NAMES ANALYSIS REPORT
You searched for:"Nahmias",
Here's what we found
The English meaning of Nahmias is From Nehemya, which means "God soothes".
The name Nahmias is of Hebrew origin.
The surname Nahmias is aBiblical references 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 Nahmias 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 Nahmias is cited with respect to Jews & Crypto-Jews in at least 77 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 History of the Jews in Christian Spain,Volume 2, by Yitzhak Baer.
Traces the economic, social, legal and political life of the Spanish Jewish community from the 11th century re-conquest of Iberia from Muslim rule to the expulsion of 1492. Based on many years of study in the Spanish archives by a Professor from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel.
Die Sefarden in Hamburg (The Sephardim in Hamburg) by Michael Studemund-Halevy.
The Sephardic community of Hamburg was founded by Portuguese conversos who had settled in the Hamburg area during the three decades prior to 1611.
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.
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
From the civil records of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Amsterdam Municipal Archives possess a complete set of registers of intended marriages from 1578 to 1811, the year when the present Civil Registry was started. Between 1598 and 1811, 15238 Jewish couples were entered in these books. Both the number of records and the volume of data that may be extracted from them are unprecedented.
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.
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
Histoire des Juifs de Rhodes, Chio, Cos,(History of the Jews of Rhodes: Chio,Cos) by Professor Abraham Galante, published in Istanbul.
Abraham Galante (1873-1961) was first a teacher and an inspector in the Jewish Turkish Schools of Rhodes and Izmir. He conducted an active campaign for the adoption of the Turkish language by the Jews. In 1914, after the revolution of the Young Turks, Galante was appointed professor of Semitic languages and later of history of the Ancient Orient. His principal field of scientific activity was the study of the Jewish history in Turkey
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.
From the civil records of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Amsterdam Municipal Archives possess a complete set of registers of intended marriages from 1578 to 1811, the year when the present Civil Registry was started. Between 1598 and 1811, 15238 Jewish couples were entered in these books. Both the number of records and the volume of data that may be extracted from them are unprecedented.
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.
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.
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
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.
Noble Families Among The Sephardic Jews, by Isaac Da Costa, Bertram Brewster, and Cecil Roth.
This book provides genealogy information about many of the more famous Sephardic families of Iberia, England and Amsterdam. It documents the assimilation, name changes and conversion of many Sephardic families in Spain, England and The Netherlands. There is a large section dealing with the genealogy of the members of Capadose and Silva families in Spain and Portugal. This reference includes genealogical tables and a translation of Da Costa’s 1850 work "Israel and the Gentiles", with chapters by Bertram Brewster on the Capadose conversion to Christianity and by Cecil Roth on their Jewish history.
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.
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.
B.J. Arditti. The Jews of Bulgary Under The Nazi regime 1940-1944, Tel-Aviv, 1962.
This book is the first one on this specific subject. When immigrating to Israel in 1949, Arditti brought with him a rich documentation which allowed him to analyze the subject. The book includes a documents list and a comprehensive bibliography.
Samuel Isaac Benchimol."Eretz Amazonia. Os Judeus na Amazonia" (The Jews of the Amazons), Manaus, 1998.
Samuel Isaac Benchimol was born on July 13, 1923 in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. He was a writer (with 110 published works), member of the Academia Amazonense de Letras), professor (Emeritus at the Universidade do Amazonas, where he taught for over 50 years), community leader (served as president of the Amazonas Jewish Community from 1975-1985) and businessman. His vast body of intellectual work includes books and articles. His dedication to his community culminated with the publication of this work, “Eretz Amazônia”. Professor Benchimol took it upon himself to visit every Jewish cemetery in the Amazon, listing all the surnames. Later, tracking these surnames, he was able to determine which were the Amazonian families of Jewish origin, extrapolating as in the case of the surname Assayag, nowadays used by thousands of families, many of them assimilated and converted to Christianity.
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.
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
Centro Israelita de Belem do Para; directors list, Belem, 1990.
