What ethnicity is the last name Goldin?

Answer 1

The last name Goldin can be Russian, English, Irish, or Jewish. It originated independently in eastern and Western Europe. In eastern Europe it mostly is associated with Jews who lived in what used to be the Russian Empire. However, there are many Russians living both in and outside Russia who are not Jewish. Among the Russian Jews, some of them lived in Russia itself, while others lived in what was at the time considered Russian territory such as Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. When they moved to the United States in search of a better life, some of them continued to be Jewish and identified as ethnically Jewish, while others abandoned the Jewish religion and identified as ethnically Russian.

This happens in Russia and other European countries as well. When a Jew in Russia converts from Judaism to Russian Orthodox or becomes an atheist, he or she will no longer be considered Jewish and will instead be considered Russian. In Tsarist times, any Jew who was baptized by the Russian Orthodox Church would be officially considered ethnically Russian. This is not a uniquely Russian phenomenon, as Jewish families who converted to Christianity in countries such as Germany and Spain would be considered German or Spanish within a generation or two. These days there are many Russians with the last name Goldin who are not Jewish and may not have had a Jewish ancestor for many generations.

In western Europe, the last name Goldin arose in both England and Ireland independently from the Jews and Russians of eastern Europe. It dates back to medieval times and the English Goldin family has a family crest.