Finkelstein

Finkelstein (Hebrew: פֿינק(ע)לשׁטײַן‎ or פינקלשׁט(י)ין, Russian: Финкельштейн) is a German and Yiddish surname originating from Old High German funko (spark) and stein (stone).[1] Fünkelstein meant pyrites (George J. Adler A Dictionary of the German and English Languages, 1848). The Yiddish version of pyrite, finkelstein, could have denoted bareketh, one of the 12 tribe stones of High Priest's breastplate (Exodus 28:17).

Notable people with the surname include:

• Abraham Finkelstein alias Arthur Fields (1884–1953), American singer and songwriter
• Amy Finkelstein (born 1973), American professor of economics
• Anthony Finkelstein (born 1959), British software engineer
• Arthur J. Finkelstein (1945–2017), American political strategist
• Avram Finkelstein, American gay rights activist
• Ben-Ami Finkelstein (1910–1975), Swiss psychiatrist
• Claire Finkelstein, American professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School
• Clive Finkelstein (born c. 1939), Australian computer scientist
• Daniel Finkelstein (born 1962), British journalist and politician
• David Finkelstein (1929–2016), professor of Physics at the Georgia Institute of Technology
• Eric Finkelstein (born 1970), American health economist
• Hans Finkelstein (1885–1938), German chemist
• Heinrich Finkelstein (1865–1942), German pediatrician
• Israel Finkelstein (born 1949), Israeli archaeologist
• Jacob Finkelstein alias Jackie Fields (1908–1987), American boxer
• Jerry Finkelstein (1916-2012), American publisher, businessman and political insider/power broker
• Louis Finkelstein (1895–1991), American Talmud scholar
• Louis Finkelstein (artist) (1923–2000), American painter and Queens College (CUNY) professor
• Max Finkelstein (1884–1940), New York City policeman
• Meir Finkelstein, Israeli-American cantor and composer of Jewish liturgical music
• Mel Finkelstein, American photojournalist
• Menachem Finkelstein (born 1951), Israeli district judge, Israel's Military Advocate General from 2000 to 2004
• Nat Finkelstein (1933–2009), American photographer and photojournalist
• Norman Finkelstein (born 1953), American political scientist and writer
• Norman Finkelstein (poet) (born 1954), poet and writer
• Peter Max Finkelstein alias Peter Max (born 1937), American artist
• Raymond Finkelstein (born 1946), Australian lawyer and judge
• Salo Finkelstein (1896/7–unknown), Russian-American mental calculator
• Samuel Finkelstein (1895–1942), Polish painter
• Shimcha Finkelstein (1917–1987), Polish-Israeli table tennis player
• Vic Finkelstein (1938–2011), South African-British disabled activist and writer
• William Zorach alias Finkelstein (1889–1966), Lithuanian-American sculptor, painter, printmaker and writer