Sao Paulo Chevra Kadisha, List of people buried, Sao Paulo 1997.
The Chevra Kadisha (Jewish Burial Society) of Sao Paulo is a Society founded in February 25, 1923, to care for the burial of the Jews of Sao Paulo (city and state). The Society currently runs 4 Jewish cemeteries in Sao Paulo. The research was conducted in three ways: reading the tombstones, a consulting the list of deaths until 24 September 1997, and from the society's records and books. The list of deaths, organized by Prof. Solomon, has the name of the deceased, the grave location and the date of his burial. The books are more detailed, with biographical data, which includes the city of origin, thus enabling it to be confirmed as Sephardic. This is a formal record of one of the most important Jewish communities in Latin America, showing how the country was very attractive for Jews from different and distant locations.
Claude Missistrano. "Une source genealogique pour Salonique: le journal La Epoca" (A source for genealogical Thessaloniki: the newspaper La Epoca), in Etsi No. 2, Paris, 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.
Egon and Frieda Wolff. Biographical Dictionary (II).Jews in Brazil. Century XIX, Rio de Janeiro, 1987.
Egon (1910-1981) and Frieda Wolff (1911-2009). The couple came off a ship in Santos, on February, 12, 1936. They were newly-married and managed to arrive in Brazil after escaping the Nazis, after both having graduated from the University of Berlin. They settled in San Paulo, where they worked as merchants and achieved prosperity as opticians. Later, they moved to Rio de Janeiro, still working in the same field and becoming very active in the local Jewish Community. Mr. Egon became President of the Jewish Hospital. In the 1960's, Mrs. Frieda Wolff said that "curiosity about Jewish immigration to Brazil and the lack of satisfactory answers" required that something be done. The couple then abandoned their other activities to dedicate themselves to their research. Tireless travelers, they started at the National Library, went on to the National Archive, traveled all over cemeteries, Jewish and gentile, throughout the country. They wrote down names, data and genealogy. The couple interviewed hundreds of people, compared thousands of pages; and discovered a number of precious items, like the Jewish tombstones in the city of Vassouras, which became a Historical Monument of the XIX Century and is now a must for tourists visiting the city. The quality of their work led the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute to invite them to become members of that prestigious Institute. Their books have undeniable historical value, especially their Seven Biographical Dictionaries. Their "Jews in Brazil in the Nineteenth Century" is the second part of the seven.
Egon and Frieda Wolff. Biographical Dictionary. Processos de Naturalizacao de Israelitas (Naturalization process of Israelites)- Sec. XIX, Rio de Janeiro, 1987.
Egon (1910-1981) and Frieda Wolff (1911-2009). The couple came off a ship in Santos, on February, 12, 1936. They were newly-married and managed to arrive in Brazil after escaping the Nazis, after both having graduated from the University of Berlin. They settled in San Paulo, where they worked as merchants and achieved prosperity as opticians. Later, they moved to Rio de Janeiro, still working in the same field and becoming very active in the local Jewish Community. Mr. Egon became President of the Jewish Hospital. In the 1960's, Mrs. Frieda Wolff said that "curiosity about Jewish immigration to Brazil and the lack of satisfactory answers" required that something be done. The couple then abandoned their other activities to dedicate themselves to their research. Tireless travelers, they started at the National Library, went on to the National Archive, traveled all over cemeteries, Jewish and gentile, throughout the country. They wrote down names, data and genealogy. The couple interviewed hundreds of people, compared thousands of pages; and discovered a number of precious items, like the Jewish tombstones in the city of Vassouras, which became a Historical Monument of the XIX Century and is now a must for tourists visiting the city. The quality of their work led the Brazilian Historical and Geographical Institute to invite them to become members of that prestigious Institute. Their books have undeniable historical value, especially their Seven Biographical Dictionaries. This volume is the fourth of the seven volumes.
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.
Maurice Eisenbeth. The Jews of North Africa, Demographics & Omnastics, Argelia, 1936.
