Sephardic Last Name Generator

Browse 500 surnames recorded among Sephardic Jews, from Abravanel, Toledano and Benveniste to Alhadeff, Cardozo, Nahmias and Azoulay, covering Iberia, the Ottoman lands, North Africa and the Western diaspora.

About Sephardic last names

Sephardic surnames are the family names of Jews whose ancestors lived in Spain and Portugal before the expulsions of the 1490s, and they come in layers. The oldest are Hebrew and Arabic in form: Abulafia, Gabbai, Sarfati and the Ibn names such as Ibn Ezra and Ibn Yahya. A second layer is Spanish and Portuguese, above all place names: Toledano from Toledo, Cordovero from Córdoba, Soriano, Alcalay, Bejarano and Saragossi.

After 1492 the names traveled. In the Ottoman lands, where Ladino was spoken for centuries, Salonika, Istanbul, Izmir and Rhodes were home to families named Alhadeff, Carasso, Modiano, Molho and Nahmias. The Western Sephardim of Amsterdam, London, Hamburg and Livorno kept Portuguese forms such as Cardozo, Henriques, da Costa and Pereira. This list uses Sephardic in its broad sense, which takes in North African families such as Azoulay, Abitbol, Ohayon, Corcos and Pariente.

One caution: a surname is not a family tree. Pereira, Mendes, Pinto, Castro and many others here are carried by far more non-Jewish Iberian families than Jewish ones, so a name on this list proves nothing about ancestry, faith or any legal claim. Variant spellings such as Sarfati and Serfaty are counted once.

How to choose Sephardic last names

• Match the surname to the community. Molho, Saltiel and Benaroya suit a family from Salonika or Izmir, Suasso, Curiel and de Pinna a merchant house in Amsterdam or London, and Berdugo, Serero and Ohayon a family from Morocco.
• Expect the spelling to follow the country. North African names usually appear in French spelling (Azoulay, Ouaknine, Chouraqui), and the same name can look different in Turkish, Serbian or English records, so pick one form per family and keep to it.
• For a story set in medieval Spain, reach for the older forms: Ibn Shoshan, Abulafia, Benveniste and Crescas fit Toledo or Barcelona before 1492 better than later diaspora names.
• Do not use the list as genealogical proof. If a surname matters for family history, look for it in community records such as marriage contracts, burial registers and notarial archives.
• Need a full name? Pair a surname with a given name from the Jewish Name Generator or the Hebrew Name Generator.

Frequently asked questions

What are some well-known Sephardic last names?

Toledano, Abravanel, Abulafia, Benveniste, Cardozo, Nahmias, Alhadeff, Sarfati and Azoulay are among the best known, each tied to a different branch of the diaspora. All are in this list, alongside rarer ones such as Taitazak, Capadose and Bentolila.

Does one of these surnames prove Jewish ancestry?

No. Many of the Spanish and Portuguese names here, such as Pereira, Mendes, Navarro and Medina, are common among non-Jewish families across Iberia and Latin America, and surnames were adopted, changed and shared over the centuries. A surname alone proves nothing about ancestry and is not evidence for any citizenship or legal claim. Family documents and community records are what count.

What is the difference between Sephardic and Mizrahi surnames?

Strictly, Sephardic means descent from the Jews of Spain and Portugal, while Mizrahi refers to the Jewish communities of the Middle East. North African families sit between the two labels: some descend from Spanish exiles and others from older local communities. This page takes the broad view and includes Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian and Libyan names, along with a few families of Aleppo, Damascus and Egypt that trace themselves to Spain or Livorno, but it leaves out Iraqi, Persian, Yemenite and Ashkenazi surnames.

How was this list put together?

It is meant to hold only surnames recorded among Sephardic communities, with one spelling per name, so Camhi stands for Kamhi and Alcalay for Alkalai. It was screened for duplicates, so look a name up in a specialist source yourself before you rely on it.

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All 500 Sephardic last names