Is Rosensteel a Jewish name?

It was my grandmothers maiden name but the family denies any Jewish connection (my great grandfather was quite a bigot; backwoods Pennsylvania type). I want to know if any of my ancestors were Jewish, and from the name it seems likely. Any opinions?

Is Rosensteel a Jewish name?
The name Rosensteel would indicate a Jewish background. There are a number of Rabbi's with that name.





That does not mean the your grandmother was not a Christian. There could have been a convert earlier in her family.





In your effort to eliminate bigotry, you should stop using terms like, "backwoods Pennsylvania type". Not all people from that part of the country are the same.
Reply:It might be a German name. Or it might be a Jewish name.





Jews in Europe didn't traditionally have last names. They had names like "Yitzchak ben Yosef" (Isaac son of Joseph).





Then several kings including napoleon, if i remember right, forced the Jews to take last names or be killed. This was for tax purposes of course.





So the Jews, forced to take a last name, adopted the names of their neighbors, of their towns, of their professions, of colors (silver, gold, etc.), things like that. In the languages of the areas where they lived, which was in large part Germany, Poland, etc. Eastern Europe.





I know of towns in the midwest where there are a LOT of German descendents who have these names that are considered jewish names. They aren't Jews, they are second and third generation German and Polish immigrants.





I didn't even know until I grew up and moved to a large city that these names are considered Jewish names too. Im sure many of the Germans I knew in the midwest would also be very surprised to learn this! Most of them have never seen a Jew in their entire life! I sure hadn't until I moved away.





Anyway, so Rosensteel might be Jewish, or it might just be German or Austrian. You'd have to search your ancestry to find out.





If you are interested in whether you'd qualify as a Jew by Torah law that lays out who is a Jew and who isn't, you'd have to search your MATERNAL ancestry. Your mother, her mother, her mother, her mother, on back as far as you can go. Being a Jew is handed down by the mothers, not the fathers. The fathers only hand down tribal lineage. This is according to traditional Orthodox Judaism.
Reply:could be ...this is a pretty common rural German / penn dutch name as well. .





it sounds like a penn dutch corrption of rosenthal. which is more often a jewish name -- that name and rosenberg , a person who owns a rose nursery. or lives on the outskirts of the village "among the wild roses."
Reply:It might be, or it might be Pennsylvania Dutch.





Hard to tell, esp. in PA.





Quick funny story - the census takers showed that there seemed to be a lot of Netherlands folks now living in PA. Seems thst folks were saying that they were "Dutchies"; PA Dutch are German, not Netherlands!



Reply:It is highly likely that your Grandmother is of German ancestry, but not necessarily Jewish.





While the name Rosen or its derivatives are usually Jewish, there was a famous 19th century priest named Rosensteel
Reply:Adam being the first man, made in God's Image, and that we are all descendants of Adam, I suppose if you go back far enough, I'm pretty sure you will find that we all have Jewish blood in us.
Reply:It could be. It may not be. Who knows. Try to go to one of those ancestry sites. That might help you track down that side of the family.
Reply:All Rosen names are Jewish. You are Jewish but not from the ancient Jews but the Jews of southern Russia. Congrats.
Reply:It might have had a fifferent spelling to begin with like Rosenstall or some such~