Reiss (name)
Reiss is a surname of Old German origin, and was most commonly used by Ashkenazic Jewish people as a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rice (Yiddish רײַז), or as an ornamental name from the Old High German word Reis ‘twig,’ ‘branch.’
Reiss (often written with the German letter ß (Typographic ligature#German .C3.9F, or sharp-s)) is mostly originated in Austria and South Germany. The south German or Austrian Reiss is a leftover of a profession name Reußhäusler which could best be translated to maker of charcoal from wood in English. Members of this profession usually have been free residents (in the meaning of not enslaved and not belonging to a Duke or King) and got very early the right to carry a weapon (axe) and a uniform like dress, comparable to miners.
Another source for the name Reiss - originated mostly from the County of Hessen (Frankfurth/Main) area is a Jewish name. Some Ancestral historians write it could come from a dealer in rice or from the profession of a water gate operator, or a fish basket fisherman. At the Museum of the Judengasse (Jewish ghetto) in Frankfurt there is definitive evidence that a 'Reuse' (fish basket or creel) was one of the signs attached to Jewish homes in the streets; other signs included shields leading to names such as Rothschild. According to Dr M. Lenarz at the museum Jewish residents of the ghetto derived their legal names from the names of the house in which they were resident.
A next source is reported to be located in the former very North-Northeast Germany. It shall be originated in the Scandinavian languages (Norway/Sweden). There, the ancient Rus is the land around a river from the Baltic Sea to the heart of Russia. So the Reuss Men or Reussians are early Dark Ages Russians. A very final and believable source is from armoured horsemen (without noble title). They are still called Reisige in German. This may come from Ross reitende, German for Horse riding Men).
The surname Reisman is a variant.
People named Reiss
- Abraham Joseph Reiss, officially the first ordained rabbi of the United States
- Albert Reiss, German operatic tenor
- Anya Reiss, British playwright
- Bob Reiss, American author
- Chen Reiss, Israeli opera singer
- Clotilde Reiss, French student held hostage in Iran from 2009–2010
- Dani Reiss, CEO of the Canadian company Canada Goose
- David Reiss, British fashion retail store founder of Reiss (brand)
- David Reiss, American Social Psychologist
- Diana Reiss, American psychologist
- Dorit Reiss Immunization advocate
- Elayne Reiss-Weimann, Elementary school teacher and co-creator (with Rita Friedman) of The Letter People
- Ellen Reiss, chair of the Aesthetic Realism Foundation
- Ephraim Cohen-Reiss, 20th century founder of the first Hebrew school system in Palestine and the Levant
- Eric Reiss, American author
- Friedrich Reiss (1937–1999), German entomologist, discoverer of Parapsectra
- Hans Reiss (born 1922), German professor
- Howard Reiss (1922-2015), American physical chemist and theorist, founding editor of "Progress in Solid State Chemistry" and "Journal of Statistical Physics". Author of "Methods of Thermodynamics"
- Howard R. Reiss American writer, author of The Year of Soup, P-Town, The Old-Drive In and The Texture of Love
- Hugo Reiss, former consul of Brazil in Shanghai, and father of Jane Engelhard
- James Reiss, American poet
- Janine Reiss, French harpsichordist
- Ignace Reiss, alias of Soviet spy Ignace Poretsky
- Ira Reiss, American sociologist and sexuality researcher
- Izydor Reiss, Polish writer (see Sydor Rey)
- Johanna Reiss, Dutch-American writer and Holocaust survivor
- Katharina Reiss, translation scholar
- L. W. Reiss, former Virginia Tech college football coach
- Lionel S. Reiss, Polish-American artist, famous for his depictions of "Jewish Life"
- Louise Reiss, American physician who coordinated the "Baby Tooth Survey."
- Manfred Reiss, Polish-British artist
- Michael Reiss, British bioethicist, educator, and former Director of Education at the Royal Society
- Michel Reiss, German mathematician
- Mike Reiss, American television writer (The Simpsons)
- Mitchell Reiss, American diplomat
- Paul Reiss, educator
- Piotr Reiss, Polish footballer
- Spencer Reiss, American journalist
- Stuart A. Reiss (born 1921), American set decorator
- Tom Reiss, American author and journalist
- Uzzi Reiss, Israeli-American physician, pioneering gynecologist, and antiaging specialist
- Vivian Reiss, New York artist
- Winold Reiss, German-American artist
- Yona Reiss, American rabbi and director of the Beth Din of America, the largest rabbinical court in the United States
- Zeev Reiss Israeli micropaleontologist and geologist
In fiction
- Jonathan Reiss, fictional character in the "Lara Croft" film
- Historia Reiss, fictional character in the manga/anime Shingeki no Kyojin
See also
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