Behind the Names: The Meaning and History of our family names
Kaplan Name Meaning and History
Jewish (Ashkenazic): surname used as a translation of Cohen, from German Kaplan or Polish kaplan ‘chaplain’, ‘curate’.
German, Swedish, Czech, and Slovenian; Slovak (Kaplán); Polish (Kaplan); Hungarian (Káplán): status name for a deacon, chaplain, or curate (ultimately from Late Latin capellanus (see Chaplin 1), or a nickname for someone resembling a clergyman).
Turkish: from kablan ‘tiger’, hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble a tiger, typically in having indomitable courage or spirit. In the form Kaplanis, this is also found as a Greek surname, with various patronymic and other derivatives (Kaplanidis, Kaplanoglou, Kaplanellis, etc.)
(Source: Ancestry.com)
Kaplan
This Jewish family name derives from the Latin word cappella a small Christian prayerhouse, which in turn produced the term chaplain, the person who conducts the prayers. Jews took the name Kaplan, particularly in Eastern Europe, as a vernacular equivalent of the name Cohen.
The first high priest (cohen) of the Jews was Aharon, elder brother of Moses, who led the children of Israel out from slavery in Egypt to the promised land. It was his descendants who performed the consecrated duties of the cohanim in the tabernacle and the temple in Jerusalem until the destruction of the second temple by the Romans in 70 c.e.
The surname Cohen, or ha-Cohen (the priest), is as ancient as the function itself and throughout the diaspora it is one of the most widespread sources of Jewish family names (although not all Jews bearing a name linked to cohen are actually of priestly lineage).
One of the earliest records of Kaplan as a family name is that of Abraham Kaplan in 1698. Distinguished bearers of the name include the polish preacher and philanthropist, Nachum ben Usiel Kaplan (1811-1879), the Latvian-born Hebrew poet Seeb Wolf Kaplan (1826-1887) and the Russian-born zionist workers’ leader Eliezer Kaplan (1891-1952), the first minister of finance of the state of Israel.
(Source: Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora http://www.bh.org.il/)
Caplan
This interesting surname with variant spellings Chaplain, Chapling, Caplen, Kaplin etc., is of French origin, found also in England, deriving from the old Norman French word “caplain” and old French and medieval English word “chapelain”, meaning “charity priest”, a priest who was endowed to sing mass daily on behalf of the souls of the dead. Hence the name is an occupational name for a clergyman or perhaps a servant of one. The name first appears in records in the early 13th Century (see below). Thomas le Chapelyn was mentioned in the Feet of Fines in 1241, while one Nicholas le Chapelain was listed in the Assize Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1260. Isacke Chaplin one of the first settlers in the New World was granted 200 acres by patent, in the territory of Great Weyonoke Barbados in 1626. Jeremiah Chaplin booked a ticket aboard the “Joseph and Ann” for Carolina, the New World in January 1678. The most famous namebearer was Sir Charles Spenser Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin), (1889 – 1977), English comedian and film actor, renowned for his portrayed of a downtrodden little man with baggy trousers and cane. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Capelein, which was dated 1203, in the “Curia Rolls of Hampshire”, during the reign of King John, known as “Lackland”, 1199 – 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to “develop” often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
(Source: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Caplan)
Rosenberg
In its basic form as ‘Rose’ this very old German surname is one of the very first on record. As a compound with two or more elements it is what is known as “ornamental”, in that whilst it translates literally as one who resided by a place or area of roses, this was not a factual situation. Many early German surnames of the medieval period and later, were often based upon mythical situations, if one was to have a surname, why not a nice one! There are a wide range of ‘Rose’ surnames which follow this pattern such as Rosegren (Rose branch), Rosengart (Rose garden), Rosenblum or Rosenbloom (rose flower) being just a few examples of the genre. When the name is recorded in its simplest base form as “Rose”, this can imply either a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion, or it can be topographical for one who did actually grow roses or lived in a rose growing area. What is certain is that the name in its localised form is found in every European country, and the recordings range from Roz or Roze in France to Rosetti in Italy, and Ruzek in Czechoslovakia, there are hundreds of forms. Examples of the surname recordings (as Rosenfeld) include Michael Rosenfelder, of Schapbach, Offenburg, on July 25th 1651, Juergen Rosenfeld, who married Catharina Strang at Konigsberg, on October 14th 1632, and Liborius Rosenfelt who married Eva Kross at Ovenhausen, Westfalen, on March 17th 1689. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Conrad Rosenfeld, which was dated 1299, recorded in the rolls of Freiburg as being a Dominican Friar, during the reign of Emperor Albert 1 of Hapsburg, 1298 – 1308. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to “develop” often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
(Source: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Rosenberg)