Klee (surname)
Appearance
Pronunciation | ˈkleː or as in "clay"[1] |
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Language(s) | German, Yiddish, French |
Origin | |
Language(s) | German, Hebrew |
Region of origin | Alsace, France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany |
Other names | |
Alternative spelling | Klée |
Variant form(s) | Kleeblatt, Kleegman, Kleeberg, Kleefeld, Kleeman, Kleemann, Kleiman |
Klee (Yiddish: קליי) is a German and Ashkenazi Jewish surname. Variations include Kleefeld, Kleeblatt, Kleegman, Kleiman, Kleeman and Kleeberg. In German, it means "clover" and is possibly a toponymic surname like Feldman.[2][3][4]
According to researchers at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People, the name Klee originates from the Greek Kalonymos (Hebrew: קלונימוס), a translation of the Hebrew "shem tov" (שם טוב) meaning "good name". Klee is documented as a Jewish surname in Alsace in France since the 18th century, along with similar names such as Kleemann.[5]
In France, the name is associated with the Alsatian commune of Katzenthal, near Colmar.
People with the name Klee
[edit]- Alfred Klee (1875–1943), prominent Zionist leader
- Bernhard Klee (born 1936), German conductor
- Carsten Klee (born 1970), German footballer
- Ernst Klee (1942–2013), German teacher, writer, and filmmaker of works about the Holocaust
- Esther Eugenie Klee-Rawidowicz (1900–1980), German-Jewish biologist, wife of the Polish-born American Jewish philosopher Simon Rawidowicz (1897–1957)
- Flora Klee-Palyi (1893–1961), Jewish Hungarian illustrator, translator, and editor
- Heinrich Klee (1800–1840), German theologian
- Jean-Louis Klée (1908–1989), Alsatian spy
- Jean-Paul Klée (1943–), Alsatian poet
- Karl Heinz Klee (1930–2008), Austrian sports official
- Ken Klee (born 1971), American professional ice hockey player
- Miguel Klee (born 1977), Guatemalan football goalkeeper
- Ollie Klee (1900–1977), outfielder in Major League Baseball
- Patricia Klee, American politician
- Paul Klee (1879–1940), German-Swiss painter
- Raymond-Lucien Klée (1907–1944), French philosopher
- Ruth Judith Klee (1901–1942), family friend of Anne Frank
- Victor Klee (1925–2007), mathematician
- Waldemar Gøthrik Klee (1853–1891), Californian horticulturist
People with the name Kleeblatt
[edit]- Norman Kleeblatt, curator at the Jewish Museum (Manhattan)
People with the name Kleiman
[edit]- Ariel Kleiman (born 1985), Australian director
- Bernard Kleiman (1928–2006), lawyer
- Dave Kleiman (1967–2013), American forensic computer expert
- Devra G. Kleiman (1942–2010), American biologist
- Johannes Kleiman (1896–1959), Dutch helper of the Frank family
- Mark A. R. Kleiman (1951–2019), American academic drug policy authority
- Michael Kleiman, documentary filmmaker
- Naum Kleiman (born 1937), historian of cinema
- Pascal Kleiman (born 1968), disc jockey
- Steven Kleiman (born 1942), American mathematician
- Vladimir Kleiman (1930–2014), Russian scientist
People with the name Kleeman
[edit]- Alexandra Kleeman (born 1986), American writer
- Jenny Kleeman, Jewish-British documentary film-maker and journalist
- Otto Kleemann (1855–1936), American architect
- Wilhelm Kleemann (1869–1969), Jewish banker
People with the name Kleefeld
[edit]- Carolyn Mary Kleefeld, American poet and author
- Hans Kleefeld (1929–2016), Canadian designer
- Käte Stresemann (1883–1970), née Kleefeld, German Weimar Republic society figure
- Kurt von Kleefeld (1881–1934), German lawyer
People with the name Kleeberg
[edit]- Clotilde Kleeberg (1866–1909), French pianist
- Franciszek Kleeberg (1888–1941), Polish general
- Michael Kleeberg (born 1959), German writer and translator
- Minna Kleeberg (1841–1878), German-American poet
- Sophie Kleeberg (born 1990), German shot putter
People with the name Kleegman
[edit]- Sophia Kleegman, Russian American obstetrician, gynecologist, and sex education advocate
Look up Klee in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
References
[edit]- ^ McConkey, Wilfred J. (1987). Klee as in Clay. UPA. ISBN 9781461702276.
- ^ Weiss, Nelly (2002). The Origin of Jewish Family Names: Morphology and History. P. Lang. ISBN 0820456446.
- ^ Hank, Patrick (2003). Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, USA. ISBN 0195081374.
- ^ Heinrich Walter Guggenheimer, Eva H. Guggenheimer (1992). Jewish Family Names and Their Origins: An Etymological Dictionary. Ktav Publishing House. ISBN 0881252972.
- ^ "KLEE Origin of surname". ANU – Museum of the Jewish People. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
Other sources
[edit]- Lars Menk: A Dictionary of German-Jewish Surnames. Avotaynu, Bergenfield, 2005.
- David S. Zubatsky and Irwin M. Berent: Sourcebook for Jewish Genealogies and Family Histories. Avotaynu, 1996.