Is Martin a jewish name or could Bell. My paternal grandfather was "Bell", My maternal father was Joseiah Martin(born Oct 1, 1886. My mother was born in Northunberland England. A town called Stakeford. I do remember her mentioning a Jewish background, It was a long time ago and she has since passed away. I want to know if I can find out more info.

Almost any last name can be Jewish, even before intermarriage was common. You are going to have to do some real reasearch to be able to say yes or no.

BTW, do you know what the fourth most common Jewish last name is? It will probably suprise you.

4th most common name...Josiah, I dont know. How do I go about researching their history, I do have birth dates and some census records, but that is about it.

Miller is the fourth most common Jewish last name. It doesn't exactly sound Jewish does it?

As for how to research, have you checked out the learning center here at Ancestry?

In general, you'll need to look for records above and beyond census records.

Miller, I would never had guessed. Well thanks for your help. I guess I have a lot more work cut out for me.

Hi GR8tree
My name is David Martin and I am from a Jewish family of Martin's. I am also from the UK and my family have been there for a very long time. We were origionaly Saphardic origin and became ashkinazie over time. We were origionaly members of the Beavis Marks synagogue in London which has Sephardic orthodox origins but later became more reform and ashkenazie. My Great Grandmothers family were Moss.
Just saw your blog and thought it was interesting.
I know a number of other Martin's in the UK not related to myself also.

Hi dgmartinrealty,

It was very nice of you to take the time to reply. My mother who was a Martin (her mothers surname was Bell), mentioned to me many years ago about the Jewish background. She has been gone since 1992, so this is something that I can no longer ask. I wished I had asked more questions way back when. Thanks again for your time.

GR8tee

i had relatives in p ortland maine with surname bell which i am sure was changed from something like warchofsky.
both sister and brother had different surnames thereore.
they are related to the late atty wolf , atty for the boston celtics .

My last name is Bell and I am Jewish. My father is from Moldova. His name was changed from Zilberman to Bell once the family arrived in America

Hi, my great great grandfather William Bell, was born in Cologne Prussia in 1830, and I too am wondering if he was jewish also. He went to Australia to the gold mines in about 1845 and then to New Zealand.