Heilprin

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Heilprin is a Jewish surname with many variants.

[edit] Origins

Besides the numerous Heilbrons, Heilbronners, Heilpruns, and Heilbruns who are known to have lived between the middle of the 16th century and the present time, there are 4 distinct branches of the Heilprin family. The progenitor of the oldest of these was Zebulun Eliezer, whose son Moses of Brest-Litovsk was brother-in-law of Samuel Edels (died 1632).

The genealogy of another branch, which includes several rabbis and prominent leaders of communities and of the Four Lands, is as follows: See the image

The genealogy of a third branch is that made by Belinson of the family of Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin , who went from Brody in 1821 to Odessa, where he was dayyan until 1835; he then succeeded Reuben Hardenstein in the rabbinate of Odessa, which Heilprin held until his death, January 13, 1877. The places following the names in the family tree on the opposite page denote in most instances the rabbinates.

Genealogical Tree of the Oldest Branch of the Heilprin Family

The fourth branch is that of Jehiel ben Solomon ben Jekuthiel of Minsk, author of "Seder ha-Dorot", whose son Moses succeeded him in the rabbinate, and whose grandson, Löb b. Isaac, published his work. He was probably connected with the third branch of the Heilprin family. A large number of the Heilprins now living in Russia claim descent from him. Phinehas Mendel, father of Michael Heilprin, was also probably descended from one of the several prominent Heilprins who lived in his native city, Lublin.

Heilprins are to be found in almost all Ashkenazic communities, but they are not necessarily of the same family, since most of the family names borne by the Jews of Austria, Germany, and Russia were assumed indiscriminately by order of their respective governments toward the end of the 18th century or at the beginning of the 19th.

[edit] People with the surname Heilprin

  • Angelo Heilprin, (1853-1907), American naturalist, geologist, and traveler; son of Michael Heilprin
  • Jehiel ben Solomon Heilprin (ca. 1660–ca. 1746), Lithuanian rabbi, kabalist, and chronicler
  • Michael Heilprin (1823-1888), Jewish biblical scholar, critic, and writer, father of Angelo and Louis

This article incorporates text from the 1901–1906 Jewish Encyclopedia, a publication now in the public domain.