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KAMINSKA Origin of surname

KAMINSKA

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is 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.

This Jewish family name is based on the Slavic Kamen/Kamien/Kamin, meaning "stone". There are many towns and villages throughout Eastern Europe in the region stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea with names based on "stone", among them Cammin (formerly Pomerania, Germany, now in Szeczin province, north-west Poland), Kamien, called Kamin in German (north-west Poland), Kamieniec, called Kamenz in German (lower Silesia, Wroclaw province, south-west Poland), Kamenice, called Kamnitz in German, and Kamenicky (both in northern Bohemia, Czech Republic), Kamenica (Serbia), Kamnik (Slovenia), both in Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia), Kamenitsa (Bulgaria), Kaminski (in Ivanovo oblast ("province"), Russia); the two most important localities for Jewish life and history in that region are the Ukrainian towns Kamenka-Bugskaya, called Kamionka-Strumilova in Polish, and Kamenez Podolsk, in both of which Jews lived since the 15th century. In a number of place names in Eastern Europe, Kamen/Kamien/Kamin, the Slavic word for "stone", is often replaced by Jews with the Yiddish Shteyn, based on the German Stein. Stein, literally "stone/rock" in German, is an artificial name that is commonly found in Jewish family names in its own right, or as a prefix (Steinberg) or a suffix (Loewenstein). Moreover, a considerable number of towns and villages have names comprising the term Stein.

Distinguished bearers of the Jewish family name Kaminska include the 20th century Polish-born Yiddish stage and screen actress, Ida Kaminska.

Ida Kaminska (1899-1980), actress, born in Odessa, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), she was the daughter of Yiddish stage actress Esther Rachel Kaminska (1870-1925) and actor, director and stage producer, Avram Izhak Kaminski (1867–1918). She was the sister of musician Josef Kaminsky (1903-1972) and cousin of actor Danny Kaye.

Ida Kaminska began a stage career at the age of five. Her first movie role was in 1912 in Mirele Efros, with her mother and her sister in other roles in the film. Her film career was brief, only appearing in four other movies in her entire career. However, in 1965, she starred in the Slovak and Czech movie The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos), and she received a 1966 nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Her last role was The Angel Levine (1970), directed by Ján Kadár.

Following her death from cardiovascular disease in 1980, she was interred in the Yiddish theater section of the Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, New York.

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KAMINSKA Origin of surname
KAMINSKA

Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is 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.

This Jewish family name is based on the Slavic Kamen/Kamien/Kamin, meaning "stone". There are many towns and villages throughout Eastern Europe in the region stretching from the Baltic to the Black Sea with names based on "stone", among them Cammin (formerly Pomerania, Germany, now in Szeczin province, north-west Poland), Kamien, called Kamin in German (north-west Poland), Kamieniec, called Kamenz in German (lower Silesia, Wroclaw province, south-west Poland), Kamenice, called Kamnitz in German, and Kamenicky (both in northern Bohemia, Czech Republic), Kamenica (Serbia), Kamnik (Slovenia), both in Serbia (formerly Yugoslavia), Kamenitsa (Bulgaria), Kaminski (in Ivanovo oblast ("province"), Russia); the two most important localities for Jewish life and history in that region are the Ukrainian towns Kamenka-Bugskaya, called Kamionka-Strumilova in Polish, and Kamenez Podolsk, in both of which Jews lived since the 15th century. In a number of place names in Eastern Europe, Kamen/Kamien/Kamin, the Slavic word for "stone", is often replaced by Jews with the Yiddish Shteyn, based on the German Stein. Stein, literally "stone/rock" in German, is an artificial name that is commonly found in Jewish family names in its own right, or as a prefix (Steinberg) or a suffix (Loewenstein). Moreover, a considerable number of towns and villages have names comprising the term Stein.

Distinguished bearers of the Jewish family name Kaminska include the 20th century Polish-born Yiddish stage and screen actress, Ida Kaminska.
Written by researchers of ANU Museum of the Jewish People
Ida Kaminska

Ida Kaminska (1899-1980), actress, born in Odessa, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), she was the daughter of Yiddish stage actress Esther Rachel Kaminska (1870-1925) and actor, director and stage producer, Avram Izhak Kaminski (1867–1918). She was the sister of musician Josef Kaminsky (1903-1972) and cousin of actor Danny Kaye.

Ida Kaminska began a stage career at the age of five. Her first movie role was in 1912 in Mirele Efros, with her mother and her sister in other roles in the film. Her film career was brief, only appearing in four other movies in her entire career. However, in 1965, she starred in the Slovak and Czech movie The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze, directed by Ján Kadár and Elmar Klos), and she received a 1966 nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.

Her last role was The Angel Levine (1970), directed by Ján Kadár.

Following her death from cardiovascular disease in 1980, she was interred in the Yiddish theater section of the Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, New York.