--- title: "Zmud" url: https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/name-variants/zmud/ lang: en work: "The Smud Family: A Jewish Family History from Ludza, Latvia to Entre Ríos, Argentina" author: "Mateo Smud" licence: CC0-1.0 summary: "The oldest form of the surname in a document of this research: the census of the Jewish farming colony of Novy Zlatopol, taken on 26 May 1858, records “David Falikov Zmud”. It is also the surname of Leon Moises Zmud, whom family tradition makes Felix's brother." --- # Zmud **Documented.** The oldest form of the surname in a document of this research: the census of the Jewish farming colony of Novy Zlatopol, taken on 26 May 1858, records “David Falikov Zmud”. It is also the surname of Leon Moises Zmud, whom family tradition makes Felix's brother. ## First documented appearance 1858 — «David Falikov Zmud» — The 1858 census — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/sources/#censo-1858 Other spellings: Змуд ## Where it appears In the census of the Jewish farming colony of Novy Zlatopol, taken on 26 May 1858, household 47/92 is headed by “David Falikov Zmud”, aged 40, an agricultural colonist in Ekaterinoslav province. That is the form on the original census sheet. The same household lists his sons —among them Koppel, aged 20— and Koppel's wife, Dvorka. The previous revision list, of 1853, writes the same David as Zhmuyd: the surname changes from one document to the next depending on the year and on who wrote it (see Freedman's 2020 report). ## What the word says It comes from Žemaitija, Samogitia, a region of western Lithuania that the Slavic languages called Żmudź (in Russian, Жмудь). Zmud meant roughly “the one from Samogitia”: a common way of identifying someone by where they came from. The family did not live in Samogitia but in Ludza, in present-day Latvia, which David left in 1846. The surname points to an earlier origin, not to the town where the family is found. ## In family tradition For generations the family said that Felix and a certain Leon Moises Zmud were brothers, and that Ana Zmud —Leon Moises's daughter— was Alejandro's first cousin. To this day no document confirms or refutes it: it is among the open questions. ## Do not confuse Among Koppel's sons there is one named Moshe. He is not the same person as Leon Moises Zmud. Names repeat constantly in this family, and confusing two of them is the easiest mistake to make. There are similar forms of other origins —the Polish Żmuda or Zmuda, for example— that are unrelated to this family. They are explained in other Smud families. ## What this form does not prove Zmud comes from Żmudź, the Slavic name of Samogitia, and a great many people left Samogitia: finding the form in a record does not prove it concerns this family. What identifies the family is the 1858 census and the documents that continue it. That family tradition names a Leon Moises Zmud does not prove he was Felix's brother either, and similar forms of other origins, such as the Polish Zmuda, are unrelated to this family. ## People under this form - David Zmud — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/people/david-zhmuydya/ - Koppel Zhmood — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/people/koppel-zhmood/ - Dvorka — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/people/dvorka-yovel/ - Felix Smud — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/people/felix-smud/ - Moshe Zhmood ## Related variants - Zhmud — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/name-variants/zhmud/ - Zhmuydya — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/name-variants/zhmuydya/ - Smud — https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/name-variants/smud/ See also: https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/other-smud/ · https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/surname-origin/ --- The Smud Family · genealogical research by Mateo Smud, published under CC0 1.0. Machine index: https://smud.mateosmud.xyz/en/llms.txt