Levite Y-chromosome studies A 2003 study of the Y-chromosome by Behar et al. pointed to multiple origins for
Ashkenazi Levites, who comprise approximately 4% among the Ashkenazi Jews. It found that
Haplogroup R1a1a (R-M17), uncommon in the Middle East or among
Sephardic Jews, is present in over 50% of Ashkenazi Levites, while the rest of Ashkenazi Levites' paternal lineage is of certain Middle Eastern origin, including Y-chromosome haplogroups E3b, J2, F, R1b, K, I, Q, N and L. In
South Asia, R1a1a has often been observed with high frequency in a number of demographic groups, reaching over 70% in
West Bengal Brahmins in India and among the Mohani people in
Sindh, Pakistan. Behar's data suggested a founding event, involving an 'introgression' of anywhere from one to fifty non-Jewish European men, occurring at a time close to the initial formation and settlement of the Ashkenazi community as a possible explanation. As Nebel, Behar and Goldstein speculate: A 2013 paper by Siiri Rootsi et al. confirmed a Near or Middle Eastern origin for all Ashkenazi Levites, including the R1a Y-chromosome carriers, and refuted the
Khazar hypothesis of Ashkenazi ancestry: In a later 2017 study Behar et al. revised their initially mitigated position, concluding that a "Middle Eastern origin of the Ashkenazi Levite lineage based on what was previously a relatively limited number of reported samples, can now be considered firmly validated", precising that a "rich variation of haplogroup R1a outside of Europe which is phylogenetically separate from the typically European R1a branches", referring to the R1a-Y2619 sub-clade. Levitical status is passed down in families from father to child born from a Jewish mother, as part of a family's genealogical tradition. Tribal status of Levite is determined by
patrilineal descent, so a child whose biological father is a Levite (in cases of adoption or artificial insemination, status is determined by the genetic father), is also considered a Levite. Jewish status is determined by matrilineal descent, thus conferring levitical status onto children requires both biological parents to be Israelites and the biological father to be a Levite. Accordingly, there is currently no branch of Judaism that regards levitical status as conferrable by matrilineal descent. It is either conferrable patrilineally with a Jewish mother, in the traditional manner, or it does not exist and is not conferred at all.
Levite surnames Some Levites have adopted a related last name to signify their status. Because of diverse geographical locations, the names have several variations: •
Alouwi – Arabic variant, of Sephardic origin •
Aguiló – surname to the Jews from Mallorca (
Xuetes) •
Bazes – a Levite surname. •
Benveniste – a Sephardic Levite surname •
Epstein – one of the European lineages descended from
Zerahiah Ha-Levi of Sepharad •
HaLevi,
Halevi and
Halevy – Hebrew, meaning 'the Levi' or 'the Levite' •
Horowitz HaLevi, or simply
Horowitz/Hurwitz/Gurvich/Gurevich – a European Levite surname, tracing to Isaiah Horowitz HaLevi, a descendant of
Zerahiah Ha-Levi of Sepharad •
Lavi – a common Levite surname •
Leefsma – Frisian surname •
Leevi – Finnish variation •
Lev – simplified Russian variation of
Levi •
Levai,
Lévai and
Lévay – a Levitic surname, originally meaning "a person from
Levice" but subsequently used by
Jews who were forced to change their name during the
Holocaust •
Leven – Swedish variation •
Levente – Hungarian variation •
Lévi, Levi,
Lévy or Levy – Hebrew for "Levite", equally common in Ashkenasic and Sephardic groups •
Levian/Livian/Benlevi/Liviem – Persian-Jewish variations •
Lević, also
Levinić,
Prelević – Croatian or Serbian variations •
Levin –
Russian variation, also
Levine,
Lavin or
Lavine (, rhyming with "ravine", or in some cases further anglicised to , rhyming with "divine") and
Lewin a Polish variation. Sometimes supplemented with German "thal" (valley) to
Levinthal or
Leventhal and -sohn and -son to
Levinson or
Levinsohn as a patronymic, and with Slavic -ski and -sky suffixes
Levinski,
Levinsky,
Lewinski and
Lewinsky (the "e" often replaced with "a" in German areas). •
Levit, also
Levitt – typically from the Bessarabia region of Romania, Moldova and southern Ukraine •
Levita –
Elia Levita, an ancestor of
David Cameron •
Levits – the surname in Latvia (adding the
s for men or a for women), president of Latvia Egils Levits. •
Leviyev – the Russified surname (adding the
yev/ev) that many
Bukharian Jews of Central Asia have. Sometimes spelled
Leviev or even
Levaev. •
Lewi or
Lewj (Polish,
Levi and
Levy) •
Lewicki – Polish "of the Levites", also
Lewicka,
Lewycka,
Lewycki,
Lewycky,
Lewicky,
Levicki,
Levicky (can also originate from placenames in Poland) •
Lewita – Polish
Levite or
Levita Latinized, with Slavic suffix -an/in
Lewitan,
Levitan,
Levitin,
Lewitin,
Lewitinn, and with additional suffix -ski/sky
Levitanski,
Lewitanski,
Levitansky, also
Lewitas,
Levitas, Lithuanian, Belarusian,
Leyva Spanish Sephardic, also but rare
Lefite, Lafite, Lafitte, of French Sephardic origin. •
Chaim Herzog •
Norman Lear == Notable Levites ==