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Names of the Jewish people

This article lists the names of the Jewish people in various linguistic contexts. See the article Jew and the Footnotes for etymological and other information. This article does not cover ethnic slurs.

Hebrew language

• יהודי, Yehudi¹, pl.: Yehudim
• עברי, Ivri², pl.: Ivrim or Ivriyim
• בני ישׂראל, Bnai Israel³

Yiddish language

• ייד, Yid¹, (pl.: Yidn)

Ancient Greek language

• Ιουδαιος, Ioudaios¹
• Evrei²

Ancient Egyptian language

• Habiru²

Latin language

• Iudeus¹

English language

• Jews¹
• Hebrews²
• Israelites or Children of Israel³

Russian language

• Еврей, Yevrei²

Religious context

• The People of the Book

No longer in use

• In the period preceding and during the British Mandate of Palestine, Jews who lived there were called (and also called themselves) Palestinian Jews or Palestinians, but after the emergence of Arab Palestinian nationalism in the 1920s and especially after the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, the term "Palestinians" came to be used almost exlusively for Palestinian Arabs. (See Definitions of Palestine:Palestinian and Zionism)

Anti-Semitic context

• Frequently anti-Semites use euphemisms (such as "Zionist" or "rootless cosmopolitan") instead of "Jew" to avoid being viewed as politically incorrect. (See Anti-Semitism)

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Footnotes

• ¹ Yehudi, a "Judaean" or "from the land of Judea".
• ² Ivri, "one who passes over", a reference to the Biblical patriarch Abraham (or possibly Eber).
• ³ Israel, "one who has struggled with God", the name given to the Biblical patriarch Jacob.