What’s In A Name?
What’s In A Name?
Apr 10
The surname Riklis is not a common one; in the United States, it is the surname of around one in every ten million individuals, ranking past the 600,000th most common surname. Riklis appears to be more frequent in some nations, particularly Israel, where a sizable Jewish community bears the surname. Although there are a few records about Riklis emigrating from other countries, the majority of those with this surname has resided in Israel since the turn of the century. The surname Riklis has its origins in Lithuania, with a significant minority population in Russia, according to initial immigration data.
This surname has no specific meaning, however it comes from Lithuania’s Jewish population, and most people with this surname can trace their roots back to this ethnic minority. For generations, Lithuania has had a substantial Jewish community, including some family members with the surname Riklis. Since the 8th century, there has been evidence of a Jewish minority, and these tribes are assumed to be exiles from Babylonia and Palestine. Due to the Crusades, many families were forced to Lithuania in the 12th century in an attempt to escape the persecution that had afflicted Jews throughout Europe.
Many Jews were forced into exile in 1495, resulting in a huge diaspora in Lithuanian Jewish history, and this may have been the reason the Riklis family fled Lithuania, though due to the paucity of records at the time, it is impossible to confirm. A large number of Lithuanian Jews emigrated to Poland and Crimea. During World War II, almost 90% of Lithuanian Jews were murdered, including numerous Riklis family members and forebears.
Due to Soviet control, many Holocaust survivors left Lithuania en masse, and many members of the RIklis family chose to relocate in Israel and the United States. The vast majority of the Riklis clan speak Yiddish and are second and third generation Israelites, however, a sizable portion of the family’s older population still speaks Russian or Lithuanian as their mother tongue. The surname Riklis reveals a powerful and significant Lithuanian ancestry.
