What's In A Hebrew Name?

I originally assumed that Hebrew names were a kind of 19th–20th century invention, but this turns out to be incorrect. The use of a secular given name and a Hebrew name goes back quite a long way. In fact, it is said that tracing Jewish records can be more reliably done with Hebrew names because someone named for Avraham will remain Avraham in their Hebrew name, even if their secular name changes.

Jews who already had a biblical name like Avraham/Abraham or Sora/Sarah would usually use those names without a different Hebrew name.

A Hebrew name is used primarily in religious contexts, like a Bar or Bat Mitzvah. For example, my Hebrew name is Binyamin Avraham, named for my father's recently passed uncles, Benjamin Shapiro and Abraham Lieberman.

At my bar mitzvah, I was Binyamin Avraham ben Chaim Sander. I'll have more to say about the names "Chaim" and "Sander" in a moment. The word "bar" is Aramaic, but I suppose that because a bar mitzvah is such an ancient ritual, the name stuck. In more recent years, the Hebrew "ben" is used to denote parentage. The word "bat" is Hebrew, used because by the time of bat mitzvah, Hebrew was in use. (Thanks to cousin Rabbi Schonbrun for the info and corrections!)

"Ben" or "bar" means "son of", as in bar mitzvah, literally "son of the commandment". ‘Bat’ means ‘daughter of’, as in bat mitzvah. Chaim Sander was my father, Stanley Herman Dumes's Hebrew name. When I was married, I wrote, after a fashion, my Hebrew name on the Ketubah, the Jewish wedding contract that my wife Debra calligraphed.

Liba

This is Liba Dumesh, born in Vishki in 1922. She died in 1941 when the Nazis invaded Latvia. I have been doing some thinking about the name Liba. In the Dumes family, there are several ladies named Lillian who have the Hebrew name Liba:

Lillian Sarah Dumes Zoll, Hebrew name Sora Liba, was born in 1922
Mildred Lillian Dumes Dansker, Hebrew name Malka Liba, was born in 1924
Lillian [nickname 'Libby'] Henrietta Dumes Gluck, Hebrew name Liba Yenka, was born in 1924

Ashkenazi or Eastern European Jews traditionally never name a baby for a living person. It's considered bad luck, like you'd be wishing someone were dead. So it's not uncommon to see a slew of the same tribute names in various branches of the family around the same time.

Therefore, it seems logical to conclude that someone in my family named Liba died in Latvia around 1921 or 1922. The only other Liba I know about was Liba Dumesh, born in Vishki in 1889, daughter of Hirsch-Leib Dumesh and Hana-Lea. In the absence of any other data, I'm assuming that this Liba was the namesake.

I suspect Hirsch-Leib was another brother of Chaim Yehushua, but I have no documentation to show how he connects with our tree as yet. If this Liba was the namesake, then she would have died very young, perhaps in 1922 at age 33.

Cousin Lillian Zoll, one of the Libas, gave me this photo and said it was Dumes cousins Sterka and Malka. It seems like a good assumption that my aunt Mildred Dumes Dansker's Hebrew name Malka Liba is possibly a tribute to both Liba and Malka.

Sara/Sora

Sarah Dumes Kaplan, Sara Tsipa bat Chaim Yehoshua, was the first child of Chaim and Sheina Freda, so she would have been named for someone special. Unfortunately, that knowledge is probably gone forever.

Sylvia Fishman Wigodner, Sarah Tsipe bat Elimelech, b. 1918 d. 1939, was the first daughter of Max and Fannie Dumes Fishman. Her name is an example of why tracing Hebrew names is a more accurate telling of who you were named for. Sylvia was almost certainly named for the same person as Sarah Kaplan.

Sarah's younger brother Louis' youngest daughter was one of the Libas, Lillian Sarah Dumes Zoll, Sora Liba bat Abaraham Leib. Since his sister Sarah was still alive, it is logical to assume that she was named for the same Sarah.

My sister Sandra [nickname 'Sandi'], Sarah Esther, was named for Sarah Kaplan, my father's aunt. Sarah died in 1945.

There are at least 4 living Sarah (first or middle names) descendants of Chaim and Sheina Freda.

Chaim

Chaim Yehushua Dumesh was my great-grandfather. Chaim died in Latvia in 1904. My grandfather William was only 2. My grandfather's oldest sibling Sarah and her husband Jacob Kaplan were in the UK, en route to America when she realized that she was pregnant. She returned to Latvia to have the baby with plans to join Jacob later. Chaim died before Sarah's baby was born, and so the baby was named Chaim. When Sarah joined husband Jacob, she was accompanied by son Hyman.

