Kushner
A surname that usually points to an ancestor who worked with fur or leather, especially as a furrier or maker of fur clothing.
The #7,680 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 71,419 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kushner is generally understood as a Jewish occupational surname. It likely comes through Yiddish and Slavic usage from a word for a furrier or someone who dealt in fur garments, ultimately linked to Germanic and Slavic terms for fur and leather trades. In this sense, the name would have identified the original bearer by occupation rather than by family lineage.
History
The surname is especially associated with Ashkenazi Jewish communities of Eastern Europe, where occupational surnames became common in the late 18th and 19th centuries. It spread widely through immigration to North America and other countries, where English spelling stabilized as Kushner. The name is well known today in the United States through several public figures, including businessman and real-estate developer Charles Kushner and his family.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In many Slavic languages, the related surname form Kushnir is still a recognizable occupational name meaning a furrier or fur worker.
Notable people named Kushner
- Jared Kushner (b. 1981)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.