Talk:Zimmerman

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[edit] Jewish Name

I believe it is appropriate to list Zimmerman in the category "Jewish surnames." Since footnoting a category isn't really possible on Wikipedia, I am listing two sources here: About.com's genealogy page and House of Names.org. I believe that is valid evidence to add to the category. Further, there is no harm to doing so - a Jewish name is not just its origin, but who has that name - there are numerous Jewish individuals listed on this article's page, which in itself isn't enough, but certainly lends credence to such a proposal. Thank you. - JerseyRabbi (talk) 13:47, 10 December 2007 (UTC)

I believe the point of a surname list is to eliminate ambiguity. I have seen consolidated Jewish Surname encyclopedias that include Zimmerman. But they also include virtually ALL German and Slavic names from the most common to rarest. This displays the evidence that Jewish people run a great spectrum of surnames from numerous cultural origins. Since we would never expect a similarly massive database on this site, the seemingly endless range of Jewish surname possibilies can't be expressed fully. To serve a small portion of it, though, we can highlight the less ambiguous and most common. Names to which a Jewish connatation is arrived through high frequency. You claim there are numerous Jewish individuals listed on this articles page. Of 37 entries, only 3 are varifiably Jewish. Add all 17 Zimmermann entries and you have a whopping 3/54. This certainly doesn't sound like a exeedingly common "Jewish" name worthy of a short list. If its based on ownership, than certainly there's just not enough. Thank you for your time. (Charliefock (talk) 06:46, 14 December 2007 (UTC))