NAMES ANALYSIS REPORT
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The English meaning of Rodriguez is Son of Rodrigo. In Spanish, the use of the suffix "ez" which means "the son of", is very common. .
The surname Rodriguez is aPatronymic 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 Rodriguez 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 Rodriguez is cited with respect to Jews & Crypto-Jews in at least 82 bibliographical, documentary, or electronic references:
ETSI, Volume 4, No.12 dated March 2001, "Aliases in Amsterdam", by Viberke Sealtiel-Olsen, a list of alias names used by Sephardim in Amsterdam. Alias Name=True Sephardic Name
When the Conversos fled Portugal to settle in Amsterdam they returned openly to Judaism. Because they often still had relatives in Portugal, they tried to protect them by using aliases in their transactions. However, it wasn’t only the Portuguese who wound up in Amsterdam. Even a century after 1492, conversos were finding their way from Spain to Amsterdam. Listing a person as a Portuguese merchant generally meant he was Jewish. Their family contacts worldwide, along with their language skills, were great commercial assets in their farflung business ventures. And in their contacts with family back home, they had to be discreet as to not bring suspicion on relatives left behind This work is a wonderful research tool for Sephardic research in Amsterdam.
ETSI, Volume 4, No.12 dated March 2001, "Aliases in Amsterdam", by Viberke Sealtiel-Olsen, a list of alias names used by Sephardim in Amsterdam.
When the Conversos fled Portugal to settle in Amsterdam they returned openly to Judaism. Because they often still had relatives in Portugal, they tried to protect them by using aliases in their transactions. However, it wasn’t only the Portuguese who wound up in Amsterdam. Even a century after 1492, conversos were finding their way from Spain to Amsterdam. Listing a person as a Portuguese merchant generally meant he was Jewish. Their family contacts worldwide, along with their language skills, were great commercial assets in their farflung business ventures. And in their contacts with family back home, they had to be discreet as to not bring suspicion on relatives left behind This work is a wonderful research tool for Sephardic research in Amsterdam.
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
From the burial register of Bethahaim Velho Cemetery, Published by the Jewish Historical Society of England and transcribed by R. D. Barnett.
The register gives us dates for the burials in the "Bethahaim Velho" or Old Cemetery. The dates are listed as per the Jewish calendar.
History of the Jews in Venice, by Cecil Roth
In this work, Cecil Roth covers the long course of Italian-Jewish history extending from pre-Christian times, comprising in a degree every facet of the evolution of Jewish life in Europe. Contains a huge store of facts tracing regional variations over a period of 2000 years.
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.
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.
Precious Stones of the Jews in Curaçao; Curaçaon Jewry 1656-1957, by Isaac Samuel Emmanuel (1957)
Names taken from 225 tombstones of 2536 persons, 1668 - 1859, men, women and some Rabbis. Includes cemetery history and plan, biographies including family histories, chronological list of names, alphabetical list of family names + number of members + eldest tombstone year, large bibliography, general alphabetical index, 15 genealogies.
The Sephardic Jews of Bordeaux, by Frances Malino
Describing the tensions that existed between the Sephardic community of Bordeaux and the Ashkenazic Jews of France, the author also depicts their role in the relation of the Jews with Napoleon and the forming of the Grand Sanhedrin
The Sephardim of England, by Albert M. Hyamson
A history of the Spanish & Portugese Jewish Community, 1492-1951.
Crisis and Creativity in the Sephardic World: 1391-1648,edited by Gampel.
This book explores antecedents,causes, mechanics and aftermath of the 1492 expulsion from Spain and lists Sephardic movers and shakers during the period.
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).
From the PhD Dissertation of Michelle M. Terrill, "The Historical Archaeology of the 17th and 18th-Century Jewish Community of Nevis, British West Indies", Boston University, 2000
This is an historical archaeological examination of a 17th- and 18th-century Jewish community on the island of Nevis in the British West Indies. Unlike earlier archaeological studies of the Jewish Caribbean Diaspora that focused on single sites, the focus of this investigation was on increasing the understanding of the roles and lives of the Sephardim in the colonial Caribbean. The study of the Neevis community indicates that the Jews of the Caribbean were not fully integrated socially or politically into British colonial society.
The Jews of Jamaica, by Richard D. Barnett and Philip Wright.Oron Yoffe, Ben-Zvi Institute, Jerusalem, 1997.
