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Moroccan Jewish Surnames - Common Last Names in Moroccan History - MyHeritage Wiki

Captured 2025-11-22

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Moroccan Jewish Surnames - Common Last Names in Moroccan History - MyHeritage Wiki

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This MyHeritage wiki page provides a comprehensive examination of Moroccan Jewish surnames, serving as both a genealogical resource and historical document for understanding the complex naming traditions of Jewish communities in Morocco and their global diaspora. The page, primarily contributed by Maor Malul, focuses on the surnames used by Jews in historic and modern Morocco, as well as Moroccan Jewish communities that have spread across Gibraltar, France, Israel, Canada, Venezuela, Portugal, Brazil, the United States, and the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The content reveals the deep historical roots of Jewish presence in the Maghreb, with scholarly debate centering on whether the first Jewish communities arrived after the destruction of the First Temple (6th century BCE) or the Second Temple (1st century CE). The page highlights competing claims for the oldest Jewish community, noting that Ifrane (known as Oufrane to Jews) may date back to 361 BCE, while Hebrew tombstones found in the Berber-Roman city of Volubilis near Meknes provide concrete evidence of Jewish presence from the 3rd century CE. The analysis traces several waves of Jewish immigration, from early Visigothic persecution refugees in the 7th century through the massive influx following the 1492 Alhambra Decree, which brought nearly 100,000 expelled Iberian Jews to Morocco and fundamentally transformed the local Jewish community structure. A crucial insight presented is the evolution of surname usage among Moroccan Jews, which was relatively uncommon before the late 15th century Spanish expulsion. The earliest documented hereditary surnames date to the 12th century, with examples like L'Mdioni (El Medioni) and Bahlul, but the practice only became widespread after the arrival of Spanish Jewish refugees who brought their established naming conventions. The page emphasizes how European influence in the 1800s, particularly through institutions like the Alliance Israélite Universelle, further standardized surname usage among Moroccan Jewish communities. The page serves as a practical genealogical tool by addressing the complex spelling variations that characterize Moroccan Jewish surnames due to the multilingual nature of record-keeping under Arabic, French, Spanish, and Hebrew administrative systems. Examples like M'loul/Melloul/Melul/Malul and Botbol/Abitbol/Abutbul/Boutboul demonstrate how a single family name could appear in up to four different spellings depending on the registrar's language. The page specifically mentions MyHeritage's SuperSearch technology as a solution for researchers dealing with these variant spellings, while also beginning to categorize surnames by origin, particularly highlighting patronymic surnames beginning with the "Ben-" prefix meaning "son of" in both Arabic and Hebrew.

Citation (APA Style)

Moroccan Jewish Surnames - Common Last Names in Moroccan History - MyHeritage Wiki. (2025, 11 22). www.myheritage.com. https://www.myheritage.com/wiki/Moroccan_Jewish_surnames

Technical Metadata

Domain www.myheritage.com
File Size 316 KB
Archived 2025-11-22T14:21:07.846436
Document ID #79
Languages 5 available