Sposoby identyfikacji Żydów białostockich w świetle spisów ludności z lat 1799–1853 (okres zaboru rosyjskiego)

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to draw attention for the need to supplement the existing researches of anthroponymy of the Jewish community in Bialystok in the first part of the 19th century (the period of Russian partitions). A sociological-linguistic analysis these anthroponyms should be made. It is possible because we can use new sources – names lists of inhabitans of Bialystok in years 1799–1853. These sources contain a great wealth of Jewish anthroponyms. The oldest nineteenth-century sources show the process of formation of surnames of Bialystok Jews. Surnames were imposed on Jews by the authorities of the Russian Empire. The lexical base of Białystok Jews’ surnames were Slavic languages, mainly Polish and Russian, German, Yiddish and Hebrew. The patterns of the countries of settlement were used to form surnames (Polish, Russian, German). What distinguishes the Jewish anthroponymy in the research area were the artificial surnames. Because of womens’ social rank female surnames enclosed in the registers are not very common.