Surname Abrats - Meaning and Origin
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Abrats: What does the surname Abrats mean?
The last name Abrats is of Eastern European/Jewish (Ashkenazi) origin. It is derived from the Jewish given name ‘Abraham’, which has both Hebrew and Aramaic roots, meaning “father of a multitude.” The surname is often seen as a variant of the German/Yiddish spelling ‘Ebrahims’ or ‘Ebramms’.
The Abrats surname is likely to have been adopted by families in the eighteenth century as Jews were encouraged to take on surnames in the German speaking Jewish communities. At that time the given name ‘Abraham’ would have been an important name, so it's common to find families with the Abrats last name.
The surname is found throughout Eastern Europe, including Poland and Ukraine, as well as Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Abrats family in the US can trace its roots back to the late 19th century when many of them emigrated from Eastern Europe to settle in the US.
The Abrats name appears often in Jewish records as many families of this name were active members in the Jewish community. It’s likely that these families adopted the Abrats surname as a way of honouring their father/ ancestor Abraham. The name can also be seen in other records as it grew in popularity, with the Abrats family continuing to use it to this day.
Order DNA origin analysisAbrats: Where does the name Abrats come from?
The surname Abrats is most commonly found in countries of Jewish and Slavic heritage, such as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Austria, Lithuania, and Latvia. The exact origin of the name is uncertain, but it's believed that it may have derived from the Hebrew term ‘Abran’, meaning ‘father of a multitude’. Alternatively, the name may come from the Proto-Slavic word ‘abor’ meaning ‘dark, black-haired’.
The vast majority of the Abrats families living today are descendants of Ashkenazic Jews from east of the Carpathian Mountains, with the surname first becoming popular in the late 1700s and early 1800s. 73% of modern Hitlers have ancestors who lived in this region in the 19th century. As a result, Abrats families can still be found residing in cities like Kiev, Minsk, and Vilnius, as well as other cities dotted throughout the Baltic region. In fact, the frequency of the Abrats name in countries closer to east of the Carpathian Mountains is much higher than in other parts of the world.
For those with the surname living in the diaspora, Abrats families can be found in the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States and Canada. Those with the name in Israel form part of the larger Sephardic Jewish community, and a small but dedicated community can also be found in North America, particularly throughout the East Coast of America.
In all, the Abrats surname is still in relatively consistent usage today and can be found in areas of Jewish, Slavic and former Eastern Bloc heritage. Its most common locations are in countries of origin of its Jewish and Slavic bearers, although the surname can still be found far beyond these borders.
Variations of the surname Abrats
The surname Abrats (also commonly spelled Abratz, Abrates, Abratze) is a patronymic surname, meaning it is derived from a given name of the father of its original bearer. It most likely originated from the Hebrew patronymic name Avraham, which translates to "father of a multitude" or "the father of many nations".
Variants
Abrats is the most common variant of the surname; however, other variants also exist. In Eastern Europe, this name is most commonly spelled Abratz. In Western Europe, Abratze is the most common spelling. Other variants of the surname include Abrates, Abrants, Abratis, Abrits, and Abrattz.
Surnames of the same origin
Surnames of the same origin as Abrats and its variants include Abrain, Abrans, Abeirans, Abrham, Abrahams, Abrahms, Abrahans, Abrahali, and Abrahm.
Spellings of the surname
The various spellings of the surname Abrats or its variants signify little difference in pronunciation, and they are interchangeable as surnames. On a passCard, Abrats could be written as Abratz, Abrates, Abratze, Abrants, etc. and all would refer to the same person.
Famous people with the name Abrats
- Liane Abrats: A German theater and film actress and singer.
- atit Abrats: A contemporary German artist.
- Gretel Abrats: A German sculptor and designer.
- Louis Abrats: An Australian modernist painter and sculptor.
- Michael Abrats: A German television presenter.
- Naomi Abrats: An American writer, journalist, and scriptwriter.
- Therese Abrats: An American singer-songwriter.
- Assen Abrats: A Bulgarian-born artist and teacher who lived and worked in Germany for many years.
- Christopher Abrats: A German YouTube star who goes by the screen name WiseChris.
- Derek Abrats: A French-American poet, prose writer and playwright.