William

Have you ever wondered why there are so many folks named "William" in our family? I believe I know why! The father of Chaim Yehushua Dumes was named Wulf. His Hebrew name was Zev. We know this because Chaim's grave gives his name as Chaim Yehushua Bar Zev. Zev means "wolf" in Hebrew, so someone named Wulf is given the Hebrew name Zev. My grandfather, William J. Dumes, was named Wulf in Latvia, and of course his Hebrew name was Zev.

We can assume that they followed the Ashkenazi tradition of naming children after someone who has passed. So it is reasonable to assume that Chaim's father Wulf died sometime between with Arthur was born in 1981 and William was born in 1902.

In the next generation, Louis Dumes name his first son Hyman after his father and his second son William after his grandfather. Arthur Dumes named his first son William after his grandfather.

Dumes

How many times (assuming your last name is Dumes) have you been asked, "So what was Dumes before it was changed?" It is said that Uncle Louis used to tell people that the name had been "Dumeshevski". This probably made people feel better, but it was not the case!

This is the grave of Chaim Yehushua Dumes.

There is a reference book that helps us:

Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire. Teaneck, NJ: Avotaynu, 1993.

It contains the following entries:

Domashevskij (Vilna, Mogilev, Ekater. gub.) T: from the village Domashi (Novogrudok d., Disna d.) {Dumashevskij, Dumesh (Dumes)}.

Dumes (Dvinsk) T: see Dumesh. T: see Domashevskij.

Dumesh (Dvinsk) T: from the village Dumsy (Dumsie in Polish) (Kovno d.) {Dumes}. T: see Domashevskij.

So in fact, 'Dumes' is indeed a very Russian name! And the village Domashi still exists in Belarus.

Domashi also spelled DOMASHE is in Belarus, 38 miles from our home town of Viski, in modern day Latvia.

Dvinsk was a major Jewish area. Click HERE for a great page, titled "Jewish Life in Dvinsk under Russian Rule - A Woman's Memoir", which describes life there in 1860. Interesting stuff!

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Kaplan

Cousin Lila Kaplan sent me a wonderful clipping regarding the history of the Kaplan name. Lila says that her father George saved this clipping in his prayer book from 1936. I'm very grateful for it! All you Kaplans should be very proud! You have a name of great and rich history. The clipping reads:

YOUR NAME by N. Pearlroth Dear Mr. Pearlroth, The derivation of names has always interested me, and the other day while reading over The Jewish Post, I came across your column entitled "Your Name". Will you kindly tell me how the name of Kaplan came about? Sincerely, Miss Dorothy Kaplan Easton, Pa KAPLAN -- you belong to a unique priestly aristocracy with a family name that goes back an unbroken 3,400 years. No nation on earth possesses a family that can match it. Kaplan, meaning "Priest," is a Polish rendering of the name Cohen, which goes back to Aaron the brother of Moses. The word "kaplan" is related linguistically to the English "chaplain". Other versions of your name are Katz, Schiff, Pap, Sacerdote and Mase.

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Fishman

According to The Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from the Russian Empire reference earlier, Fishman, not surprisingly, has obvious roots:

Fishman (common in Mozyr', Rovno, Kremenets, Starokonst., Soroki, Khotin, Akkerman, Tarashcha) O: see Fish (fishmonger, fisherman).

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Stein

Again, using the Dictionary of Jewish Surnames:

Shtejn (Dvinsk, common in Sokoka; Kremenets, Lutsk, Radomysl') A: shteyn [Yiddish], Stein [German] stone {Shtejner (Shtyner), Shtejnman (Shtejman, Shtel'man), Shtejmanov; Stejman (Stel'man); Shtajn, Shtajner (Shtajnerg), Shtajnovich; Shtejndel' (Shtendel', Shtejdel'), Shtejndler}. T: from the town Stein (numerous in German provinces and in Austria).

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Rosenberg

Rozenberg (common in Courland, Zhitomir, Novograd, Ovruch, Kiev, Tiraspol', Odessa) A: Rosenberg [German] mountain of roses {Rozemberg, Rozinberg, Rozynberg, Rozberg; Rojzenbarg (Rozenbarg, Rozenbar, Rojzenbrakh, Rojzenbukh), Rojzenberg (Rajzenberg), Rojzbarg, Rojzberg; Rejzenbarg (Rejzenbakh), Rejzenberg (Rezenberg, Rizenberg), Rejzbarg, Rinzbarg}.

Vinik

Vinik (Rossieny, Vilna, Brest, Volkovysk, Grodno) O: see Vinnik [Yiddish].

Vinnik (Kobrin, Skvira, Lipovets, Radomysl') O: wine dealer, brandy distiller [Russian] {Vinik, Viniker, Vinikov (Venikov), Vinikovich, Vinitskij, Vinnikov, Vinnikovskij, Vynik; Vinichko}.

Koller

Koller (Lida, Anan'ev) T: see Kolovskij. A: Koller [German] jacket, roundabout.

Kolovskij T: from the town Koo (`koyl' in Yiddish {Kojl}) (district center in Kalisz gub.) {Kol'skij, Kolevskij, Koller}.

Shifrin

Shifrin (common in Mstislavl', Mogilev, Gomel', Bykhov) FS: see Shifre.

Shifre (Poltava gub.) F: from the given name Shifra (`shifre' in Yiddish) {Shifro, Shifron, Shifrin (Shufrin, Sifrin, Tsifrin, Tsyfrin), Shifrinov, Shifrinson (Shlifinson, Shlifenson), Shifres, Shifris (Shifriz, Sifris), Shifrovich}. The original Hebrew form of this given name is `shifroh' (Exodus 1:15). Germanized variant of this given name: Shifer* {Shifer (Shiffer, Shiper), Shiferson (Shifferson, Siferson), Siferman, Shiperovich; Shifengauz; Shiferberg (Shifenberg)}. Hypocoristic forms: Shifrel' (`shifrl' in Yiddish)* {Shifrel'}, Shifel' (`shifl' in Yiddish)* {Shiffel'}.

Dansker

Dansker (Kovno, Rovno, Balta) T: see Dantsig.

Dantsig (Sokoka, Novogrudok, Minsk) T: from the town Danzig (Gdask in Polish {Gdanskij (Gidanskij, Danskij)}; `dansk' and `dantsk' [Yiddish] {Dantsiker, Dantsker (Dantskir, Dontsker), Dansker (Danskir)}) (West Prussia) {Dantsik, Dantsyg (Dantsyk), Danchik, Dantsiger}.