Louis and Rebecca Stein Dumes were married in 1912 in Champaign, IL. Their first child was Jeannette in 1913. The first boy was named Hyman, Hebrew name Chaim, born in 1915.

Abraham and Rebecca Dumes Lieberman were married in 1913, in Champaign, IL. Their first son Benjamin was no doubt named for Abe's father. Abe's Hebrew name was Israel Avraham ben Binyamin. Their 2nd son, born in 1917, was Heiman.

Abe and Anna Dumes Schultz were married in 1917 in Terre Haute, IN. Their first son was named "Herman".

My grandparents William and Freda Fialco Dumes were married in 1923 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Their first son was Stanley Herman/Chaim Sander Dumes.

Sander

Chaim Yehushua Dumesh, my great-grandfather, had a brother named Sender or Shender. I've seen it written both ways, so it was probably rendered in Latvian orthography as Šender with the Latvian character "Š". Š is pronounced "Sh". I can imagine that it might sometimes get written as S with an understood Š. The name Dumes was written Dumeš, and this is why my Latvian cousins are Dumesh. I believe that when my ancestors' surname was written in English, it simply became Dumes.

Shender died under poor circumstances in 1926. Shender's youngest child, Leah, moved to what was then still called Palestine, now Israel in 1936. Leah's daughter Rina lives today in Tel Aviv.

My father was born in 1926, just months after Shender died. I feel certain that my father's Hebrew name Sander was for Shender, and the pronunciation was lost over the years. It's very common to pick given names that sound like the Hebrew name or at least start with the first letter. Therefore, Stanley was used for Sander.

Just a few months after my father was born, his 1st cousin Harry Stanley Lieberman was born. Unfortunately, Harry passed away and we don't know what his Hebrew name was, but my money is on Sander or Shender.

Zev

My great-grandfather, Chaim Yehushua Dumes was the son of Wulf. On his grave, his name is written as Chaim Yehushua Bar Zev.

Zev is “wolf” in Hebrew, so someone with a Hebrew name Zev is usually named Wulf. Wulf Dumesh died in 1897. Chaim Yehushua and Sheina Freda's first son born after Wulf's death was named Wulf. In America, he was my grandfather, William J. Dumes. And of course his Hebrew name was Zev. It was very common to American-ize the name Wulf to William.

Jacob and Sarah Dumes Kaplan's grandson, born in 1938 was William Bennett.

Louis and Rebecca Stein Dumes' first boy was named Hyman, after Louis' father Chaim. His next son was William, Hebrew name Zev ben Abraham Leib.

Max Fishman married Fannie Dumes, my grandfather's older sister. Her first son was William S. Fishman.

Arthur and Jennie Rosenberg Dumes' son was named William Israel, Hebrew name Wolf ben Aharon. It is interesting that they used Wolf and not Zev for the Hebrew name.

William Israel Dumes' grandson, William D. Dumes, was born in 1979, and sadly passed away in March 2025.

There are at least 6 more living descendants of Wulf Dumesh b. circa 1839 d. 1897 named William, including my son and my nephew.

Ahron

Arthur Dumes, Ahron ben Chaim Yehoshua, second son of Chaim and Sheina Freda was named after Sheina Freda's father.

Arthur Lawrence Dumes, Aaron son of William Israel Dumes, was born in Tucson, AZ two years after his grandfather Arthur passed away. Arthur died in 2011.

And our very own Art Lieberman, Ahron Zalek, Dumes-reunion-meister extraordinaire, was named for Arthur, son of Chaim, as was my older brother.

Names, names and more names

Yenta, Zelda, Shlomo, Yenka, Yenta, Hannah, Feige, Yitzhak, Dvora, Rephael...and so many more names. I list Hebrew names in Family Tree pages. If you notice any missing or incorrect names, please let me know! If you are a family member and have a login to the website, you can update your own Hebrew name as well as your contact info.

Dumesh

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 my father's Uncle Louis used to tell people that the name had been “Dumeshevski”. This probably made people feel better, but it was not the case! It was simply Dumesh (דומעש).

This is the grave of Chaim Yehushua Bar Zev Dumesh.

Grave of Chaim Yehushua Dumes — Hebrew inscription (verbatim from stone)

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.

Domashi, also spelled DOMASHE, is in Belarus, 38 miles from our home town of Viski in modern-day Latvia. There is a theory that people who came from Domashe were Dumesh.

Dvinsk, referenced above, was a major Jewish area, only a dozen or so miles from Vishki. A webpage, titled Jewish Life in Dvinsk under Russian Rule – A Woman’s Memoir describes everyday life there in 1860. Interesting stuff!

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:

Newspaper clipping: YOUR NAME by N. Pearlroth — 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.

Fishman

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

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

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).

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}.