What was reb nachmans famly name

Rabbi Nachman's family name was Horodenker — derived from his maternal grandfather, Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka — but his most commonly used family name and the one by which his dynasty is known is Nachman of Breslov, with the formal family surname being Horodenker.

However, the more precise and complete answer requires a little unpacking.

Key Takeaways

Rabbi Nachman's patrilineal family name connected him directly to the Baal Shem Tov through his mother's side.
He is most properly identified as Rabbi Nachman ben Simcha — son of Rabbi Simcha.
His family name in the dynastic/ancestral sense was Horodenker, from his grandfather Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka.
In Hasidic tradition, he is simply known as Reb Nachman of Breslov (רבי נחמן מברסלב), after the city of Breslov in Ukraine where he led his community.
He did not use a formal European-style surname in the modern sense, as was common for Eastern European Jews of his era.

His Full Lineage and Family Identity

His Father's Side

Rabbi Nachman's father was Rabbi Simcha ben Nachman, a relatively modest man who is not particularly famous in his own right in Hasidic literature.

His paternal grandmother was Adel (עדל), the daughter of the Baal Shem Tov himself — Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer (רבי ישראל בן אליעזר, 1698–1760), the founder of Hasidism.

This means Rabbi Nachman was the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov (Ba'al Shem Tov — "Master of the Good Name"), which gave him enormous spiritual legitimacy and prestige within the Hasidic world from birth.

The chain: Baal Shem Tov → Adel (daughter) → Feige (daughter) → Rabbi Nachman

Wait — more precisely:

| Generation | Person | |---|---| | Great-great-grandfather | Baal Shem Tov (Rabbi Yisrael ben Eliezer) | | Great-grandmother | Adel (daughter of the Baal Shem Tov) | | Grandmother | Feige (daughter of Adel) | | Father | Rabbi Simcha | | Rabbi Nachman | Born 1772 |

So Rabbi Nachman was the great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov through the line of Adel → Feige → Simcha → Nachman.

His Mother's Side

Rabbi Nachman's mother was Feige, daughter of Adel, daughter of the Baal Shem Tov.

His maternal grandfather — Adel's husband — connected to Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka (רבי נחמן מהורודנקא), one of the close disciples of the Baal Shem Tov. Rabbi Nachman was named after this grandfather, Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka, which is the source of the "Horodenker" connection.

Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka was a significant figure in early Hasidism who eventually emigrated to the Land of Israel and is buried in Tiberias (Teveria).

Why No Formal Surname?

It is important to understand that formal hereditary surnames were only beginning to be imposed on Eastern European Jews during Rabbi Nachman's lifetime. The Austrian Empire mandated Jewish surnames in 1787, and the Russian Empire did so later. Many Jews in Podolia and Ukraine (where Rabbi Nachman lived) did not yet use fixed hereditary surnames in the modern sense.

In traditional Jewish usage, a person was identified by:

Their own name + father's name: Nachman ben Simcha (נחמן בן שמחה)
Their town of residence or leadership: MiBreslov — "from Breslov"
Ancestral or family nickname: Horodenker

This is why Hasidic masters are almost universally known by their town name rather than a family surname — e.g., the Baal Shem Tov (title), the Maggid of Mezeritch, the Alter Rebbe of Liadi, Reb Nachman of Breslov.

The Name "Breslov" — Where Does It Come From?

Breslov (ברסלב — also spelled Bratslav) is a small town in Podolia, today in Ukraine on the Southern Bug River. Rabbi Nachman settled there in 1802 and led his community there until 1810, when he moved to Uman (אומן) shortly before his death.

The town name became permanently attached to his name and his movement, which is why his Hasidim are called Breslovers (Breslover Chassidim) to this day — and unusually among Hasidic dynasties, they have had no Rebbe since Rabbi Nachman's death, believing he continues to lead them spiritually. This is why they are sometimes called:

"די טויטע חסידים" — "The Dead Hasidim" (in Yiddish, said by others somewhat mockingly) or more respectfully, "Chassidei Breslov".

Summary of His Full Identity

| Element | Detail | |---|---| | Hebrew name | נחמן בן שמחה — Nachman ben Simcha | | Town name | מברסלב — MiBreslov (of Breslov) | | Ancestral connection | Horodenker (from grandfather Rabbi Nachman of Horodenka) | | Dynastic lineage | Great-grandson of the Baal Shem Tov | | Dates | 1772–1810 | | Buried | Uman, Ukraine — site of the famous annual Rosh Hashana pilgrimage |