The product of many years of painstaking research by two late scholars, Richard D. Barnett and Philip Wright, this volume presents the texts or summaries of 1456 tombstone inscriptions of Jews who lived in Jamaica between 1663, when the British ousted the Spanish, and 1880, when systematic registration of deaths was introduced. Jewish families who had fled the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal settled in Jamaica in increasing numbers during that time. Ashkenazic Jews also settled there in the eighteenth century. The Jews played a significant part in developing the island's natural resources and its international trade. Featuring detailed indexes by name, date and language, The Jews of Jamaica is a valuable tool for the study of immigration to the Americas, the surnames, given names and genealogy of Sephardi Jews. The texts of the inscriptions, many of them in three languages (Hebrew, English and Portuguese or Spanish), are of cultural interest and sometimes refer to dramatic events in the lives of the Jewish residents of Jamaica during a turbulent period.
Judios Conversos (Jewish Converts) by Mario Javier Saban. Distal, Buenos Aires, 1990. The ancestors of the Argentinian Jewish families.
This best-selling work traces the immigration of Conversos from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains many Sephardic names and family trees within its 3 volumes. Many of the individuals listed appeared before the Inquisition and were secret Jews. Some later converted and intermarried. Many of the names listed here represent the famous names of Jewish/Sephardic Argentina. Over 100 pages of genealogies, well detailed, are provided.
Judios Conversos(Jewish Converts) by Mario Javier Saban. Distal, Buenos Aires, 1990. The ancestors of Argentinian Jewish families. List of Portuguese Jews expelled from Buenos Aires, 1603.
This best-selling work traces the immigration of Conversos from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains many Sephardic names and family trees within its 3 volumes. Many of the individuals listed appeared before the Inquisition and were secret Jews. Some later converted and intermarried. Many of the names listed here represent the famous names of Jewish/Sephardic Argentina. Over 100 pages of genealogies, well detailed, are provided.
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.
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
A History of the Marranos, by Cecil Roth.
The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 by the infamous decree of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella was the culmination of a series of anti-Jewish persecutions throughout the 14th and 15th centuries in which thousands of Jews were massacred. Thousands of others converted in order to escape death. After the expulsion many more joined the ranks of these "new Christians" as an alternative to exile. A large number of converts, while outwardly professing Christianity, secretly continued to practice Judaism. These Marranos, as they were popularly known, were then mercilessly persecuted by the dreaded Inquisition which through tortures of forced confessions and auto-da-fes sent thousands to the stake. Many others managed to escape to countries outside the reach of the Inquisition where they created a widespread Marrano diaspora. Thousands of Marranos have survived even into our times. This seminal work by the eminent historian traces the tribulation of these secret Judaizers as well as the fate of those who succeeded in escaping to other lands where many of them rose to prominence in various fields of endeavor.
In Sure Dwellings: A Journey From Expulsion to Assimilation, by Margot F. Salom
In 1492, the last professing Jews in Spain were driven out of their beloved Sepharad where they had formerly been accepted as an important part of a thriving, pluralistic society for seven centuries of Islamic rule. The Christian Reconquista in the last of those centuries, spelt the beginning of the end for the Jews of Spain as well as for the convivencia (cooperation) that had long existed between Jew, Muslim and Christian in what has been called the "Golden Age". Many of the expelled Spanish Jews spread out around the surrounding Muslim lands where they found some refuge. Others found a brief hiatus of safety in Portugal. Decades later many of the expelled Jews travelled to the mercantile centres of the Mediterranean, northern Europe and the New World where they participated in the burgeoning trading empires of Holland, England the Italy. It is this fascinating history that the author has attempt to trace, using her ancestors as a paradigm. Realizing that this narrative of the western Sephardim is all but forgotten with the secularisation of a resolute assimilation process, she has written a story that both describes the history of the countries of her ancestors' settlement as well as her personal search through many of the lands of their diaspora, in an attempt to establish the journey of her ancestors as they travelled from fifteenth century Spain to nineteenth century Australia. It was in Australia that this lineage finally became established in a land of "sure dwellings" and where the inevitable outcome of assimilation was the loss of an ancient faith - a loss that has created the primary impetus for the telling of this story
A Origem Judaica dos Brasileiros (The Origin of The Brazilian Jews), by Jose Geraldo Rodrigues de Alckmin Filho
This publication contains a list of 517 Sephardic families punished by the inquisition in Portugal and Brazil.
