Solomon Family History

Jewish English Scottish Dutch Swedish French Portuguese Romanian Ethiopian and Eritrean; Spanish (Solomón): from a vernacular form of the Biblical Hebrew personal name Shelomo a derivative of shalom ‘peace’. The name Solomon has for generations been a popular Jewish name and was also fairly widespread in the Middle Ages among Christians.

In the Bible, it is the name of King David's successor noted for his wisdom; among Christians it was therefore also used as a nickname for a man who was considered wise. The spelling Solomon is used in the King James Bible of 1611, which is why this is the standard form of the name in modern English, but spellings with Sal- were more usual across continental Europe, the 1534 Lutheran Bible rendering it as Salomo and the 1560 Geneva Bible as Salomon.

From the 7th century, the spelling Salomon is recorded as a Christian personal name in France, where it was the name of several saints including a Breton king martyred in 87. In North America, the English form of the surname has absorbed many cognates from other languages (see Salomon Salamon).

See also Salmon — Note: Since Ethiopians and Eritreans do not have hereditary surnames, the Ethiopian and Eritrean name was registered as such only after immigration of its bearers to the US.