The meaning of names among Mediterranean Jews

Marc Eliany ?

AZIZA (ElAziz, BenAziza, Az, Oz, Oziel)

among other possible variations depending on the country and language of the person.

Aziza is represented here by an Algerian author and a Tunisian Historian. Both living in France. The name is common in North Africa. It means ‘beloved’ in North African Arabic. The name denotes a characteristic of a person, i.e., the beloved one. The names ‘Aziza’ and ‘Aziz’ are used as a female and male first names in Arab countries.

The root of the name ‘Az’ has a meaning in Hebrew: ‘strong’ or ‘strength.’ Aziza may be an Aramean transformation of the Hebrew name. The names: A’z, O’z, O’ziel are modern Hebrew version used in contemporary Israel.

Prefixes attached to the root name such as (aben, iben, abi, avi, am, ben, bin, abou, a, aj, al, bel, ha, i, la, lel, me, m, o, wi, vi, ) denotes usually a relation to a person, i.e., the father of or the son of X, a place, i.e., a person from X, an occupation, i.e., a person who practices a specific occupation, a characteristic of a person, i.e., beautiful… The prefixes al, el are equivalent to ‘the’ in English or the article ‘le’ in French. In the Moroccan Berbers tradition, prefixes such as ‘wi’ ‘vi’ ‘i’ means usually a family relationship to X, the equivalent of Abu in Arabic, i.e., ‘the father of’, ‘son of’ a man, a tribal affiliation and so forth.In the Hebrew tradition, the prefix ‘M ‘ is an abbreviation of the word ‘from.’

Suffixes such as ‘i’ or ‘ri’ ‘ti’ refer to an association with a person or a location, for example: arditi= from ardou or ard.
Suffixes such as ‘illo’ ‘ano’ ‘ino’ ‘nino’ are used in Spain and Italy to indicate descendence or association with an attribute.
Suffixes such as ‘yah’, ‘yahu’ ‘hu’ are used in Hebrew to denote God’s benediction, for example: aviyah, aviyahu, avihu…
Suffixws such as ‘oun’ ‘on’ ‘yout’ ‘out’ characterize adjectives in Hebrew, for example: Hayoun, hayout…

AZIZA Germaine (XXes.). Algeria. Author of Les chambres closes (Sealed Rooms). Lives in France.
AZIZA Claude (XXes.). Tunisia (Tunis).Historian. Lives in France. Author of Tertulien et le juda?sme (Tertulien and Judaism).

References:

Azoulay, Hayim Yossef Shem Hagdolim (the names of the great)

AZOULAY Ha?m Yossef David (Hida) (1724-1807) Ch?m hagu?dolim va?ad lahakhamim (The names of the Great Council of Sages).

Levi, J et. al. 2000        Dictionnaire biographique du monde Juif Sepharade et Mediteranean, Editions Elysee, Montreal.

Toledano, J. 1983        La saga des familles, Les juifs du Maroc et leurs noms, Editions Stavit, Tel Aviv

Laredo A. 1978           Les noms des juifs au Maroc (Madrid, 1978)