The surname Epstein (Yiddish: עפּשטײן, romanized: Epshteyn) is one of the oldest Ashkenazi Jewish family names. It is probably derived from the German town of Eppstein, in Hesse; the place-name was probably derived from Gaulish apa ("water", in the sense of a river) and German -stein ("stone", in the sense of a hill).
Some people with this name include:
Arts
- Abby Epstein, American documentary director and producer
- Alex Epstein (writer) (born 1963), American Canadian writer and film producer
- Alex Epstein (born 1971), Israeli writer
- Alvin Epstein (1925–2018), American actor and director
- Asaf Epstein (born 1978), Israeli film director, writer, and producer
- Barbara Epstein (1928–2006), American literary editor
- Benita Epstein, American cartoonist
- Brett Epstein (born 1978), American musician, songwriter, and record producer
- Brian Epstein (1934–1967), businessman, manager of the Beatles
- Daniel Epstein (pianist) (born 1946), American pianist
- Daniel Mark Epstein (born 1948), American biographer and poet
- David Epstein (conductor) (1930–2002), American composer, conductor, and music scientist
- Deborah Epstein (born 1984), French-American singer-songwriter more commonly known as SoShy
- Dena Epstein (1916–2013), American music librarian, writer, and musicologist
- Dorrit Epstein (1917–2014), Czech British graphic designer
- Edward Jay Epstein (1935–2024), American author and early critic of the Warren Commission
- Elisabeth Epstein (1879–1956), Russian painter
- Emily Rose Epstein, American drummer
- Freyda Epstein (1956–2003), American folk musician
- Gustav von Epstein (1828–1879), commissioned the Palais Epstein.
- Győző Epstein (1879–1945), Hungarian sculptor, graphic artist, and painter
- Howie Epstein (1955–2003), American bass guitarist
- Jacob Epstein (1880–1959), American-British sculptor
- Jacob Epstein (art collector) (1864–1945), Lithuanian-American merchant, philanthropist, and art collector
- Jacob Epstein (writer), American television writer
- Jake Epstein (born 1987), Canadian actor
- Jason Epstein (1928–2022), American publisher who popularized the trade paperback
- Jean Epstein (1897–1953), French filmmaker
- Jennifer Cody Epstein, American novelist
- Jerome Epstein (director) (1922–1991), American filmmaker
- Joseph Epstein (born 1937), American editor and essayist
- Josh Epstein, Canadian actor, producer and writer
- Joshua Epstein (violinist) (born 1940), Israeli musician
- Julius Epstein (1832–1926), Croatian pianist
- Julius J. Epstein (1909–2000), American Oscar-winning screenwriter, brother of Philip G. Epstein
- June Epstein (1918–2004), Australian author, radio broadcaster, musician, and disability advocate
- Kalama Epstein (born 2000), American actor
- Kathie Lee Epstein (born 1953), maiden name of Kathie Lee Gifford, American television host
- Kathleen Epstein (1901–1979), American-British sculptor
- Lawrence J. Epstein (born 1946), American author
- Leslie Epstein (born 1938), American novelist
- Marie Epstein (1899–1995), Polish-French actress and film preservationist
- Marti Epstein (born 1959), American composer
- Mel Epstein (1910–1994), American film director and producer
- Michael J. Epstein (born 1976), American filmmaker and musician
- Mikhail Epstein (born 1950), Russian-American literary theorist and Emory University professor
- Mitch Epstein (born 1952), American photographer
- Peter Epstein (born 1967), American jazz saxophonist
- Philip G. Epstein (1909–1952), American Oscar-winning screenwriter, brother to Julius J. Epstein
- Rob Epstein (born 1955), American director
- Robin Epstein, American artist
- Sadie Kuttner Epstein (1883–1973), American concert singer
- Selma Epstein (1927–2014), American concert pianist
- Steven Epstein (music producer), U.S. classical music producer with Sony
- Ted Epstein, American drummer
- Temi Epstein (born 1975), American child actress
- Zale "Zalezy" Epstein, Canadian songwriter and musician
Mathematics
- Bernard Epstein (1920–2005), American mathematician and physicist
- Charles Epstein (mathematician), American applied mathematician
- David B. A. Epstein (born 1937), British mathematician
- Lenore A. Epstein (1914–1994), American statistician
- Paul Epstein (1871–1939), German mathematician
- Paul Sophus Epstein (1883-1966), American mathematician/physicist of Polish/Russian origin and California Institute of Technology professor.