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).
This register is 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.
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
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.
The Inquisitors and the Jews in the New World, by Seymour B. Liebman. Reports the names of people who appeared before the inquisition in the New Spain
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 New Granada
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.
A History of the Marranos, by Cecil Roth.
The expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492 by the infamous decree of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella was the culmination of a series of anti-Jewish persecutions throughout the 14th and 15th centuries in which thousands of Jews were massacred. Thousands of others converted in order to escape death. After the expulsion many more joined the ranks of these "new Christians" as an alternative to exile. A large number of converts, while outwardly professing Christianity, secretly continued to practice Judaism. These Marranos, as they were popularly known, were then mercilessly persecuted by the dreaded Inquisition which through tortures of forced confessions and auto-da-fes sent thousands to the stake. Many others managed to escape to countries outside the reach of the Inquisition where they created a widespread Marrano diaspora. Thousands of Marranos have survived even into our times. This seminal work by the eminent historian traces the tribulation of these secret Judaizers as well as the fate of those who succeeded in escaping to other lands where many of them rose to prominence in various fields of endeavor.
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
A Life of Menasseh Ben Israel,by Cecil Roth.
This book contains names from the Sephardic community of greater Amsterdam. Amsterdam was a major haven and transfer point for Sephardim and Crypto-Jews leaving Iberia.
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.
Judios Conversos (Jewish Converts) by Mario Javier Saban. Distal, Buenos Aires, 1990. The ancestors of the Argentinian Jewish families.
This best-selling work traces the immigration of Conversos from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains many Sephardic names and family trees within its 3 volumes. Many of the individuals listed appeared before the Inquisition and were secret Jews. Some later converted and intermarried. Many of the names listed here represent the famous names of Jewish/Sephardic Argentina. Over 100 pages of genealogies, well detailed, are provided.
Judios Conversos (Jewish Converts) by Mario Javier Saban. Distal, Buenos Aires, 1990. The ancestors of the Argentinian Jewish families. "Portuguese" (Jews) of Salta.
This best-selling work traces the immigration of Conversos from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains many Sephardic names and family trees within its 3 volumes. Many of the individuals listed appeared before the Inquisition and were secret Jews. Some later converted and intermarried. Many of the names listed here represent the famous names of Jewish/Sephardic Argentina. Over 100 pages of genealogies, well detailed, are provided.
Judios Conversos (Jewish Converts) by Mario Javier Saban. Distal, Buenos Aires, 1990. The ancestors of the Argentinian Jewish families. "Portuguese" (Jews)of Jujuy.
This best-selling work traces the immigration of Conversos from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains many Sephardic names and family trees within its 3 volumes. Many of the individuals listed appeared before the Inquisition and were secret Jews. Some later converted and intermarried. Many of the names listed here represent the famous names of Jewish/Sephardic Argentina. Over 100 pages of genealogies, well detailed, are provided.
Judios Conversos (Jewish Converts) by Mario Javier Saban. Distal, Buenos Aires, 1990. The ancestors of the Argentinian Jewish families. "Portuguese" (Jews) registered in Santa Fe in 1643.
This best-selling work traces the immigration of Conversos from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains many Sephardic names and family trees within its 3 volumes. Many of the individuals listed appeared before the Inquisition and were secret Jews. Some later converted and intermarried. Many of the names listed here represent the famous names of Jewish/Sephardic Argentina. Over 100 pages of genealogies, well detailed, are provided.
Judios Conversos (Jewish Converts) by Mario Javier Saban. Distal, Buenos Aires, 1990. The ancestors of the Argentinian Jewish families. Sephardic names in the records of the Auto de Fe of Lima in 1639.
This best-selling work traces the immigration of Conversos from Portugal to Argentina and Brazil. It contains many Sephardic names and family trees within its 3 volumes. Many of the individuals listed appeared before the Inquisition and were secret Jews. Some later converted and intermarried. Many of the names listed here represent the famous names of Jewish/Sephardic Argentina. Over 100 pages of genealogies, well detailed, are provided.
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.
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.
Conversos on Trial, by Haim Bienart. The Hebrew University Magnes Press Ltd. 1981.
