The family name Zalkind can be encountered among Jews whose roots are from Minsk and Vilna areas of the Russian empire.

It comes from the name of the head of the family - Zalkind. This German-Yiddish name occurred in the Jewish families who went out of German principalities. It is to Belorussia and Lithuania (mainly) that the Jews, who were constantly banished from German lands starting from the 14 century, moved. The last large waves of migrations happened in the 17 century. The name Zalkind is the German-Yiddish "kinui" (nickname) for the Hebrew name Shlomo (Solomon). This is how the name originated.