AMAR Origin of surname
AMAR, AMMAR
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name derives from an occupation, profession or trade (also connected with raw material, finished product or implements associated with that trade).
Amar, which means "builder" in Arabic, can be an occupational name. Amar may also be a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birth place, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives. In some cases Ammar is associated with Balad-Ammar, an area in southern Yemen. In other cases Amar can be a patronymic surname derived from a male ancestor's personal name of biblical origin, as a variant of the biblical male personal name Omar/Umar, a descendant of Esau; according to another view the name derives from the biblical male personal name Omri/Amari/Imri, a descendant of Perez (1 Chronicles 9.4). Transforming or translating Hebrew and biblical names into vernacular sounding names enabled Jews in the Diaspora both to maintain their Jewish tradition, as well as to become part of their host society. In the 19th century, Amar is recorded as a Jewish family name with Mardochee Amar of Tunis, mentioned in the 'ketubbah' of his daughter Simha and her husband Elie Platero, dated August 18, 1813. Ammar is also recorded as a Jewish family name in a list of Jewish Yemenite families compiled by Rabbi Shalom Gamliel, who was sent from Israel to Aden, Yemen, in 1949 to assist in the organization of the mass immigration of Jews from Yemen. A family who immigrated to Israel from Yemen during the 1950s, later on changed its surname from Ammar to Amir.
Distinguished bearers of the Jewish family name Amar include the Hungarian-born violinist , Licco Amar (1891-1959), who along with the German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) established the Amar-Hindemith Quartet (1921-29), and the Moroccan-born Israeli singer, cantor and entertainer, Jo Amar (1930-2009). In the 20th century, Amar is recorded as a Jewish family name in Meknes, Morocco, with Rabbi Mordechai Amar (1888-1958), who was general secretary of the Jewish community and co-founder of Bikur Holim Association in Meknes; Messo Amar was leader of the Jewish community in Tangiers, Morocco; Meyer Amar (born 1914) was a Zionist activist in Meknes, Morocco, and one of the propagators of the modern Hebrew language; Mory Amar (born 1958) in Casablanca, Morocco, was president of the European Union of Jewish Students as well as the president of the Union of Jewish Students in France (1980-1982); and Rabbi Shlomo Amar (born 1948) has been the Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel since 2003.
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name derives from an occupation, profession or trade (also connected with raw material, finished product or implements associated with that trade).
Amar, which means "builder" in Arabic, can be an occupational name. Amar may also be a toponymic (derived from a geographic name of a town, city, region or country). Surnames that are based on place names do not always testify to direct origin from that place, but may indicate an indirect relation between the name-bearer or his ancestors and the place, such as birth place, temporary residence, trade, or family-relatives. In some cases Ammar is associated with Balad-Ammar, an area in southern Yemen. In other cases Amar can be a patronymic surname derived from a male ancestor's personal name of biblical origin, as a variant of the biblical male personal name Omar/Umar, a descendant of Esau; according to another view the name derives from the biblical male personal name Omri/Amari/Imri, a descendant of Perez (1 Chronicles 9.4). Transforming or translating Hebrew and biblical names into vernacular sounding names enabled Jews in the Diaspora both to maintain their Jewish tradition, as well as to become part of their host society. In the 19th century, Amar is recorded as a Jewish family name with Mardochee Amar of Tunis, mentioned in the 'ketubbah' of his daughter Simha and her husband Elie Platero, dated August 18, 1813. Ammar is also recorded as a Jewish family name in a list of Jewish Yemenite families compiled by Rabbi Shalom Gamliel, who was sent from Israel to Aden, Yemen, in 1949 to assist in the organization of the mass immigration of Jews from Yemen. A family who immigrated to Israel from Yemen during the 1950s, later on changed its surname from Ammar to Amir.
Distinguished bearers of the Jewish family name Amar include the Hungarian-born violinist , Licco Amar (1891-1959), who along with the German composer Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) established the Amar-Hindemith Quartet (1921-29), and the Moroccan-born Israeli singer, cantor and entertainer, Jo Amar (1930-2009). In the 20th century, Amar is recorded as a Jewish family name in Meknes, Morocco, with Rabbi Mordechai Amar (1888-1958), who was general secretary of the Jewish community and co-founder of Bikur Holim Association in Meknes; Messo Amar was leader of the Jewish community in Tangiers, Morocco; Meyer Amar (born 1914) was a Zionist activist in Meknes, Morocco, and one of the propagators of the modern Hebrew language; Mory Amar (born 1958) in Casablanca, Morocco, was president of the European Union of Jewish Students as well as the president of the Union of Jewish Students in France (1980-1982); and Rabbi Shlomo Amar (born 1948) has been the Sephardi chief rabbi of Israel since 2003.