Shafran Explained

Shafran is a surname which derived from eastern Yiddish shafran and originated from Arabic Arabic: زعفران (az-za'faran).

The root of the surname lies in the spice saffron. The Russian version is Russian: Шафран (Shafran). There are various forms of the name in Russia. Polish version is Szafran. The surname has also existed in various forms in Hebrew (שפרן), Old French, Hungarian, and Middle High German. The name is most common among Jewish and Russian families.^{[1] [2]} It is known to be ornamental, used to describe someone with saffron-colored (yellow-red) hair, occupational, used to describe a merchant of the spice, and topographic, for someone who lived where saffron grew.^{[3] [4]} Common forms of this name include "Safran", "Safranek", "Safranski", and "Szafran". Shafran may be cognate with the name "Safra".^[5]

People with the surname Shafran

• Alexandru Șafran, rabbi
• Avi Shafran, rabbi
• Daniil Shafran, Soviet cellist
• Eva Shafran (1906–1944), American Communist
• Isaak Grigorevich Shafran, creator of Shafran's hexagonal chess
• Nigel Shafran, English photographer
• Peter Shafran, concert and festival producer/promoter
• Shimrit Shafran (Shim), Israeli musician (maiden name: Shimrit Ovadia)
• Robert Shafran, a triplet profiled in the 2018 documentary film, Three Identical Strangers
• Shafran Packeer

See also

• Ashkenazi Jews, those who speak Yiddish
• Zəfəran, Azerbaijan

References

1. Book: Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American family names. Oxford University Press. 2003. 0195081374. Oxford, UK. 51655476.
2. Book: Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. 2003-05-08. Oxford University Press. 9780199771691. en.
3. Book: Smith, Elsdon C.. New dictionary of American family names. Harper & Row. 1973. 0060139331. 1st. New York. 547141. registration.
4. Book: Kaganoff, Benzion C.. A dictionary of Jewish names and their history. J. Aronson. 1996. 1568219539. 1st Jason Aronson Inc.. Northvale, N.J.. 34409787.
5. Book: Guggenheimer, H.W. . Guggenheimer . E.H. . Jewish Family Names and Their Origins: An Etymological Dictionary . Ktav Publishing House . 1992 . 978-0-88125-297-2 . 2022-02-13 . 650.