There are two parts to this study by a rabbi from Algeria: The first is the demography and the occupation of Jewish families in North Africa, including those who settled there after the expulsion. The second part of this work is a study of North African Jewish names. The goal of this research was to record family surnames and the locations where they were found. This work is a good source for onomastical origins.
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.
Liliana Picciotto Fargion.Il Libro Della Memoria, Gli ebrei deportati dall'Italia 1943-1945 (The Book of Memory:Jews Deported from Italy 1943-1945), Mursia, 1991.
This meticulously and painstakingly researched work reconstructs the deportation of Italian Jewry to the German death camps. Out of a Jewish population that by 1943 had been reduced by emigration to slightly over 40,000 (of whom 6,500 were foreigners), 6,746 were deported from Italy proper, and another 1,820 from the Dodecanese, Italian possessions in the Aegean. An additional 303 Jews were killed on Italian soil. Identities of at least 900-1,100 other victims have not been established. This work lists in precise demographic detail the names of the known deceased together with the date and place of each arrest, initial place of incarceration, date of departure for Auschwitz, convoy number (forty-four trains set out from Italy), date of debarkation at the camp (the journey took about five days), and date of execution. For most, this was the same day as arrival. The cover photo of this book shows two-year-old Fiorella Anticoli, seized with her entire family in the infamous roundup of almost 1,300 Roman Jews on 16 October 1943. The arrests were carried out by units of the S.S. specially trained for such "actions" and sent to the Italian capital for the purpose. Working under the very walls of the Vatican, the operation had to be carried out as efficiently and with as little tumult and commotion as possible.
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.
La Designation d' un Grand Rabbin de Tunisie en 1928 (The appointment of a Chief Rabbi of Tunisia in 1928), in Revue des Etudes Juives, CLI, Paris, jan/jun 1992.
From literary and archaeological sources, evidence has been gathered of a rich Jewish communal life in Tunisia going back some 2300 years. This article discusses the changes that came about with the introduction of the French protectorate in 1881. The French intervened in all areas of Jewish communal life, so far as to decide on the appointment of the chief rabbi of all Tunisia, which was to be a French Jew. This decision aroused a revolt in the community, who strongly opposed it, demanding the appointment of a Chief Rabbi of Tunisian origin. The Conservative Party took the lead in drafting a petition calling on the entire Jewish population of the Regency to support this view and won: Rabbi Youssef Guez, a Tunisian Jewish native, was elected in 1928 to the post of Chief Rabbi of Tunisia, and remained so until his death in 1934.
Worcman, Suzanne, Feller, Aiala, & Worcman, Karen. Legacies and memories: Jewish immigrants in Rio de Janeiro, Jewish Religious Association of Rio de Janeiro, 1991.
The contents of this book are now available online. This material was collected in direct contact with immigrants, focusing on the period of its origins. Their stories, consisting of words, photographs and objects they brought with them, represent the last chance to meet directly the collective experience of individuals who, in the 20th century, started a new life in Brazil.
Jacques Carasso (editor). List of Greek Jews Killed in Auschwitz, La Lettre Sepharade, Gordes, France.
As soon as the Germans entered Greek mainland, they implemented anti-Jewish policies. In 1943 deportations began. In total, over 54000 greek Jews were sent to Auschwitz. Only a handful survived.
Joseph Toledano. Une Histoire de familles. Les Noms de Famille Juifs d'Afrique du Nord (A family story. The Family names of Jews from North Africa). Jerusalem, 1998
The author is descended from one of the important Jewish families of North Africa, that settled in Morocco in 1492 after fleeing the Inquisition. The book which has 870 pages and is arranged like an encyclopedia with onomastics entries, brings valuable information on 1250 family groups from North Africa, their family names, and location in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
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.
Joseph Toledano. La Saga des Familles. Les Juifs du Maroc et leurs noms (The story of the families: The Moroccan Jews and their names).
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 Isaac Laredo. Les Noms des Juifs du Maroc,(Names of the Moroccan Jews), 1978.
