|
|
|
Sephardic Anusim Center of the Americas
News Blurb
February 2009
|
|
|
|
|
"The exiles from Jerusalem who are in
Sepharad will possess the towns of the Negev."
(Obadiah 20)
|
|
|
|
|
This matter of names is part of a growing body of
knowledge known as "onomatopoeia"
or "onomastics." I'm not trying to show off the new
word I've found - I'm just trying to demonstrate to you
that this is a viable body of knowledge which I
consider to be a science and an art.
Onomatopoeia is "the formation of a name or word by
imitating sound associated with the thing designated,"
according to The American College Dictionary. 'It's the
study of etymology, transformations and morphology
of a person's proper name.' Morphology is simply the
patterns of word formation in a particular language,
including inflection, derivation, and composition.
My colleague, Richard Santos agrees with me that
around 1000 BCE, Jews landed in Sepharad (Spain).
He says that "Sepharad" means a "place where we
became princes and princesses." By the way,
Santos is the best historical and archival source on
Sephardic Jews in this region of the world that I've
ever known.
Again, I agree with Santos when he declares that
Biblical names were given to many of our children.
There are at least two reasons for this: one, because
there are no nicer names than those in the Bible; and
two, because these names keep the legacy of our true
history alive.
You may not know but every Sephardic surname has a
meaning behind it. For instance, Perez means, "he
who dares." Abraham (Abram) means, "father of
many." Debora means a " bee." Rafael is "cured by
God." David is "beloved." Adam is "of the red earth."
Esther means "star. Gabriel means "God is mighty."
Miriam (Maria) means "bitter."
And by the way, Sephardic surnames originated
between the 14th & the 16th Century -- way before
Ashkenazic names emerged in the 19th Century.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Contact Information
|
|
|
|
Dr.Dell F. Sanchez | |
| |
210.326.6570 | |
|
|
|
During a symposium on Sephardic Anusim (Crypto
Jews) at Texas A&M University last year, the host said
to me: "Your forefathers deserve for you to know who
they were. . ." My concern was instantly, but I don't
even
know all their names and much less can I find all their
records.
Some of the rabbinic surnames are Cohen and Levy.
However, among our people, these names are pretty
much translated as CANO for Cohen and LEYVA (or
Leiva) for Levi. And on top of this, some of the other
surnames that pointed to the ministers of the Temple
or sanctuary such as the Levites are: SANTOS which
means holy. A few names derived from Santos are
Sanchez, Saenz and Santillano.