NAMES ANALYSIS REPORT
You searched for:"Tedeschi",
Here's what we found
There are many indicators that the name Tedeschi 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 Tedeschi is cited with respect to Jews & Crypto-Jews in at least 2 bibliographical, documentary, or electronic references:
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
Genealogia Hebraica: Portugal e Gibraltar (Genealogy of the Hebrews: Portugal & Gibraltar), by Jose Maria Abecassis.
This is a genealogical masterpiece written in Portuguese concerning Sephardic families from Portugal and Gibraltar. There are five volumes that provide genealogical information on families that in fact lived on the west part of the Mediterranean basin and not only Portugal and Gibraltar. The work contains a list of names of Sephardic families that returned to Portugal and Gibraltar after hundreds of years of expulsion. It has also a very rich photographic documentation.
Distinguished Jewish bearers of the Tedeschi name and its variants include : Marco Tedeschi, Italian Rabbi & poet (19th Century). Moses Isaac Tedeschi, Italian translator & teacher (19th Century). Ignaz Amadeus Tedesco,Austrian pianist (19th Century) Jacob Levi ben Isaac Finzi probably took the name of "Finzi" in Italy, but, being from Germany, he added "Tedesco," and thus became the ancestor of the Tedesco-Finzi family in Venice. (Jewish Encyclopedia).
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.
Some interesting facts about the name this name are : The Tedesco-Finzi is a known family of Venice (Italia).
Some common variations of Tedeschi are Tedesco, Tedesqui, Todesco, Tudesco,
The following websites are relevant to the surname Tedeschi:
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/search_results.jsp?searchType=1&pageNum=1&search=Tedeschi&x=0&y=0&searchOpt=0
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/search_results.jsp?searchType=1&pageNum=1&art_id=99&art_letter=T&search=Tedesco&x=0&y=0&searchOpt=0
http://artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=54746
