Meaning of "Zaidins": Unfortunately, so far nothing appears definitive. There are several possibilities.
(1) given the recent finds in genetic surveys by Family Tree DNA, the possibility of the link to the village of Zaidín, in Aragón, Spain seems stronger. It is well known that Jewish families emigrated to the Ottoman Empire from Spain during this time period. Family names in this part of the world were not uncommon and many took the names of the places they came from. In our case it may have been, "de Zaidin" (of Zaidin). That name could have survived for 300 years until the family arrived in Russia, when they would have dropped their surname (as was the Jewish custom upon crossing the border into the Russian Empire) until 1835 (though required in 1804 but
not enforced until 1835 when a new edict was pronounced by Czar Nicholas I.) We have documentary evidence that the family was living in Lepel in 1841, within six years of the decree. If our family had been in Russia for only two or three generations, Moshe Zaidins (b. Circa 1790) would have easily known the family name and restored it, but adding the 's' at the end to show the family was of, from, or the son of Zaidin.*
(2) Alexander Beider, in his book, “Jewish Surnames in the Russian Empire,” suggests it means "kind-hearted" or "gentle".**
(3) "silken" or "silky" from the German seiden;
(4) unlikely but possible is "olive", from the Turkish zeytin;
(5) also unlikely but possible is from the Arabic, Zaydan, meaning "one who knows the law well."
The mystery behind the meaning of the family name is ostensibly lost to history. If you think you've got a lead, let us know.
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*In an in-person conversation with Yiddish scholar Salo Enis, he explained that in Yiddish, the 's' ending of Zaidins could well be the genative case, to show possession: of, from, or "son of" Zaidin.
** Salo Enis also explained that Beider viewed the name as descriptive of an attribute, as in the expression "Zaidiner Mentch" (Zaidiner,
meaning fine or gentle like silk). It's analogous to someone taking the name,
Glickman, which means 'lucky man".
History: The family's origins
after the Roman destruction of the Second Temple, like that of most
Jewish families, are obscured by time. There is some oral history that
helps to trace our more recent wanderings. In 1955, Nathan Zaidens
explained that he was told by his family that sometime during the
18th century, his ancestors came from an area that is today, Georgia, historically part of the Ottoman Empire.
This may have been borne out by a newly commissioned Y-DNA study. A
Zaidins family member is participating in Family Tree DNA's
Iberian Ashkenaz Y-DNA project. The results reveal with a high degree of certainty
that our family lived in Spain prior to the Spanish Inquisition.
So, it looks like Spain to Ottoman Empire to Georgia, and from there north, possibly to
Kiev. In the late 18th, or early-19th century, the family
split up. Part traveled to what was then Lithuania, part went northwest to the area
known today as Poland, and part stayed behind in Kiev. In 1902, the
first exodus from the Pale of Settlement started when Yitzchok Zaidins,
then 76 years old, departed Lepel for America. Four of his adult
children and their families either traveled with him or soon followed.
Other parts of the family left later, both voluntarily and
involuntarily. Today, members of the extended family live all over the
world.
Moshe Zaidins either had the surname
already, or in 1835 adopted it. In Russian, it is spelled, заидинс. In
Yiddish spelled זיידענס,
and in Hebrew, זיידנס, and
transliterated variously, depending on the convention at the time, as
"Zaidins", "Zaidens", "Zaydens", or Zajdens".
Yitzchok ben Moshe Zaidins departs for America. Port of entry is Detroit.,
settling first in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Post 1917
Family
members remaining were dispersed throughout USSR or killed by the Nazis.
Many survived, some managed to leave.
Z
There is oral
family history that the Zaidinses migrated into
Eastern Europe through the Ottoman Empire. As a result of our
participation in the
Iberian Ashkenaz Y-DNA project,
through Family Tree DNA, it now appears
likely that the family's immigration path
brought them there from Spain at the time of the
inquisition.
Think you're a part of the
tree? We'd love to hear from you. Drop us an email!
Zaidins family tree as of March 3,
2009. 650+ members and growing!
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