- Richard Arnold Epstein (1927–2016), American mathematician and game theorist
Military
- Giora Epstein (born 1938), "ace of aces" Israeli fighter pilot
- Joseph Epstein (1911–1944), communist French resistance leader
Religion
- Abraham Epstein (born 1841), Russo-Austrian rabbinical scholar
- Aryeh Leib Epstein (1708–1775), Polish rabbi
- Baruch Epstein (1860–1941), Lithuanian rabbi and the son of Yechiel Michel Epstein
- Ephraim Epstein (1876–1960), American Orthodox rabbi
- Greg Epstein (born 1977), Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University from 2005
- Isidore Epstein (1894–1962), English rabbi and rabbinical scholar
- Jehiel Michel Epstein, 17th-century writer and ethicist
- Klonimus Kalman Epstein (1753–1825), Polish rabbi, Kabbalist and a leader of the Chassidic movement
- Marc Michael Epstein, American religious scholar
- Mendel Epstein, American rabbi and kidnapper, also known as "The Prodfather"
- Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866–1933), rabbi and author of the Levush Mordechai
- Moshe Yechiel Epstein (1889–1971), Hasidic rabbi and Israel Prize recipient
- Yechiel Michel Epstein (1829–1908), Lithuanian rabbi and author of the Arukh HaShulkhan
- Yitzchak Eizik Epstein (1770–1857), Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi and scholar
- Zelik Epstein (1914–2009), Rosh Yeshiva of the Shaar HaTorah-Grodno Yeshiva, located in Kew Gardens, New York
Science and medicine
- Alex Epstein (born 1980), American energy theorist
- Alois Epstein (1849–1918), Czech pediatrician
- Anthony Epstein (1921–2024), British pathologist and academic
- Arnold Epstein, American health scholar
- Berthold Epstein (1890–1962), Czech pediatrician and professor
- Charles Epstein (geneticist) (1933–2011), American geneticist and Unabomber victim
- Claire Epstein (1911–2000), Israeli archaeologist
- Edward Epstein (meteorologist) (1931–2008), American developer of statistical weather forecasting
- Fred Epstein (1937–2006), American pediatric neurosurgeon
- Gerald Epstein (1935–2019), American psychiatrist
- Isadore Epstein (1919–1995), American astronomer
- Joshua M. Epstein, American epidemiologist
- Lenore Epstein (born 1942), birth name of Lenore Blum, computer scientist and mathematician
- Mark Epstein (born 1953), American psychotherapist
- Martha C. Epstein (1927–2003), American geneticist
- Sir Michael A. Epstein (1921–2024), British pathologist, discoverer of the Epstein-Barr virus.
- Robert Epstein (born 1953), American psychologist
- Robert M. Epstein (born 1928), American anesthesiologist
- Rose Frisch (Rose Epstein Frisch, 1918–2015), American biologist
- Russell Epstein, American psychologist
- Samuel Epstein (1926–2018), American doctor and professor of environmental medicine
- Samuel Epstein (geochemist) (1919–2001), Canadian-American geochemist
- Slava Epstein, American marine biologist and microbial ecologist
- Stephen Epstein (cardiologist), American cardiologist and medical researcher
Sport
- Andrew Epstein (born 1996), American soccer player
- Charlotte Epstein (1884–1938), nicknamed "Eppie", American Hall of Fame swimming coach, "Mother of Women's Swimming in America"
- Denis Epstein (born 1986), German football player
- Dmitry Epstein (born 1993), Dutch pair skater
- Eddie Epstein, baseball statistician
- Esther Epstein (born 1954), American chess player
- Hayden Epstein (born 1980), American NFL football player
- Jan Epstein (1918–1988), Australian cricketer
- Kurt Epstein (1904–1975), Czechoslovakian Olympic water polo player
- Mike Epstein, (born 1943), American major league baseball player
- Ray Epstein (born 1959), Australian Paralympic weightlifter and powerlifting coach
- Theo Epstein (born 1973), American President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs
Politics and law
- Anthony C. Epstein (born 1952), American jurist
- Benjamin Epstein (1912–1983), Anti-Defamation League director
- Daniel Z. Epstein (born 1983), American lawyer
- David G. Epstein, American law professor
- Eliahu Epstein (1903–1990), birth name of Eliahu Eilat, Israeli diplomat and President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
- Eric Epstein, American political activist
- Gloria Epstein, Canadian judge
- Harvey Epstein (born 1967), American politician
- Howard Epstein (born 1949), Canadian politician
- Jerome Epstein (politician) (born 1937), American politician and criminal
- Lee Epstein (born 1958), American political scientist
- Leon Epstein (1919–2006), American political scientist
- Leopold Vail Epstein (1910–1991), American attorney and father of Linda McCartney
- Mitzi Epstein, American politician
- Moses J. Epstein (c. 1911–1960), American politician
