Surname Jakowitsch - Meaning and Origin
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Jakowitsch: What does the surname Jakowitsch mean?
The last name Jakowitsch is of Slavic origin and is derived from the personal name Jakob, which in turn derives from the Hebrew name Yaakov.
The name Yaakov means "he who supplants," and was given to the Biblical son of Isaac and Rebecca. It is thought that Jakowitsch may have been a Germanized version of this name, as the Jakob form was often used to signify German names. The suffix "-itsch" or "-witz" was sometimes used to denote a person of German or Slavic origin.
The name Jakowitsch is found primarily in Germany, Austria, and Poland. Records indicate that the name was first found in Brandenburg and Silesia, two states in eastern Germany. It was also found in Saarland, a state in western Germany, and in Poland and the Czech Republic.
The earliest recorded bearer of the name was Jakob Jakowitsch, who was born in 1756 in Kosten, Poland. It is unclear when the name spread beyond this area, but later generations of Jakowitschs can be found in Germany during the nineteenth century.
Given its geographic and linguistic origins, it is likely that the name Jakowitsch was used by people in Eastern Europe to signify their German or Slavic heritage. Over the centuries, the surname has been passed down through many generations, and today, many veterans of the Second World War can trace their lineage back to at least one bearer of the surname.
Order DNA origin analysisJakowitsch: Where does the name Jakowitsch come from?
The surname Jakowitsch is most commonly found in countries around the Central and Eastern European region, particularly in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and Romania. It is also quite popular in German-speaking countries like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
In Ukraine, the Jakowitsch surname has its roots in the Ukrainian and Russian languages, with Jakowitsch being derived from the Ukrainian first name Yakiv (Яків), and the Ukrainian suffix “-wich” (віч). This name is particularly common in the western regions of Ukraine bordering Poland and Slovakia.
In Poland, the surname Jakowitsch is particularly prominent in the Śląskie region in southern Poland, with further distribution in the Gdańsk Pomerania, Masovia, and Greater Poland areas.
In Belarus, the surname is shockingly common, with nearly 10,000 individuals present in the country according to the Belarusian surname dictionary. It is particularly popular in the Brest, Grodno, and Gomel regions.
In Romania, the surname is less common than the aforementioned countries, but still somewhat prominent. It is found most commonly in the Banat province, where small concentrations of Jews stemming from Ukraine and Belarus used to reside.
Today, the surname Jakowitsch is still quite common in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly in increasing concentrations in the Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland regions.
Variations of the surname Jakowitsch
Jakowitsch is a German language surname, thought to be derived from an Old German name Jakob. In Germany and other German speaking countries, the main spelling is Jakowitsch, although it is pronounced in many other ways. The spelling may be transliterated in English as Jakovits, Jacobowitz, Jacobowitzsch, Jakobowitz, or Jakobwitz. The following Austrian variants are also recognized: Jakobitsch, Jakobowitsch, Jakobowicz, Jakobovitz, Jakowicz, Jakowic.
The surname Jakowitsch is also common among people of Jewish ancestry. In this case, it is believed to be an Americanized variant of the Yiddish surname Yaakovitz. Again, many transliterations of this surname exist, such as Jacobowitz, Yakobowitz, or Yacovitz.
In Poland, the surname Jakowitsch appears as Jakowicki, Jakowczyk and Jakowicz. In Czech Republic, it takes the form of Jakubovič, Jakubovicz and Jakubicz. In France, the surname is mainly known as Jacquevitch or Jakobovitz.
Jakowitsch and its variants are common throughout Eastern Europe, so is highly likely to be found in Ukraine, Romania, Moldova and other countries in the region. For example, in Ukraine the surname is written as Yakovitch or Yakovych, while in Romania and Moldova it appears as Jakabovicz or Jakobovici.
In conclusion, the length, spelling and pronunciations of the Jakowitsch surname vary widely, but these variant spellings all share the common Germanic origin of an Old German name Jakob.
Famous people with the name Jakowitsch
- Timo Jakowitsch: Austrian hip-hop artist
- Matthias Jakowitsch: Austrian former footballer
- Michael Jakowitsch: Austrian former footballer
- Simon Jakowitsch: Austrian ski racer
- Lara Jakowitsch: Austrian singer
- Karl Jakowitsch: Austrian former footballer
- David Jakowitsch: Austrian musician and composer
- Paul Jakowitsch: Austrian Goebbels-awarded National Socialist and Nazi Party official
- Lorenz Jakowitsch: Austrian bishop
- Andreas Jakowitsch: Austrian contemporary artist
- Markus Jakowitsch: Austrian fashion designer
- Roman Jakowitsch: Austrian violinist
- Ferdi Jakowitsch: Austrian director, screenwriter and production designer
- Hans Jakowitsch: Austrian runner
- Ljudevit Jakowitsch: Croatian ethnographer and musicologist
- Jakob Jakowitsch: Austrian-Jewish rabbi
- Karl Jakowitsch von Rechberg: Austrian field marshal
- Viktor Jakowitsch: Soviet Admiral of the fleet