The third volume in the Hispania Judaica Series, this well written story of the converso community of Ciudad Real in Spain, based on the Inquisition trials of the mid 15th century. The book was written by Haim Beinart (1917-2010), Professor at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and an expert on this subject, and contains a list of names, sometimes also providing the names of relatives, house locations, and professions. Based on the Inquisition's records, it is a portrait of the Conversos' deep yearning for their Jewish past and the ultimate sacrifice they were prepared to offer for their continued adherence to their ancestral faith.
Apellidos de Judios Sefardies (Surnames of the Sephardic Jews) from the site Comunidad Judia Del Principado de Asturias
The Principality of Asturias (Spanish: Principado de Asturias - Asturian: Principáu d'Asturies) is an autonomous community within the kingdom of Spain, former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages. It is situated on the Spanish North coast facing the Cantabrian Sea (Mar Cantábrico, the Spanish name for the Bay of Biscay). The most important cities are the provincial capital, Oviedo, the seaport and largest city Gijón, and the industrial town of Avilés. No one knows the exact date at which Jews arrived in Asturias. Based solely on the documentation found so far in Asturias, there are clear references to the mid-eleventh century Council of Coyanza held in the Diocese of Oviedo in 1050 which states in Chapter VI: "... no Christian shall live in the same house with Jews or eat with them; if anyone infringes our constitution, they shall do penance for seven days, and if not willing to do it, being a noble person, they shall be deprived of communion for a full year, and if an inferior person they will receive a hundred lashes." But it is in the twelfth century when the rise and importance of the Jewish people is more noticeable in this region. Jewish witness signatures begin to appear more often on donation pledge cards from 1133. Asturias names are not very common among the Jewish population in other parts of the peninsula around the same time, perhaps causing confusion.
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)
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.
Antonio Borges Coelho, Inquisicao de Evora. Dos primordios a 1668 (Inquisition of Evora: From the beginning to 1668) - vol. 1, Lisbon, 1987
The Portuguese Inquisition was born legally in Evora in the year 1536, legitimized by the Pope, sponsored by King John III, Cardinal Alfonso and future cardinal and Inquisitor General D. Henry.
Antonio Alberto Banha de Andrade. Judeus em Montemor-o-Novo,(Jews in Montemor-o-Novo) Portugal, Academia Portuguesa de História, 1977.
Jewish settlement in the area began prior to Portugal's emergence as a nation. A tradition among the Sephardi Jews ascribes their arrival in Iberia to Roman times, in the wake of the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E. and subsequent dispersion toward Europe. The existence of a significant Jewish settlement on the peninsula by 300 C.E. is apparent from the edicts of Elvira which proscribe "taking food with the Jews" and single out the Jewish group in a number of dicta. James Finn endeavored to make a case for dating the initial Jewish involvement in the area as early as 900 B.C.E., based on reports of two ancient Hebrew inscriptions, one mentioning Amaziah, King of Judah, and a second marking the grave of King Solomon's treasurer, Adoniram. When Portugal emerged as a distinct national entity under Affonso (Henriques) I ( 1139-85), a number of Jewish centers existed, including a commu nity in Montemor-o-Novo. The author of this work, Antonio Alberto Banha de Andrade, was born in 1915 in Montemor-o-Novo and was a renowned Portuguese historian and teacher who did important work in the fields of religious history, education and culture.
Mordechai Arbell. "The Portuguese Jewish Community of Madras, India in the 17th Century", in Los Muestros, Brussels, 2001
This work gives an overview of the Jewish presence in Madras in the 17th century, including the most prominent Jews of that time. By the mid-eighteenth century there were almost no Portuguese Jews in Madras.
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.
Anita Novinsky. Inquisicao: Prisioneiros do Brasil. Seculos XVI-XIX, (Inquisition : Prisoners in Brazil 16th-19th Centuries) Rio de Janeiro, 2002.
The author, Anita Novinsky, holds degrees in philosophy and history from the Univeristy of Sao Paulo and is also affiliated with several foreign institutions and institutions in Europe and the U.S. She published several books that have greatly contributed to a renewed vision of the Inquisition in Brazil and Portugal. According to a survey completed in 1994 by Professor Francisco Bethencourt (New University of Lisbon), the total number of accused put on trial by the Inquisition amounted to 44,817. Of these, 9,726 were charged by the Inquisition of Lisbon (the other courts were located in Evora, Coimbra and Goa). About half of these prisoners, approximately five thousand, were in Brazil. In this work, which was a meticulous and patient work of years, the author has identified 1,076 prisoners from Brazil, including a wide range of details (place of birth, address, ethnic backgrounds, occupations, crimes and sentences), giving this study high importance.
