The meaning of names among Mediterranean Jews

Marc Eliany ©

ANGEL

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

ANGEL is represented by three entries from Egypt/Syria, Turkey and USA. It is in all likelihood a name of English origin, adopted my a marranos during their passage through in England, after their departure from Spain/Portugal due to the Expulsions (1492-1497).

Prefixes attached to the root name such as (aben, iben, abe, abi, abou, aboul, avi, am, ben, bin, abou, a, aj, al, af, aff, 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...
Suffixes such as 'oun' 'on' 'yout' 'out' characterize adjectives in Hebrew, for example: Hayoun, hayout...

ANGEL Chemayahou (1810-1874). Egypt (Rosette). Banker. Businessman. Philanthropist. Lived in Damascus. Assisted the community in Damascus and elsewhere.
ANGEL Baroukh (1595?-1670). Turkey (Salonica). Rabbi. Kabalist. Director of a rabbinical seminary. Author of a Choulhan A'roukh Glossary, among other publications.
ANGEL D. Marc (XXes.). U.S.A.Rabbi of the Congregation Chéerith Israël in New York. Founder of the Sépharade House dedicated to the study of sepharadi history/culture. Director of the sépharade studies at Yéchivah University. Author of The Jews of Rhodes: The History of a Sephardic Community; La America: The Sephardic Experience in the United States (America : The sepharade experience in USA); The Rhythms of Jewish Living: A sephardic approach; Voices in Exile: Studies in Sephardic Culture.

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)