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Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • German and Dutch : nickname for a man with gray or white hair, from Middle High German, Middle Dutch schimel, a term used to denote both mildew and a white horse. Old High German forms are not found, and the semantic development is not entirely clear.
  • Jewish (Ashkenazic) : from German Schimmel ‘mildew’, imposed by a non-Jewish government official.
  • Jewish (Ashkenazic) : from a pet form of the personal name Shimon (see Simon).

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