J. Lucio de Azevedo. Historia dos Cristaos-Novos Portugueses (History of the Portuguese New-Christians), Lisbon, 1989.
The author is considered an expert on the study of this subject. After the Portuguese Inquisition, the remaining Jewish population in Portugal became officially Christian. These new Christians were always under suspicion of apostasy.
Francisco Manuel Alves (Abade de Baçal). Memorias Arquelogico-Historicas do Distrito de Bragança (Memoirs of the Archaeological Historical District of Bragança in Portugal),Bragança, 1925.
Francisco Manuel Alves, better known as Abbot of Baçal (1865-1947 ) was a Portuguese archaeologist , historian and genealogist. His principal work is the archaeological-historical memories of the district of Bragança (1909-1947), in eleven volumes. The fifth volume of his masterpiece is dedicated to the Jews.
Claudie Blamont (president). Revue du Cercle de Genealogie Juive (The Circle of Jewish Genealogy), Paris, 1998.
The Cercle de Généalogie Juive (CDGJ) located in Paris,France maintains a list of members and the families and areas they are researching.
Pierre Pluchon. "Bordeaux, 1730: List of Families and Taxes paid by them" in Negres et Juifs au XVIII Siecle (Blacks & Jews in the 18th Century), Paris, 1984.
Pierre Pluchon held a diplomatic post in Haiti, which he used for his research. In this work, the Portuguese Jews of Bordeaux are described by their distinct social and political circles.
Antonio Cravo. Judeus Portugueses no Espaço Frances (Portuguese Jews in France, in 18th century), in Brigantia, vol XIIl, pp. 211-261, Portugal, jan/jun 1993.
Story of the Portuguese New Christians from Bordeaux at the end of the 18th century. The story focuses on the Pereira family who originated in Braganca and then moved to France. Some of the notable descendants of this family were Jacob Rodrigues Pereira, the inventor of the language for deaf-mutes, the Pereira bankers, and others.
Alberto Dines. Vinculos do Fogo-I,(Fire Links - Antônio José da Silva, Jewish and other history of the Inquisition in Portugal and Brazil, Volume I),Sao Paulo, 1992
A biographical novel of the most famous victim of the Brazilian Inquisition, Jose Antonio da Silva, known as the "Jew" (1705 -1739), lawyer and playwright, who was garroted and then burned for "crimes of Judaism." In this book, the author relates the family's genealogy through the biography of all known relations. The objective of this work is to highlight the condition of New Christians in the 18th century. Between the generations of Jose Antonio da Silva and his great-grandfather, a total of 143 family members had problems with the Santo Oficio (the Tribunal of the Inquisition).
Egon and Frieda Wolff. Quantos Judeus Estiveram no Brasil Holandes e Outros Ensaios,(How many Jews were in Dutch Brazil and Other Essays), Rio de Janeiro, 1991.
Intriguing work listing Dutch Jews from Brazil, by the ground-breaking and influential scholars of Brazilian Jewry.
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.
Gustavo Barroso. Historia Secreta do Brasil,(The Secret History of Brazil), Rio de Janeiro
There are four volumes written by the lawyer, short story writer, essayist,novelist and politician Forteza Gustavo Barroso (1888-1923). The author was a recognized Anti-Semite.
Lina Gorenstein Ferreira da Silva. Hereticos e Impuros. A Inquisicao e os Cristaos-Novos no Rio de Janeiro Seculo XVIII (Heretics and Impure: The Inquisition and the New Christians in Rio de Janeiro, the eighteenth century), Secretaria Municipal de Cultura, Rio de Janeiro, 1995.
The author graduated in journalism from the University of São Paulo (1973) degree in History from the University of São Paulo (1974), Master of Social History at the University of São Paulo (1993) and PhD in Social History from the University of São Paulo (1999) . and is currently a researcher and coordinator of documentation- LEI: Laboratory for the Study of Intolerance, University of São Paulo.
Luis de Bivar Guerra(Publisher). Um Caderno de Cristãos Novos de Barcelos (a Notebook of New-Christians in Barcelos), Lisbon, 1959.
