02:00pm - 04:00pm  The History, Adoption, and Regulation of Jewish Surnames in the Russian Empire

Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Mark Paull Co-Sponsored by JewishGen.org at the Museum of Jewish Heritage The history of the adoption, regulation, and use of Jewish surnames in the Russian Empire is quite complex. There were a myriad number of ways by which Jewish surnames were created, assigned, or adopted, while tight restrictions were placed on changing or altering surnames. As a result of Russian laws and mandates, many non-related Jewish individuals acquired the same surname, while many related family members acquired different surnames. This situation has created many challenges for genealogists who try to trace the ancestry or locate descendants of a particular ...