The meaning of names among Mediterranean Jews

Marc Eliany ©

ABOULKER (Aboul Kher)

among other possible variations depending on the country and language of the person.

Aboul Ker is represented here by political activists involved in the opposition to the pro-Nazi regime of Vichy in Algeria as well as a painter and author, all of Algerian origin.

The name consists of a complex prefix made of two elements aboul = father which implies lineage and the root 'Ker' = generous in Arabic. The 'ker' is a French transformation of the Arabic word 'kher' = generosity.

Prefixes attached to the root name such as (aben, iben, abe, abi, abou, aboul, avi, am, ben, bin, abou, a, aj, al, bel, even, ha, i, la, lel, me, m, o, wi, vi, ) denotes usually a relation to a person, i.e., the father of or the son of X, a place, i.e., a person from X, an occupation, i.e., a person who practices a specific occupation, a characteristic of a person, i.e., beautiful... The prefixes al, el are equivalent to 'the' in English or the article 'le' in French. In the Moroccan Berbers tradition, prefixes such as 'wi' 'vi' 'i' means usually a family relationship to X, the equivalent of Abu in Arabic, i.e., 'the father of', 'son of' a man, a tribal affiliation and so forth.In the Hebrew tradition, the prefix ‘M ‘ is an abbreviation of the word 'from.'

Complex prefixes such as 'Ab e' in the name Ab E Rgel consist of two elements Ab=father and E=the.
Complex prefixes such as 'BarHa' in the name BarHaNess consist of two elements Bar=son and Ha=the.

Suffixes such as 'an' or 'in' denote affiliation or a characteristic in Aramaec.
Suffixes such as 'a' characterize ancient Hebrew names, i.e., AviHatsir'a'
Suffixes such as oulah, oulay, ilah, ily, el, eli are used in Hebrew and Arabic to associate a name with God' blessing.
Suffixes such as 'i' or 'ri' 'ti' refer to an association with a person or a location, for example: arditi= from ardou or ard.
Suffixes such as 'illo' 'ano' 'ino' 'nino' are used in Spain and Italy to indicate descendence or association with an attribute.
Suffixes such as 'yah', 'yahu' 'hu' are used in Hebrew to denote God's benediction, for example: aviyah, aviyahu, avihu...
Suffixws such as 'oun' 'on' 'yout' 'out' characterize adjectives in Hebrew, for example: Hayoun, hayout...

ABOULKER (1874-1954). Algeria. Painter. Illustrated the Song of Songs in France.
ABOULKER Florence (XX^es.).Algeria. Author of La galère; La femme-tendresse; Pourquoi Sarah?; Une femme comme elle et Une étrange peine in France.

ABOULKER Henri (1876-1957). Algeria. Head of the committee for Jewish Studies. Member of the Algerian Résistance against Vichy. Contributed to the struggle to grant French citizenship to Algerian Jews.

ABOULKER José (1919-). Algeria. Son of Henri Aboulker. Member of the Algerian Résistance against Vichy. Led the 1942 rebellion in Alger.

References:

ABEHSSERA Chalom Séfér youhassin (Genealogy Registers).

Azoulay, Hayim Yossef Shem Hagdolim (the names of the great)

AZOULAY Haïm Yossef David (Hida) (1724-1807) Chém haguédolim va’ad lahakhamim (The names of the Great Council of Sages).

Levi, J et. al. 2000        Dictionnaire biographique du monde Juif Sepharade et Mediteranean, Editions Elysee, Montreal.

Toledano, J. 1983        La saga des familles, Les juifs du Maroc et leurs noms, Editions Stavit, Tel Aviv

Laredo A. 1978           Les noms des juifs au Maroc (Madrid, 1978)