Among scholars, this is considered one of the leading works on Judeo-Moroccan onomastics.Contain names,origins and variants.
Eli S. Malka. Jacob's Children in the Land of the Mahdi: Jews of Sudan, Syracuse, 1997.
The author was born in the Sudan in 1910; his father was that nation's chief rabbi from 1906 to 1949. Malka chronicles the Sephardic Jewish community's history from its beginning in 1885 (when there were only eight families) to the late 1960s, when the Jews left the Sudan for more hospitable countries. Malka writes about his father's prominent role in the community and in the building of Khartoum's lavish synagogue and the community's growth, which peaked in the 1930s and 1940s. The book's final chapters are autobiographical as Malka focuses first on his childhood, then on his travels, career, marriage, and family, offering descriptions of Sephardic life and culture. The book offers plenty of charming stories centering around the hospitality of the Malka household, where Jews from the world over were welcomed and a variety of languages, including Arabic and French, were spoken.
Moises Hasson Camhi. Apellidos de los Judios de Monastir (Surnames of the Jews from Monastir).
The aim of this study is to identify the surnames of Jews who formed the community of Monastir. Monastir, which is now called Bitola, is the second largest city in Macedonia and it was the Capital of a province during the Ottoman Empire's rule. The author uses several sources to identify these names, including the list of Jews deported from Monastir in 1943. The locations to which these exiles migrated is also discussed and these include several cities in the same region: Thessaloniki, Florina, and even Jerusalem, and many others in the New World: USA, Brazil and Temuco,Chile.
Moises Hasson Camhi. Temuco: Genesis de una Comunidad. Cien Anos de la presencia de sefardies en la capital de la Frontera/Notas sociales como Fuente de Investigacion. El caso de la revista Alma Hebrea (Temuco :Genesis of a Community - One hundred years of the presence of Sephardim in the capital of the border - Notes as a source of social research) , published in Toldot No 12/3, Buenos Aires, Aug/Nov 2000.
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.
Asher Moises. Les Noms des Juifs de Grece, France (The names of the Jews of Greece), 1990.
The subject of Jewish surnames in the Balkan region has received more recent attention in the research and compilation of Jewish names by Mathilde Tagger.
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.
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.
Howard M. Sachar. Farewell Espana:The World of Sephardim Remembered, New York, 1994.
Howard Sachar has written a history of the Sephardim (Iberian Jews) that illuminates the personalities and achievements of those doyens of the Jewish world. The Sephardim were an important element of Moorish society, serving as artisans, doctors, and government employees. During the period of Christian reconquest, they found new vocations as intermediaries between the Islamic and Christian worlds, often translating legacies of the Islamic world as well as classical works unknown to the Christian West. The year 1492 saw the conquest of Grenada, the voyage of Columbus, and the expulsion of the Sephardim from Spain. The sultan of Turkey lost no time in welcoming large numbers of this productive community to his domain. Sachar traces the history of this tragic diaspora from Turkey to Brazil.
Samuel Benchimol. Judeus no Ciclo da Borracha,(Jews in the Rubber Age), Manaus, 1994.
Professor Samuel Benchimol estimates that between 1810 and 1850, before the rubber boom, about 300 Sephardic Jewish families emigrated to the Amazons, and between 1851 and 1910, another 700 arrived. At first, these immigrants found their way to the small towns of the interior of Pará and Amazonas, as Cameta, Almeirim, Obidos, Santarem, Itaituba, Itacoatiara, Tefé, Humaita, Porto Velho, and Belém where they found employment in offices and shops,or trading activities. Later, in the heyday of the boom, they began to advance economically as tenants and owners of rubber plantations in the interior, or as buyers of local products, in the streets of Bethlehem and Manaus. This Jewish immigration of the 19th century did not have the privelege of an organized Jewish community in Manaus and other cities. Only after the rubber boom receded was a strong Jewish Community established in the state capital.
