Kaplan (surname)

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Kaplan is a surname that is of ultimately Latin origins. There is a Turkish surname of different origin.

Etymology

In European languages, the word originates from the Latin term, capellanus or cappellanus, an office given to persons appointed to watch over the sacred cloak (cappa or capella) of St Martin of Tours.[1] Its derivations were then found in many other European languages, including Yiddish, German, English, French, Czech, Polish, Norwegian, Croatian, and Hungarian.

The French form derived from the old Norman French word "caplain", which gave the old French and medieval English word "chapelain", both meaning "charity priest", who was a priest who was endowed to sing Mass daily on behalf of the souls of the dead. Hence the name is an occupational name for a clergyman or perhaps a servant of one.[2] From there the word and name spread. Modern variations on Kaplan include Caplan, Chaplain, Chapling, Caplen, Copland, Kapelan, and Kaplin.

The name is popular in Turkey, where the meaning of Kaplan is tiger.[3]

In German the term Kaplan means chaplain or curate.[4] The word is extant in other languages as well, for example in Polish where the term kapłan translates as priest, in Hungarian 'káplán' means a priest of the royal court or that of an aristocrat; in Norwegian where it also has the meaning of priest while retaining the original, elongated form.

Kaplan or Caplan is also a surname common among Ashkenazi Jews, usually indicating descent from the priestly lineage (the kohanim), similar to the etymological origin of the common Hebrew surname Cohen.[5] Not all Jews bearing this name belong to the priestly caste; at one time in the Russian Empire male Jews other than priests were required to join the Russian army for 25 years, and a number changed their surnames to Kaplan in the hope of gaining exemption from military service.[6]

Notable people

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Chaplain" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 852.
  2. ^ "Kaplan". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
  3. ^ "Turkish Dictionary for Language Learners and Travelers to Turkey". turkishdictionary.net. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  4. ^ "kaplan – Wörterbuch Deutsch-Englisch". WordReference.com. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  5. ^ Posner, Menachem. "What Does Kaplan Mean?". Chabad. Retrieved 22 January 2026.
  6. ^ Patrick Hanks & Flavia Hodges ‘A Dictionary of Surnames’ OUP 1989 ‘Kaplan’
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