", or totally new names, were adopted due to fear of persecution by the Inquisition.
Here are some locations where registries of Sephardic or Christianized Jewish families with this surname have been traced: Amsterdam, Netherlands,Brabant, Netherlands,Monforte de Lemos, Spain,Rousse (Ruse), Bulgaria,Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina,Smyrna, Netherlands,The Hague, Netherlands,Toledo, Spain,Bayonne, France,Bordeaux, France,Cadiz, Spain,Ciudad de Mexixo, Mexico,Rhodes, Greece,Rio de Janeiro, Brasil,Sao Paulo, Brasil,Aleppo, Syria,Alexandria, Egypt,Ancona, Italy,Badajoz, Spain,Belmonte (Castela), Spain,Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cairo, Egypt,Fes, Morocco,Florence, Italy,Hamburg, Germany,Jerusalem, Israel,Lima, Peru,Livorno (Leghorn), Italy,London, England,Mantova, Italy,Parana, Brasil,Pisa, Italy,Saloniki, Greece,Savannah, GA, USA,Spanishtown, Jamaica,Torino, Italy,Tucuman, Argentina,Tunis, Tunisia,Venice, Italy,
Some interesting facts about the name this name are :The name Leon existed before 1492.The name Leon appears in the records of the Inquisition in Mexico and Lima
A common variation of León is Leon.