José Luis León de Bivar Sousa Pimentel Guerra (1904-1979), was a Portuguese genealogist who researched the role of new Christians in Portuguese society and thus in Brazil. This "A Notebook of New Christians in Barcelos" by an anonymous author is a list of converted Jews in that city in 1497, and some of their descendants. It reports the prominent families in Barcelos (Portugal) with Jewish ancestry.
Cap. Artur Carlos de Barros Basto (editor). HaLapid (official organ of the Obra do Resgate), Porto, dec. 20-50.
Magazine edited by the "Kadoorie Mekor Haim Synagogue" congregation, in the city of Porto. This was founded by Crypto-Jews who returned to the Jewish religion during a movement called "the Work of Rescue" which was undertaken by Captain Barros Basto in the 1930's among various communities of Jewish descent.
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.
Yosef Kaplan (editor). Jews and Conversos, Studies in Society and the Inquisition, in The Hebrew University Magnes Press, Jerusalem, 1985
This collection of articles sheds lights on the social, economic and cultural life of Spanish and Portuguese Jewry in the Middle Ages, while stressing at the same time the unique role of the conversos in the history of the Iberian Peninsula and its Jewish community.
Luiz de Bivar Guerra. Inventory of the proceedings of the Inquisition of Coimbra(1541-1820), Lisbon, 1972.
Coimbra was the seat of an inquisitional tribunal, one of the four operating in Portuguese territory, besides Lisbon, Évora, and Goa. The tribunal in Coimbra, which tried many distinguished Conversos, disposed of more than 11,000 cases between 1541 and 1820. The trials sometimes lasted for months or even years, during which the accused were held in prison. The accused came in great numbers from Bragança, Braga, Porto, Viseu, Aveiro, Guarda, and Coimbra. From the sermons preached at the auto-da-fé we learn that mothers and grandmothers were held responsible for maintaining Jewish practices and beliefs among the Conversos. Thus, during the first century of its existence, more women than men were tried by the Inquisition of Coimbra. The hardest hit were those who lived in distant and mountainous areas. As late as June 17, 1718, over 60 secret Jews appeared at an auto-da-fé there, some for a fifth or sixth time. Two were burned at the stake and the rest penanced.
Maria Antonieta Garcia. Os Judeus de Belmonte. Os Caminhos da Memória (The Jews of Belmonte: The Paths of Memory) Lisbon, 1993.
Maria Antonieta Garcia is the wife of the Ex-Mayor of Belmonte whose term of office lasted for more than eleven years during the 1980s (though they were from another town in the area, where they live). This was a fateful period in the life of the local Marrano-families, precisely when the young people initiated the return to the bosom of normative Judaism. It must be said that this process was assisted both by the Town-Council and personally, by the Mayor. Thus it happened that the Mayor's wife, Dr. Antonieta Garcia, began to look closely at the lives of these families, observation that soon became a mentored scholarly research for the purpose of writing a dissertation. However, Garcia knew a great deal about Marranism even before her research into the Crypto-Jews of Belmonte, since she herself stemmed from Marrano roots, and the subjects of her research knew her as such. Hence, in their eyes she was not an outside observer but "one of them".
Jose Antonio Gonsalves de Mello. Gente da Nação (Um Dicionario dos Judeus Residentes no Nordeste, 1630-1654) (People of The Jewish Nation in Dutch Brazil : A Dictionary of Residents in the Northeast 1630-1654), Journal of the Archaeological, Historical and Geographical Institute of Pernambuco, Recife, 1989.
In the sixteenth century, many Jews made their way from the Iberian Peninsula to Brazil to escape the Inquisition. With the arrival of the Dutch in Pernambuco, and in particular the presence of Count Maurice of Nassau ,the Jewish immigrants were able to enjoy great freedom to practice their religion and traditions. Settling in the state, they built schools, synagogues, and cemeteries. No one knows the exact size of the Jewish population that came to the Northeast of the country, but researchers estimate that during the Dutch rule (1630-1654), about three hundred Jews lived in Recife.
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.
Neusa Fernandes. A Inquisicao em Minas Gerais no sec. XVIII (Inquisition in Minas Gerais in the 18th Century), Rio de Janeiro, 2000.
Nelson Menda. 1748-1948: 200 anos de presenca sefaradi no extremo sul do Brasil (1748-1948: 200 years of sephardic presence in southern Brazil), Rio de Janeiro, 1999.
Anita Novinsky. Inquisicao. Inventario de Bens Confiscados a Cristaos-Novos(Inventory of Goods Confiscated from New Christians), Brazil.
