Does it sound or look like I have Jewish ancestry? (German, American)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When discussing my surname with my mother, my mother said it meant flower (Bloom). I said 'that's a Hebrew surname.. isn't it?'' she said yes and said people in Germany have that surname but, it's spelled with a 'u'. Later on in the day, I messaged my mother and asked her what 'ashkenazic' meant. She said she didn't know and asked me why I asked her. I told her 'well, according to some research, this family may have ashkenazic roots, or origins'. She replied with 'what, you mean this family?' and I said yes. My mother texted back 'is it Jewish'.
I could've been dreaming but I swear my mother's dad (surname Bloom comes from him) was discussing his father, or grandfather long ago, and when he mimicked his accent it sounded Jewish. I may have recalled him saying something like 'he was a Jew' or something to that liking. I always get people say I and my mother look of totally Jewish descent and they say the same about my cousin and even more distant relatives. My family also lives in the same town that this Jewish family by the same surname settled. The 'Bloom' family with the meaning 'flower', according to houseofnames, is the Jewish one. It can be English or Irish too, apparently, and those families live in the UK too, but their surnames have a different meaning.
My mother and grandparents are gone now and I found it impossible to trace my grandfather's ancestry, no matter what site I go on, the family trees are simply not there.
Some family pics
Phenotypes are fleeting. All four of my grandparents were Jewish, but I can easily pass as a Wasp.
Regarding "Blum," while it's not among the 31 "distinctive Jewish names" demographers sometimes use to estimate an area's Jewish population, it was still more frequently adopted than names like Meyer, Becker, Klein, etc., which were common among Jews and Gentiles alike. Except for names with biblical roots or associations like Katz (German for cat, but adopted by Jews as an acronym representing Kohen zedek) or those associated with distinctly Jewish professions such as Weschler (money changer) (and even then, it's not a sure thing), there's no substitute for genealogical research and/or DNA testing.
Phenotypes are fleeting. All four of my grandparents were Jewish, but I can easily pass as a Wasp.
Regarding "Blum," while it's not among the 31 "distinctive Jewish names" demographers sometimes use to estimate an area's Jewish population, it was still more frequently adopted than names like Meyer, Becker, Klein, etc., which were common among Jews and Gentiles alike. Except for names with biblical roots or associations like Katz (German for cat, but adopted by Jews as an acronym representing Kohen zedek) or those associated with distinctly Jewish professions such as Weschler (money changer) (and even then, it's not a sure thing), there's no substitute for genealogical research and/or DNA testing.
What are those "distinctively Jewish names"? I have always been curious about that.
There are many names, such as the ones that you mentioned, that can go both ways.
What are those "distinctively Jewish names"? I have always been curious about that.
There are many names, such as the ones that you mentioned, that can go both ways.
The 31 common DJNs that together represent 8-12% of American Jewish households are Berman, Caplan, Epstein, Feldman, Freedman, Friedman, Goldberg, Goldman, Goldstein, Greenberg, Grossman, Jaffe, Kahn, Kaplan, Katz, Kohn, Levin, Levine, Levinson, Levy, Lieberman, Rosen, Rosenberg, Rosenthal, Rubin, Schwartz, Shapiro, Siegel, Silverman, and Weinstein. I'm a bit skeptical of Freedman/Grossman/Schwartz, which I'd put in the "Blum" category, but the rest (as spelled exactly) are very infrequent among Gentiles, especially Cohen, Jaffe, Levin, etc.
I can't afford a DNA test right now (I'm in debt from college)
And, I tried looking up my grandfather's family history but I cannot trace beyond him. No matter where I go it's a dead end. I can't ask him because he's gone.
So really this is a guessing game, I'm just wondering how likely it is based on what my mother said and the pictures.
My other relatives look 100% English but some of those traits in the pictures pop up here and there on my mother's side of the family. Those traits are most noticeable in the pictures of the relatives I posted photos of.
My mother and one of my uncles are dark skinned all year round, and had what they called a 'beak' nose. Sort of like a Syrid nose, that was 'large'. I'm also darker skinned even in the winter. My mother was actually brown, though my grandfather looked light skinned. When I look at myself I almost see some kind of Semitic features there.
The problem with tracing is that there is also families of 100% English and Irish origin with the surname, unrelated to each other, and they live in England also. Though according to a person who researched the surname, he said the Bloom families near Manchester were crypto-Jewish, and my family lives very close to there and there were people with Hebrew names like Esau and Hezekiah with my surname living in the same town my family lives. I also met a man with my surname in my town and he had the black hair, short head, and brown skin also.
My mother implied she was well implied that Jewish was an ethnicity, rather than a religion.
My dad's family came to PA in the 1720's-1740's from Baden -Wurttemburg. The family name given was Neu. Many with that last name are Jewish. Further, many other families that have married into the family have popular Jewish surnames like Schwartz, and Wolfe. Also, I've seen statements on various sites that the family was known to be Jewish but converted to Lutheranism after arriving in PA. Documentation of such has been nil tho'. Guess I'll have to go the DNA route.
So, I completely get where you're coming from
Last edited by faeryedark; 05-09-2015 at 09:54 PM..
I can't afford a DNA test right now (I'm in debt from college)
And, I tried looking up my grandfather's family history but I cannot trace beyond him. No matter where I go it's a dead end. I can't ask him because he's gone.
So really this is a guessing game, I'm just wondering how likely it is based on what my mother said and the pictures.
My other relatives look 100% English but some of those traits in the pictures pop up here and there on my mother's side of the family. Those traits are most noticeable in the pictures of the relatives I posted photos of.
My mother and one of my uncles are dark skinned all year round, and had what they called a 'beak' nose. Sort of like a Syrid nose, that was 'large'. I'm also darker skinned even in the winter. My mother was actually brown, though my grandfather looked light skinned. When I look at myself I almost see some kind of Semitic features there.
The problem with tracing is that there is also families of 100% English and Irish origin with the surname, unrelated to each other, and they live in England also. Though according to a person who researched the surname, he said the Bloom families near Manchester were crypto-Jewish, and my family lives very close to there and there were people with Hebrew names like Esau and Hezekiah with my surname living in the same town my family lives. I also met a man with my surname in my town and he had the black hair, short head, and brown skin also.
My mother implied she was well implied that Jewish was an ethnicity, rather than a religion.
It sounds very plausible, but you're getting far too hung up over physical traits. While there's certainly truth to the stereotype, many if not most Ashkenazi Jews, which I'd assume your ancestor would be, have varying combinations of straight hair, light pigmentation, straight noses, tall stature, etc. etc. etc. Though since you seem unfamiliar with Jewish people, I can understand why you'd focus on traits that are nonetheless shared by Turks, Armenians, Arabs, Southern Italians, and many other peoples.
Judaism is both an ethnicity and a religion (the former's emphasis on in-marriage giving rise to the latter). Save up your money and spend the $99 on the 23andme test. Otherwise you're just reciting family lore that could be fiction.
Not sure if this will help but Manchester is in the county of Lancashire which has a pretty good amount of info on line for genealogists. Here's a link Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerk Project -
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
