'Job' jewish or not?

[louise ydw i]

For years my grandmother insisted her grandfather was jewish. She didnt know anything else about him mind! We knew his name was William David Job but ever since I've been researching I've discovered he comes from a very long line of Welsh born Job's! Got them back to late 1700's. We're not a religious family so who knows, maybe there were jewish Jobs' in the family but no one is convinced (apart from my nan - who's still adamant)
Could there be a truth to this? How likely is the name 'Job' jewish and what about them all being born in Wales?
|hug| to anyone who could prove my nan wrong (or right I guess)

[Peter Goodey]

Job(e) is a straightforward English surname which derived originally from the forename Job. Other forms include Jopp, Jubb, Joplin etc.

[Peter Goodey]

I've also checked the surname atlas and the surname Job and variants was commonest in South West England and South Wales.

I think you can safely take it that it's just another Welsh surname (and if it was imported, it wasn't from further afield than England)

[suedent]

"Job's House" in Polperro is alternatively known as "Jew's House" so the association between the two is obviosly not new.

Zephaniah Job was one of Polperro's most notorious inhabitants, known as the Smuggler's Banker. He was reputed to have hailed from the St Austell area although his early years were shrouded in mystery. I have never heard of any Jewish connections.

[Stephen M. Kohler]

The name Job is not likely Hebrew! The name Job is an English name. Names do not originate by spelling but rather from sound. The spelling of your name “Job” came from listening to it pronounced. The spelling of “Job” in the Bible came from many corruptions of spelling. Your name “Job” was standardized as such after the 16th Century. Most likely it is an ancient Anglo-Saxon (Germanic in origin) name. You must remember that the first Bible written in English (King James Version) has now undergone over fourteen thousand changes since it first hit the cobblestones. Many of the changes are due changes in pronunciation and many are due to the fact that words in the English language have doubled since the time of Shakespeare. If you ever listen to a Rabbi pronounce Job in Hebrew you’ll begin to understand why your name Job is not likely Hebrew. The name “Job” which you read in the Bible is derived from the original name pronounced in Arabic as Ayyub. The English spelling of this is a corruption of the original Tetragrammaton name for the “man from Uz”. The Germans dropped the “A” and one “y”. The English changed the “Y” to “J” and the “U” to “O” to suit the pallet and soften it for the ear.

Back in the pre-literate Middle Ages before English was standardized the scribes sounded names out when spelling them and therefore there are/were several variations to any given name even during a single lifetime. Some well known variations of the Job family name include Jobson, Job, Jobes, and Jobe and, of course there are others. Job is first found in Norfolk and in Nottingham where the Job family was seated from very ancient times.

/R

Stephen
Washington, DC