LIPKIN Origin of surname
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name.
Lipkin is a Yiddish variant of the German Lieb Kind, meaning "dear child", in which the consonant "b" is replaced by "p". Lip is a variant of the Yiddish/German Lieb, or an abbreviation of Lipman. Lipman and its variants, sometimes substituting the letter "p" for "b", are most probably a matronymic based on the female personal name Liebe (Yiddish/German for "beloved"), in this case meaning "Liebe's man/husband". It could also be a patronymic derived from the male personal Leib, a 'kinnui' ("secular equivalent") for Judah based on Jacob's blessing (Genesis 49.9). Or it can be derived from an augmented personal name Lippe, Lippman, Lipkin, or Lippmann, in which Lipp can be a form of Lieb. Jewish names comprising this word are also linked to Gottlieb ("beloved of God").
The variant Libkind is recorded in France in 1957.
Distinguished bearers of the Jewish family name Lipkin include the founder and spiritual leader of the Musar movement, Israel Lipkin, also known as Salanter (1810-1883), the Russian mathematician, Yom Tov Lipman Lipkin (1845-1875), and the 20th century American chemist and educator David Lipkin.
Israel Ben Zeev Wolf Lipkin Salanter
(Personality)Israel Ben Zeev Wolf Lipkin Salanter (1810-1883), rabbi, born in Žagarė, Lithuania (then part of the Russian Empire), where his father was rabbi. He studied in a yeshiva in Salant, hence his name. Salanter was a child prodigy who delivered casuistic homilies before scholars when he was only ten. However, he became critical of casuistry and concentrated on the study of ethical literature (Musar). He headed a yeshiva in Vilna, 1840-47, and in Kovno,1849-57. In both centers he found a wide following for his Musar teachings. In 1857 Salanter moved to Germany and lived in Koenigsberg. In 1860 he settled in Memel. While there he acquired German citizenship, adopted German dress and preached in German. His most successful achievement was the Musar yeshivot in which, apart from Talmud studies, time was set apart for the study of ethics. His own homilies drew large audiences. One of the most famous episodes in his life was during a cholera epidemic, when from the pulpit he ordered the congregation to eat on Yom Kippur and set himself as an example. In 1880 he moved to Paris to give spiritual leadership to the eastern European Jewish community there. In 1883 he returned to Koenigsberg where he died. Salanter left no writings but his teachings were published by his disciples.
East London
(Place)East London
Port in East Cape Province, South Africa.
East London was founded in 1836 as a landing stage and proclaimed a town in 1847. W. Barnett acquired a grant of land in 1849, but the first known permanent Jewish resident was Gustave Wetzlar, who arrived in Cape Town in 1861 from Germany and settled as a merchant in East London in 1873. A town councilor in 1881, he became mayor in 1889. John Lewis Norton, a descendant of the British settlers of 1820, became chief constable and messenger of the court. The growth of the Jewish population resulting from immigration and an influx during the Boer war of 1899-1902 led to the establishment of a Hebrew congregation in 1901. Julius Myers and G.G. Deal, both immigrants from England, took the initiative and continued to be active in communal life.
Emmanuel Lipkin, later of Oudtshoorn, arrived from England in 1903 as minister and a small synagogue was opened. A larger synagogue was built 20 years later. A small Reform congregation was established in 1958. There is an active Jewish communal life with Hebrew schools, Zionist and other organizations, regional branches of national bodies, and a country club.
Jews have been prominent in civic affairs, the mayors including (besides Wetzlar) David Lazarus, 1947-48 and 1966-1968, Abraham Addleson, 1957-1959, and Leo Laden, 1962-1964. East London's Jewish population numbers approximately 1,200 and is engaged in commerce, industry, and the professions.