Manuel Ramos de Oliveira. Os Cristaos-novos nos Distritos da Guarda e Castelo Branco,(New Christians in the districts of Guarda and Castelo Branca), em Beira Alta, vol. X, fasc. I-II, Portugal, 1951.
Storia dell'Ebraismo in Italia: Ebrei in Toscana dal Medioevo al Risorgimento (History of Judaism in Italy : Jews from the Middle Ages to the Resurgence in Tuscany), Leo Olschki Editore, Firenze, 1980.
It is likely that a Jewish community existed in the Tuscany region dating back to the Roman era at least in Florence. The first reliable data comes from Benjamin of Tudela who found Jews in Pisa and in Lucca (c. 1159). There were Jews in Siena by 1229. Jews presumably engaged in moneylending in Tuscany in the 13th century. This book traces the history of the Jews in this area, highlighting the most important facts and people, including the connection with the House of Medici.
Pedro de Azevedo, "Cristaos-novos de Lisboa que estavam ausentes da cidade em 1614" (Crypto-Jews from Lisbon who were absent from the city in 1614) Lisbon, 1915.
The author worked on the trial records deposited in the Torre do Tombo in Lisbon and published his findings.
Francois Pietri. Napoleon et les Israelites, Paris, 1965.
This book contains a table with the names of the Jews invited to take part in the Grand Sanhedrin (a High Court of Ancient Israel), revived by the French emperor, between February 9 and March 9, 1807. The purpose of this meeting, called the Assembly of Jewish Notables, was to clarify doubts about all aspects of Jewish religious and political life within the parameters laid down by Biblical and Rabbinic tradition. It was composed of 71 Jews, recruited in the French Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, two thirds were rabbis and other men of law. Under the leadership of David Sintzheim, the Chief Rabbi of Strasbourg, the Grand Sanhedrin ratified the proposals put before it by Napoleon that specified the distinction between religious and political laws. This study presents a largely favorable account of Napoleon's Jewish policies, although some other scholars have different views on this.
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.
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
Adriano Vasco Rodrigues. Judeus e Inquisição na Guarda,(Jews and The Inquisition in Guard, Portugal),published in the journal "Altitude", Porto, 1980.
Adriano Vasco Rodrigues is himself a historian and ethnographer from the Guard region in Portugal.
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.
Egon and Frieda Wolff. Sepulturas de israelitas (Israeli Graves), S. Francisco Xavier (RJ), Rio de Janeiro, 1976.
The Iconography of Tombstones represent a recently recognized yet still largely neglected source for unraveling the historical past. Cemetery and gravestone study is increasingly multi-disciplinary, involving the arts, humanities, and social sciences, and while studies date back more than 100 years, it is still an emerging field.The investigation of Jewish sepulchres also commenced in the second half of the nineteenth century.The destruction of Jewish cemeteries through the ages, which has obliterated many ancestral records and monuments has also contributed to this scholarly neglect.
Daniel M. Swetschinski. Reluctant Cosmopolitans: The Portuguese Jews of Seventeenth Century Amsterdam, London, 2000.
Several thousand "New Christians" (the descendants of Portuguese Jews who had been forcibly converted some two centuries before) emigrated to Amsterdam in the 17th century. Subsequently the community decided to remanifest themselves as Jews. The author focuses on the social dimension of Jewish economic and religious life, formal and informal, as well as their interactions with the Dutch authorities and populace (an exceptionally cordial relationship for that time). Also explored is the contradictions that arose from Jews that often retained, sometimes without realizing it, Catholic ideas and views.
Victims of the Holocaust (CD); The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- Day Saints, 1997.
Contains the records of victims of the Holocaust, 1939-1945.
Yeshivah Rosh Pinah do Porto, in "Marranos in Portugal by the Portuguese Marrano Committee, 1926 to 1938", London, 1938.
Between 1925 and 1938 an attempt was made to assist the Anusim or secret Jews of Portugal to return to Judaism after Samuel Schwarz, the Polish Jewish mining engineer who had discovered the secret Jewish community in Belmonte, published a book on this subject.In 1929 a boys' boarding school named Rosh Pinah was founded in Oporto to teach Judaism to youngsters from crypto-Jewish families.
Cohen, Martin, (2001). The Martyr: Luis de Carvajal, A Secret Jew in Sixteenth-Century Mexico. Albuquerque: University New Mexico Press.
