From ancient times, Jewish names have reflected a variety of religious, cultural, and legal trends of Jewish existence. Jewish naming is characterized by the parallel use of Hebrew and vernacular given names and was, in the Diaspora, always influenced by the practice of the surrounding cultures as well. While Sephardic Jews (Sepharad) used family names as early as the Middle Ages, simple given names dominated in the Ashkenazi region (Ashkenaz) until the…