- Last name translations Safro , Сафро , ספרו
- Related articles Происхождение фамилии Сафро
About the family coat-of-arms
Origin of Safro name
The name Safro belongs to the type of "professional" names, formed from a kind of human activity and connected with religion and social life. More often than not, Jewish "professional" names are just a name of a profession, independently of the language from which the corresponding word, forming the name, is taken.
The name Safro is a purely Jewish name derived from "Sofer" or, in Yiddish, "Soifer". The corresponding profession was called "Sofer" or "Sofer stam" (S. T. M.). "Sofer" means a person rewriting something, while S. T. M. is an abbreviation of Sefer Torah, Tefilin, Mezuzot. Thus a person who was at the origin of this name was rewriting sacred texts or Torah scrolls.
Among the Jews of Syria the name "Safra" is wide spread that was formed from the aramaic form of the word "Sofer".
One of the sages who took part in the creation of the Talmud was rav Safra who lived in the fourth century in Babylonia.
Rewriting sacred texts is one the most ancient and most respected Jewish professions.
To be a person rewriting the Torah texts is a profession demanding high concentration and knowledge of the sacred texts.
A person who rewrited sacred texts had no right to write the Torah by memory. He must always have had in front of him another, kosher scroll with which he should constantly compare the text.
And if a mistake was found in the Scroll, then it was not fit for public readings and it was to be buried in the ground.
Such family names as Safronchik, Safris, Safrin, Safrus, Safraev also came from the word "Sofer".
In the beginning of the 19 century the name Safro was spread in the towns of Riga, Dvinsk, Rezhitza, Polotzk, Drissa, Klimovichi.
Full article pageDear representatives of the Safro clan
We would like to invite you to help us ressurect the history of your family, to link up the branches of your family tree and to find relatives abroad. Among Jews, due to the manner in which family names were acquired and passed down, there are relatively few people who, although unrelated, bear the same surname as one another. The majority of Jewish people who bear a certain family name can usually trace their roots back to a common ancestor about 5-6 generations back. Further, when two Jewish people bear the same surname, they are usually members of the same broader 'clan', descended of the same extended family.Resurrect your History - for he, who owns the Past also owns the Future.
Let your family be entered into the Book of Generations!
