SASSOON Origin of surname
SASSOON, SASSON, ABEN SASSON, BEN SASSON
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.
The surname Sassoun can be derived from Shushan, which is Suza, the ancient capital of the kings of Persia (Daniel 8.2, Esther 1.2), Shoshan. The Arabic prefix "Aben-" and the Hebrew prefix "Ben-" both mean "son of". In some cases Sassoon is a matronymic surname (derived from a female ancestor's personal name), associated with the Hebrew female personal name Shoshanah, meaning "rose".
One of the first records of surnames in this group is that of Shlomoh Ben Joseph Ibn Shushan, Nasi ("leader") of the Toledo Jewish community (Spain) in the 11th century. Yehouda Hacohen Ben Soussan, who was chief rabbi of Fez and surnamed 'HaGaon HaHassid', arrived in Morocco from Babylonia with his father and was the teacher of Maimonides. He died at the stake for refusing to convert to Islam in 1165. He was a member of the illustrious Soussan family from Babylonia which probably came to Morocco after the decline of the yeshivot of Babylonia at the beginning of the Moroccan golden ages in the 9th and 10th centuries. The spelling Xixen is recorded in Spain with Astruc Jacob Xixen (sometimes spelled Xuxen) in 1262, while Abraham Ibn Shushan, son of Don Mosse Aben Xuxen was a tax collector in Toledo in the 13th/14th century. Sassoon is recorded as a Jewish surname in 12th century Spain with the Ibn Shoshan family of Toledo, who claimed descent from King David.
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.
The surname Sassoun can be derived from Shushan, which is Suza, the ancient capital of the kings of Persia (Daniel 8.2, Esther 1.2), Shoshan. The Arabic prefix "Aben-" and the Hebrew prefix "Ben-" both mean "son of". In some cases Sassoon is a matronymic surname (derived from a female ancestor's personal name), associated with the Hebrew female personal name Shoshanah, meaning "rose".
One of the first records of surnames in this group is that of Shlomoh Ben Joseph Ibn Shushan, Nasi ("leader") of the Toledo Jewish community (Spain) in the 11th century. Yehouda Hacohen Ben Soussan, who was chief rabbi of Fez and surnamed 'HaGaon HaHassid', arrived in Morocco from Babylonia with his father and was the teacher of Maimonides. He died at the stake for refusing to convert to Islam in 1165. He was a member of the illustrious Soussan family from Babylonia which probably came to Morocco after the decline of the yeshivot of Babylonia at the beginning of the Moroccan golden ages in the 9th and 10th centuries. The spelling Xixen is recorded in Spain with Astruc Jacob Xixen (sometimes spelled Xuxen) in 1262, while Abraham Ibn Shushan, son of Don Mosse Aben Xuxen was a tax collector in Toledo in the 13th/14th century. Sassoon is recorded as a Jewish surname in 12th century Spain with the Ibn Shoshan family of Toledo, who claimed descent from King David.