A descoberta da Amazonia. A aventura dos judeus marroquinos que desbravam o Norte do Pais (The Discovery of the Amazon: The adventure of Moroccan Jews that opened the North Country), in Revista Shalom No 221; Sao Paulo,1984.
The second organized Jewish community in Brazilian history, in modern times, was founded in Belém, capital of the State of Pará in the north, in 1840. It was made up of Jews who had come from Morocco. The immigrants were attracted by the wealth derived from the rubber economy. They established the first modern synagogue in the country, Eshel Abraham, in 1823, which was followed in 1826 by the second one, Shaar Hashamaim. Revival of the rubber industry between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th attracted more immigrants from Morocco who formed small communities in other places in northern Brazil.There were also small Moroccan centers in the Amazonas, another northern state,in places such as Itacoatiara, Cametá, Paratintins, Óbidos, Santarém, Humaitá, and others.
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.
Mathilde Tagger. Juifs natifs de Turquie parmi les deportes de France (Turkish Jews among the French native deportees), in Revue du CGJ No 53, Paris, 1998.
Sephardic genealogist and award-winning author Dr. Jeffrey Malka has a wonderful Sephardic resources website: www.sephardicgen.com Mathilde Tagger of Jerusalem - award-winning co-author of "Guidebook for Sephardic and Oriental Genealogical Sources in Israel" - has placed the many databases she has created on Dr. Malka's website.
Templo Israelita do Rito Portugues, members list, Sao Paulo.
In 2005, it was found that the maintenance of the temple was too expensive and few people attended the service. Thus the land was sold and the synagogue was demolished.
In 2011, the synagogue was rebuilt at a new location through the initiative of Silvio Santos, the famous presenter, who helped purchase land in one of the better districts of the state capital. The stained glass and religious symbols of the old, demolished synagogue which were preserved and recovered one by one, shard by shard, have been incorporated in the new synagogue building.
Gyorgy Ujlaki. Most Common Names from the Sophia (Bulgaria) Jewish Cemetery, compiled in Budapest August 30, 1997
Bension Varon. The tale of a name.'Varons' across time and place. A monograph, Fairfax, 2000.
A register of members of Varon family who were deported and perished in the Holocaust (p. 104-107). Includes bibliographical references.
Distinguished Jewish bearers of the Nahmias name and its variants include : Joseph ben Joseph (Jose) Naḥmias Talmudist of the 14th Century (Toledo). Abraham ibn Naḥmias - physician in Lisbon - Constantinople in the 6th Century. David and Samuel ibn Nahmias (15th Century) printers from Saloniki David Nahmiash (1833-1913), Rabbi from Morocco
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: Algiers, Algeria,Amazonas, Brazil,Baiao, Brasil,Belem, portugal,Bone, Algeria,Buenos Aires, Argentina,Cairo, Egypt,Cameta, Brasil,Casablanca, Morocco,Demnat, Morocco,Florina, Greece,Itacoatiara, Brasil,Meknes, Morocco,Nabeul, Tunisia,Oran, Algeria,Port Said, Egypt,Rhodes, Greece,Rio de Janeiro, Brasil,Safi, Morocco,Saloniki, Greece,Sao Paulo, Brasil,Tanger, Morocco,Temuco, Chile,Toledo, Spain,Amsterdam, Netherlands,Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina ,Dutch Brazil, Brasil,Hamburg, Germany,Jerusalem, Israel,Kavalla, Greece,Livorno (Leghorn), Italy,Marrakech, Morocco,Monastir, Tunisia,Rousse (Ruse), Bulgaria,Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina,Skopje, Macedonia,Smyrna, Netherlands,Sofia, Bulgary,
Some interesting facts about the name this name are : Nahmias was one of the most ancient and prominent Jewish families of Toledo. The name Nahmias existed before 1492.
Some common variations of Nahmias are Nahamias, Nahmijas, Namias, Nehemya, Nahmiash,
The following websites are relevant to the surname Nahmias:
http://www.geocities.ws/genealogiaprieto/namiasorigen.html
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=32&letter=N
