Ashkenazi (surname)

Ashkenazi (Hebrew: אַשְׁכְּנַזִּי) is a surname of Jewish origin. The term Ashkenaz (Hebrew: אַשְׁכְּנַז) refers to the area along the Rhine in Western Europe where diaspora Jews settled and formed communities during the Middle Ages.

The usage of Ashkenazi (lit. of Ashkenaz) as a surname originated as a sobriquet for Ashkenazi Jews who had resettled in culturally Sephardic Jewish communities within the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. Due to assimilation of those Jews in the dominant Sephardic culture, today the name is mainly held by Sephardic Jews despite the name suggesting the direct paternal line is ultimately Ashkenazic. It was the fourth most common surname among the Jews of Istanbul, and is common in Israel, where many Sephardic Jews live.

Variant spellings include Ashkenazy, Aschkenasi, Ashkenasi, and Eskenazi.