Surname Jakobowicz - Meaning and Origin
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Jakobowicz: What does the surname Jakobowicz mean?
The last name Jakobowicz is an Ashkenazi Jewish surname that originated in Poland. It is derived from the Hebrew personal name “Yaakov”, meaning "supplanter" or "one that takes the place of another". The Polish suffix “-owicz” means “son of”, indicating a patronymic relationship, indicating that someone of the Jakobowicz surname is the son of a man named Jakob or Yaakov.
The surname is quite common in Poland and the surrounding area. It may have been used for families that have moved around the region; some families may have adopted the name in recent times, either because of marriage or other reasons.
The Jakobowicz family is said to have been a noble one. Documents in Poland during the 15th-18th centuries list numerous Jakobowiczs who were part of local congregations, served in government positions, and owned large tracts of land.
Aside from nobility, the Jakobowiczs were also known for their craftsmanship and proficiency in woodworking professions. This was particularly true for those Jakobowiczs who were living in Krakow.
Today, the Jakobowicz surname can be found in many places around the world, not just in Poland. This diaspora has been attributed to the displacement of Jewish people during the Holocaust. Many of the Jakobowiczs who survived the Holocaust fled to the United States, and the surname can now be found in states such as New York, California, and Florida.
Order DNA origin analysisJakobowicz: Where does the name Jakobowicz come from?
The last name Jakobowicz is primarily associated with Jewish families who trace their heritage back to Eastern Europe. Today, the surname is still most commonly found within countries of that region, particularly Poland, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus.
In Poland, the surname is thought to date all the way back to medieval times. Statistics from the early 2000s estimated that there were about 10,000-15,000 Polish individuals with the surname, making it among the 1,000 most common last names in the country.
Beyond Europe, the last name Jakobowicz is also present in many other countries, particularly within North and South America, as descendants of Polish families have emigrated to North and South America in large numbers since the late 19th century.
In the United States, the surname is listed as the 3,683rd most common surname, according to the 2000 census, and is most often found in states such as New York, Illinois, California, and New Jersey, which rank among the top 5 U.S. states with the highest Polish-American populations.
In Canada, the surname is also present, most heavily concentrated in cities such as Toronto and Montreal in the province of Ontario, making it the 3,129th most common surname in the country as of 2020.
Overall, while the surname Jakobowicz is primarily associated with Eastern Europe, it can be found in many different countries and regions around the world today, a testament to the lasting legacy of this prominent Jewish family name.
Variations of the surname Jakobowicz
The surname Jakobowicz has numerous variants, spellings, and surnames of the same origin. These include Jakobowicz, Jakubowicz, Jacobowicz, Jacubowicz, Jacobowitz, Jacobovitz, Jacobowitz, Jacobson, Jakubson, Yakubowicz, Yakubson, Jakovljevic, Jakubovics, Jacobovics, Jakabovics, Jakoovits, Jakobus, Jakovics, Jakubec, Jakubiec, Jacubek, Jakubon, Jakoovec, Jakoovsky, Yak glucher, Jakurlov, Jakobovitch, Jakuboviani, Jakubovitch, and many more.
The most common form of the surname is Jakobowicz, and it has been adopted across numerous countries. It is derived from the forenames Yakov, Jacob, and James, which originate from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov.
In Poland, Jakobowicz is a popular surname, while in Lithuania, the form Jakubavicius is more common. In Ukraine, the surname is often spelled Yakubovytsia and in Belarus, Jakubawicz is predominant. In the United States of America, the majority of immigrants with the name have adopted the spelling Jakobowicz.
In Portugal, the surname is spelled Jacovice and sometimes Jacobovicz. In Hungary, Jaczer is one of the most common spellings. Other countries with a large proportion of the population bearing the surname include Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, and Croatia.
Apart from the standard spelling Jakobowicz, the surnames Evans, James, Jacobson, Jacobs, Jankowitz, Jacobovetz, Jacobovitch, Jacobovich, Jankowski, Joquevich, and Jacobowitz also have the same root.
Famous people with the name Jakobowicz
- Agnieszka Jakobowicz-Stawicka: Polish actress.
- Rahel Jakobowicz: Israeli television and film actress.
- Erchinger-Jakobowicz: German politician and Chief of the Secretariat of the NSDAP in the state of Pomerania in Nazi Germany from 1936 to 1945.
- Kate Jakobowicz: Polish film and theatre actress.
- Michael Jakobowicz: American attorney and entertainer.
- Pinchas Jakobowicz: Israeli lawyer and professor of law at Bar-Ilan University.
- Mike Jakobowicz: American journalist and author.
- Jacek Jakobowicz: Polish theatre actor and director.
- Koral Jakobowicz: Israeli singer and winner of the second season of “The Voice Israel” in 2014.
- Anshel Jakobowicz: Israeli film director, producer and journalist.