Sarfati

Sarfati (Hebrew: צרפתי‎‎; [tsaʁfaˈti], variously transliterated and spelled Sarfatti, Sarphati, Serfaty, Sarfaty, Zarfati, Tsarfati, Tzarfati) is a Sephardic Jewish surname. The surname literally means "French" in the Hebrew language, and is derived from the Biblical placename Tzarfat which in later times was identified in Jewish tradition as France.

One account places the origin of the surname as being linked to Rashi by way of his grandson Rabbeinu Tam, but the connection, although anchored in the Ketubot traditions has never been fully proven due to a seven generations gap in the genealogy after Jews were expelled from France by Philippe le Bel in 1306.

In another account, when the Jews were being expelled from Spain in 1492, a number of them went to France, where they were soon discovered and forced to leave so not to break France's treaty with Spain. From France, the group then went to Turkey. When questioned by the Turkish authorities as to their country of origin, learning from their previous experience when revealing their origin from Spain, they replied that they came from France, and were thus permitted to stay. Hence they called themselves Sarfati: Frenchman.

Notable people with the surname include:

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