LAZARUS
The surname Lazarus is derived from the Hebrew name Eleazar, which means “God has helped.”
Its adoption as a family name can be traced back to medieval Europe, where returning Crusaders and pilgrims who had undertaken journeys to the Holy Land began to give their children names of biblical significance. In particular, the story of Lazarus—who was raised from the dead by Jesus in the New Testament—made the name popular among early Christian communities and subsequently became a hereditary surname.
In Jewish communities the name Eleazar was commonplace. As families migrated across Europe, North America, Israel and other parts of the world, the surname Lazarus travelled with them, becoming firmly established among Jews of many nationalities.
Across languages the surname appears in a wide range of orthographic forms: Lazaro (Spanish, Italian), Lazar (Hungarian, Romanian, Russian), Lazarev (Russian), Lazarov (Bulgarian, Macedonian), Lazarevich and Lazarovich (Russian, Serbian), as well as Lazaruson and Lazarski (Polish). These variants all stem from the same Hebrew root and preserve the original meaning of the name.
Beyond its Jewish heritage, the surname is also found among Christians in Greece, Cyprus, and parts of India where Portuguese influence introduced Baptised names such as Lazarus into local naming practices.
The word Lazarus has entered common parlance in several languages as a metaphor for resurrection or revival, a linguistic echo of the biblical narrative that inspired the name’s use.
Concerning the spelling *Lazear*, the available surname databases do not list it as a recognised variant of Lazarus. It appears to be a separate orthographic form, possibly arising independently or through less common adaptations. Therefore, it cannot be confirmed as a direct variant of the surname Lazarus without further historical evidence.
Typical given names associated with the Lazarus surname
Male
- Alan
- Anthony
- David
- John
- Mark
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Simon
- Stephen
Female
- Deborah
- Elizabeth
- Hayley
- Heather
- Jane
- Joanne
- Julie
- Lisa
- Michelle
- Natalie
- Nicola
- Ruth
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Lazarus in...
Braille
⠇⠁⠵⠁⠗⠥⠎
Morse
.-...---...-.-...-...
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,482 people named Lazarus in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,407th most common surname in Britain. Around 23 in a million people in Britain are named Lazarus.
Religion of origin: Jewish
Language of origin: Hebrew
Famous people named Lazarus
- Reuben Noble-Lazarus - Football player
- Mark Lazarus - Football player
- Lisa Lazarus - Actor and model
- Paul Lazarus - Professional football player
- Harry Lazarus - -born saloon keeper, thief and underworld figure in New York City during the 1850s and early 1860s; (1839 to 1865)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.