Introduction by Ilan Stavans. First published in 1973, this book traces the history of Luis de Carvajal the Younger and his family in Spain, their migration to the New World, their religious practices, and their adventures in New Spain until one by one they were put to flight or indicted by the Inquisition. Luis himself was burned at the stake in 1596 at the age of thirty. He left behind not only his legacy as an exemplary secret Jew but also valuable literary documents--his memoirs, his last will and testament, and his letters to his mother and sisters in the inquisitorial prison.
Distinguished Jewish bearers of the Rodriguez name and its variants include : Aron Rodrigue, author "De l'instruction a l'emancipation" (Paris, 1989) Distinguished Jewish bearers of the Rodriguez name and its variants include : Abraham Hayim Raphael Rodrigues (18th Century), Italian scholar Yitzhak Rephael de Jehudah Rodrigues (18th Century) Rabbi from Amsterdam
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: Cairo, Egypt,Jeremia, Haiti,Paris, France,Rouen, France,Tantah, Egypt,Here are some locations where registries of Sephardic or Christianized Jewish families with this surname have been traced: Edirne, Turkey,Istanbul, Turkey,Khaskovo, Bulgaria,Rousse (Ruse), Bulgaria,Saloniki, Greece,Smyrna, Netherlands,Sofia, Bulgary,Here are some locations where registries of Sephardic or Christianized Jewish families with this surname have been traced: Almeida, Portugal,Bahia, Brasil,Curralinho, Brasil,Diamantina, Brasil,Escalhao, Portugal,Fundao, Portugal,Minas Gerais, Brasil,Olinda, Brasil,Ouro Preto, Brasil,Pitangui, Brasil,Ponte de Lima, Portugal,Porto Alegre, Brasil,Rio de Janeiro, Brasil,Sao Caetano, Brasil,Serro Frio, Brasil,Aljustrel, Portugal,Cabeco de Vide, Portugal,Carcao, Portugal,Coimbra, Portugal,Elvas, Portugal,Estremoz, Portugal,Evora, Portugal,Jerumenha, Portugal,Lisbon, Portugal,Mesao Frio, Portugal,Trancoso, Portugal,Viana, Portugal,Vila do Conde, Brasil,Angra do Heroismo, Portugal,Argozelo, Portugal,Arraiolos, Portugal,Beja, Portugal,Belmonte, Portugal,Braganca, Portugal,Campo Maior, Portugal,Castelo de Vide, Portugal,Faro, Portugal,Medina del Campo , Spain,Montemor-o-Novo, Portugal,Portalegre, Portugal,Porto, Portugal,Vilarinho dos Galegos, Portugal,Amsterdam, Netherlands,Ancona, Italy,Bayonne, France,Bordeaux, France,Dutch Brazil, Brasil,Ferrara, Italy,Hamburg, Germany,Idanha-a-Nova, Portugal,Labastide-Clairence, France,Livorno (Leghorn), Italy,London, England,Madras, India,Melo, Portugal,Monsanto, Portugal,Paris, France,Portugal, ,Rouen, France,Saloniki, Greece,St. Esprit, Canada,Tunis, Tunisia,Vidaxe, France,Vila Flor, Portugal,
Some interesting facts about the name this name are : In the 2000 census, Rodriguez was the ninth most common surname in the United States, making it probably the first time in U.S. history that a non-Anglo name ranked among the 10 most common surnames. The name Rodrigues appears in the records of the Inquisition in Lisbon, Evora, Coimbra and in the Sinedrio napoleonicoIn the "Book of the Guilties", the name RODRIGUES, appears among the Brazilians 137 times. The name originated in 'Rodrigo' but may also have a Spanish origin. It appeared in Portugal around the 14th and 15th centuries, but there were many Rodrigues also among the Jews who, at the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century, emigrated from Spain to Portugal, although there may`not be any blood links between them. We know the curious case of Abin Rodrigues, in Spain, that remains popular in history; he was at the same time a Jew, a Christian and a Moslem
Some common variations of Rodriguez are Rodrigue, Rodric, Rodrig, Roderiquez, Rodrique, Rodrigues,
The following websites are relevant to the surname Rodriguez:
http://abrahamabulafia.blogspot.com/2011/04/apellidos-judios-de-toledo.html
http://www.brasilsefarad.com/joomla/images/stories/Biblioteca/mitosobrenomes.pdf,
