Levin
A surname with two main origins: in English it can reflect the old given name Leofwine, while among Jewish families it often comes from Levi.
The #1,876 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 16,128 Americans shares it.
Etymology
In English records, Levin is treated as a reduced or popular form of the old personal name Leofwine, meaning roughly “dear friend” in Old English. In Jewish naming, it is connected with Levi, the biblical tribe name, and was used in forms such as Levin, Levis, and Levinson/Levisohn in German and Yiddish-speaking communities. Because the surname appears in both traditions, it can have different roots in different families.
History
The name is well attested in Britain as a variant linked to medieval personal names, and also appears in older English records in forms such as Lewin and Levin. The historical surname literature also notes Levin as a family name among naturalized German Jews, which helped spread it in English-speaking countries. As a result, the same spelling can belong to either an Anglo-English or a Jewish family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname dictionaries explicitly place Levin alongside Levison and Levinson as forms connected with Levi in Jewish families, while also linking it to the English name Lewin in another tradition.
From the historical record
“son, Leeves, &c. LEVIN. LEVINSON. LEVINSOHN. LEVISOHN. Levi aud Levi's son. Family names of German Jews naturalized iu this country. LEVISON. See Levi. LEWER. The same as Lower (?) LEWES. 1. The county-town of Sussex. 2. The same as Lewis.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Levin
- Ira Levin (1929–2007)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.