Sarfati (Hebrew:צרפתי,Israeli pronunciation:[tsaʁfaˈti]), variously transliterated and spelledSarfatti,Sarphati,Serfaty,Sarfate,Sarfaty,Sarfity,Zarfati,Tsarfati,Tsarfaty,Tzarfati,Serfati, is aSephardic Jewish surname.
The surname literally means "French",[1] and is derived from the Biblical placenameTzarfat which in later times was identified in Jewish tradition asFrance. The termtzarfati was frequently applied in rabbinical literature toJews of French birth or descent.[2]
One account places the origin of the surname as being linked toRashi by way of his grandsonRabbeinu Tam,[3] but the connection, although anchored in theKetubot traditions has never been fully proven due to a seven generations gap in the genealogy after Jews were expelled from France byPhilippe le Bel in 1306.[4]
At any case, numerous bearers of this name (whose ancestors came from France) lived in various parts of theIberian Peninsula during the 14th-15th centuries: they appear in Spanish and Portuguese documents under the spellings Sarfati and Çarfati. During the 15th century and especially after the expulsion of Jews from these countries (1490s) some branches migrated from the Iberian Peninsula toNorth Africa,[5] while others to the city ofRome and theOttoman Empire.
Notable people with the surname include:
- Diana Sarfati, New Zealand public health doctor and epidemiologist
- Georges-Elia Sarfati, philosopher, linguist, poet, and an existentialist psychoanalyst
- Jonathan Sarfati (born 1964), Australian–New Zealander chess player and creationist author
- Adam Sarfati (born 1984), Australian entrepreneur
- Lea Michele Sarfati (born 1986), American singer and actress, Broadway performer and star of TV show "Glee"
- Lise Sarfati (born 1958), French photographer
- Lydia Sarfati, Polish-born American esthetician, entrepreneur, consultant and author
- Samuel Sarfati (died c. 1519), Italian physician toPopesAlexander VI andJulius II and leader of the Jewish community in Rome
- Semah Sarfati (1624–1717) Tunisian rabbi who was chief rabbi of Tunisia
- Sonia Sarfati (born 1960), French author and journalist
- Tzedi Tzarfati (born 1941), Israeli television presenter and theatre director
- Yitzhak Sarfati, 15th century Ottoman rabbi
- Gretta Sarfaty Marchant (born 1947), British-Brazilian artist and curator
- Perla Serfaty (born 1944), Moroccan-born French and Canadian academic, sociologist, psychosociologist, writer
- Regina Sarfaty (1934–2024), American operatic mezzo-soprano
- Valerie Sarfaty (born 1952), American, Assistant Chief Counsel, California Department of Insurance (retired)
- Tommy Sarfaty (born 2002), Dutch chess International Master
- ^Sephardim.com: Translated Names
- ^
Kahn, S.; Broydé, Isaac; Gottheil, Richard (1901–1906)."Ẓarfati, Ẓarefati ("French")". InSinger, Isidore; et al. (eds.).The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls. - ^Hassarfati Family Tree: Etsi - Sephardi Genealogy and History - Issue #29, Vol.8 - June 2005
- ^The Hassafati Family - Etsi - Sephardi Genealogy and History - Issue #29, Vol.8 - June 2005
- ^Beider, A. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Maghreb, Gibraltar, and Malta, New Haven, CN: Avotaynu, 2017
Surname list
This page lists people with the
surnameSarfati.
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