HIRSCHMANN Origin of surname
HIRSCHMANN
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 patronymic, derived from a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin.
Literally "stag man" in German, Hirschmann is based on Hirsch. The German Hirsch (meaning "hart/deer"), is a popular German/Yiddish 'kinnui' ("secular name") of the the biblical Naphtali, who is described by Jacob as a "nimble hart" in his blessings (Genesis 49). The custom of giving children names of animals was derived from the blessings of the patriarch Jacob conferred upon his sons in which he compares some of their qualities to those of animals. An additional factor was the popular belief that the strength and energy of the animal could be transferred to the infant as a source of vitality and power. When Jews adopted hereditary family names (between 1787 and the 1830s, authorities in Central and Eastern Europe began to force Jewish families to adopt fixed hereditary family names), many chose patronymics (after a paternal relative) of the popular first name Hirsch and its variants.
Distinguished bearers of Jewish surname Hirschmann include the 20th century American business executive Ira A. Hirschmann.
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 patronymic, derived from a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin.
Literally "stag man" in German, Hirschmann is based on Hirsch. The German Hirsch (meaning "hart/deer"), is a popular German/Yiddish 'kinnui' ("secular name") of the the biblical Naphtali, who is described by Jacob as a "nimble hart" in his blessings (Genesis 49). The custom of giving children names of animals was derived from the blessings of the patriarch Jacob conferred upon his sons in which he compares some of their qualities to those of animals. An additional factor was the popular belief that the strength and energy of the animal could be transferred to the infant as a source of vitality and power. When Jews adopted hereditary family names (between 1787 and the 1830s, authorities in Central and Eastern Europe began to force Jewish families to adopt fixed hereditary family names), many chose patronymics (after a paternal relative) of the popular first name Hirsch and its variants.
Distinguished bearers of Jewish surname Hirschmann include the 20th century American business executive Ira A. Hirschmann.