- Philip Michael Epstein (born 1942), Canadian family law lawyer
- Richard Epstein (born 1943), American law professor
- Samuel Epstein (politician) (1890–1951), American politician, lawyer, and physician
- William Epstein (1912–2001), Canadian international civil servant
Other
- Alek Epstein (born 1975), Russian-Israeli sociologist
- Alan Epstein (1949–2016), American travel writer
- Alan H. Epstein (born 1949), American aeronautical engineer
- Betty Halff-Epstein (1905–1991), Swiss entrepreneur and second-wave feminist
- Bill Epstein (1924–1999), British social anthropologist
- Cynthia Fuchs Epstein, American sociologist
- David Epstein (Australia) (born 1963), Australian public affairs specialist
- David Epstein (gangster), former member of Epstein–Wolmark gang, son of Mendel Epstein
- David Epstein (journalist), American journalist
- Eleni Epstein (1925–1991), American fashion journalist
- Fritz T. Epstein (1898–1979), American historian
- Gabriel Epstein (1918–2017), British architect and urban planner
- Gene Epstein (born 1944), American economist
- Hadassah Spira Epstein (1909–1992), American dancer
- Hedy Epstein (1924–2016), Jewish anti-Zionist
- Helen Epstein (born 1947), American author and memoirist
- Helen Epstein (journalist) (born 1961), American journalist and professor
- Israel Epstein (1915–2005), Polish-Chinese journalist
- Jacob Epstein (banker) (1771–1843), Polish banker and philanthropist
- Jacob Epstein (spy) (1903–1998), American alleged Soviet intelligence agent
- Jeffrey Epstein (1953–2019), American financier and sex offender
- Jonathan Epstein, Australian economist
- Julius Epstein (writer) (1901–1975), American journalist and scholar
- Larry G. Epstein, Canadian economist
- Lewis Carroll Epstein, American physics author
- Louise Epstein (born 1965), Swedish journalist and author
- Mark Epstein (property developer) (born 1954), American property developer and brother of Jeffrey Epstein
- Melech Epstein (1889–1979), American journalist and historian
- Nadine Epstein, American journalist and author
- Nicky Epstein, American knitting designer and author
- Randi Hutter Epstein (born 1962), American medical writer, author and journalist
- Ron Epstein (born 1942), American Buddhist scholar and translator
- Ruth Wilson Epstein (1906–1996), American nurse and wife of Jacob Epstein (spy)
- Simon Epstein (born 1947), Israeli economist and historian
- Sorella Epstein (1931–1941), Latvian Holocaust victim
- Stephan R. Epstein (1960–2007), British economic historian
- Steven Epstein (academic), American sociologist
- T. Scarlett Epstein (1922–2014), British-Austrian social anthropologist and economist
- Yishaq Epstein (1862–1943), Hebrew linguist and educator
Fictional characters
- Juan Epstein, fictional character on the TV series Welcome Back, Kotter
- Dov Epstein, fictional character on the TV series Rookie Blue
- Solomon Epstein, inventor of the Epstein-Fusion Drive in the novel and TV series The Expanse
Variant surnames
- Katja Ebstein (born 1945), German singer
- Richard Ebstein (born 1943), American behavioral geneticist
- Wilhelm Ebstein (1836–1912), German physician and nutritionist
- David Eppstein (born 1963), American computer scientist
- Margaret J. Eppstein, American complex systems theorist
- Nikolay Epshtein (1918–2005), Soviet ice hockey coach
- Paul Eppstein (1902–1944), German sociologist and Holocaust victim
- Seraphine Eppstein (1861–1942), American clubwoman and hospital administrato
- Shakne Epshtein (1883–1945), Soviet journalist
- Alex Epshteyn, computer programmer
- Boris Epshteyn (born 1982), political commentator
See also
- Eppstein, town in Hesse, Germany
- Lords of Eppstein, family of Germany nobility
- "Le château d'Eppstein", story by Alexandre Dumas
- Ebstein's anomaly
- Epstein–Barr virus
- Palais Epstein in Vienna
- The Epstein School, a private Jewish-day school in Atlanta
- Epstein Hebrew Academy, a private Jewish day-school in St. Louis
- Epstein Brothers Orchestra, American Klezmer quartet
References
- Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "Epstein" . The Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls.
- Muraskin, Bennett (November 13, 2012). "The Origins and Meanings of Ashkenazic Last Names". Jewish Currents. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
- Whitley Stokes; Adalbert Bezzenberger (1894), "aqâ", in August Fick (ed.), Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen: Wortschatz der Keltischen Spracheinheit, vol. 2 (4th ed.), Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, p. 5
- Ernst Förstemann (1863), Die deutschen Ortsnamen, pp. 30–31
Surname listThis page lists people with the surname Epstein. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link. Categories: