Kaplan (surname)

Kaplan is a surname that is of ultimately Latin origins. There is also a historically unrelated surname in Turkey.

In European languages
Etymologically, the word originates from the Latin term, capellanus or cappellanus, an office given to persons appointed to watch over the sacred cloak (cappa or capella) of St Martin of Tours. Its derivations were then found in many other European languages, including Yiddish, German, English, French, Czech, Polish, Norwegian, Croatian, and Hungarian.

The French form derived from the old Norman French word "caplain", which gave the old French and medieval English word "chapelain", both meaning "charity priest", who was a priest who was endowed to sing Mass daily on behalf of the souls of the dead. Hence the name is an occupational name for a clergyman or perhaps a servant of one. From there the word and name spread. Modern variations on Kaplan include Caplan, Chaplain, Chapling, Caplen, Copland, Kapelan, and Kaplin.

In Turkish
The name is also very popular in Turkey, where the meaning of Kaplan is tiger. When the Turks adopted surnames after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's surname reform, animals as surnames such as lion (Aslan) and tiger (Kaplan) were very common.

Spread
In German the term Kaplan means chaplain or curate. The word is extant in other languages as well, for example in Polish where the term kapłan translates as priest, in Hungarian 'káplán' means a priest of the royal court or that of an aristocrat; in Norwegian where it also has the meaning of priest while retaining the original, elongated form.

Kaplan or Caplan is also a surname common among Ashkenazi Jews, usually indicating descent from the priestly lineage (the kohanim), similar to the etymological origin of the common Hebrew surname Cohen. One of the earliest modern records of Kaplan as a family name is that of Abraham Kaplan in 1698. Distinguished bearers of the name include the Polish rabbi and philanthropist Nachum ben Usiel Kaplan (1811–1879), the Latvian-born Hebrew poet Seeb Wolf Kaplan (1826–1887) and the Russian-born Zionist workers' leader Eliezer Kaplan (1891–1952), the first minister of finance of the State of Israel.

Not all Jews bearing this name belong to the priestly caste; at one time in the Russian empire male Jews other than priests were required to join the Russian army for 25 years, and a number changed their surnames to Kaplan in the hope of gaining exemption from military service.

Notable people and characters named Kaplan

 * Abraham Kaplan, American philosopher
 * Ahmet Kaplan (born 2002), Turkish wheelchair tennis player
 * Ahmetcan Kaplan, is a Turkish professional footballer
 * Abraham Kohen Kaplan, Russian writer
 * Alice Kaplan, American literary critic, translator, historian, and educator
 * Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan, Russian artist and painter
 * Andreas Kaplan, German professor of marketing
 * Anna Kaplan, American politician
 * Arie Kaplan, American writer
 * Artie Kaplan, American recording artist, songwriter and a session musician
 * Aryeh Kaplan, American rabbi
 * Avriel Kaplan, American former bass singer in the a cappella group Pentatonix
 * Avrohom Eliyahu Kaplan, Lithuanian rabbi
 * Ben Caplan, Canadian folk musician
 * Billy Kaplan, fictional superhero from Marvel Comics
 * Bob Kaplan, Canadian politician
 * Bruce Eric Kaplan
 * Cary Kaplan, sports marketer
 * David Kaplan, multiple people
 * Deborah Kaplan, American screenwriter and film director
 * Deborah Kaplan (disability activist), American lawyer
 * Dena Kaplan, actress, DJ and singer
 * Dovid Kaplan, senior lecturer at Ohr Somayach, Jerusalem, popular author and speaker
 * Edgar Kaplan (1925–1997), American bridge player
 * Edith Kaplan, American lead creator of a neuropsychological test battery
 * Elaine D. Kaplan, judge
 * Eliezer Kaplan, Israeli politician
 * Fanni Kaplan, Russian socialist revolutionary
 * Fanny Kaplan (Feiga Haimovna Roytblat), Russian revolutionary and attempted assassin of Lenin
 * Felix Kaplan (1897–1989), American businessman and politician
 * Fred Kaplan (biographer)
 * Fred Kaplan (journalist)
 * Gabe Kaplan, American actor, comedian, poker player
 * Gilbert Kaplan (1941–2016), American businessman, journalist and conductor
 * Gilbert B. Kaplan, American attorney and government official
 * Gisela Kaplan, Australian sociologist and author
 * Gregory Kaplan, American historian
 * Hamit Kaplan, Turkish wrestler
 * Harold Irwin Kaplan, American psychiatrist
 * Harold S. Kaplan, Canadian architect
 * Howard Kaplan, American singer better known by his stage name of Howard Kaylan
 * Hyman Kaplan, fictional character created by Leo Rosten
 * Ira Kaplan, musician
 * Irving Kaplan (chemist), MIT professor
 * James Kaplan
 * Jeffrey Kaplan, American game designer
 * JJ Kaplan (born 1997), American-Israeli basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * Jon Kaplan, multiple people
 * Jonathan Kaplan, American film producer
 * Jonathan Kaplan (born 1966), South African rugby referee
 * Jozef Kapláň (born 1986), Slovak association football player
 * Juliette Kaplan (1939–2019), British actress
 * Justin Daniel "Joe" Kaplan (1925–2014), American writer and editor
 * Karel Kaplan, Czech historian
 * Kivie Kaplan
 * Kyle Kaplan, American actor
 * Lance Kaplan, American engineer
 * Louis Kaplan ("Kid Kaplan"), Russian-born US world champion featherweight Hall of Fame boxer
 * Marty Kaplan
 * Mehmet Kaplan, Turkish-born Swedish politician
 * Melissa Kaplan, musician/singer with Splashdown and Universal Hall Pass
 * Melvin Kaplan, oboist and founder of the Vermont Mozart Festival
 * Metin Kaplan
 * Michael Kaplan, American biologist
 * Michael Kaplan, American costume designer
 * Michel Kaplan, French Byzantinist
 * Mordecai Kaplan, rabbi, founder of Reconstructionist branch of Judaism
 * Morton Kaplan
 * Murat Kaplan
 * Nachum Kaplan, preacher and philanthropist
 * Nathan Kaplan, American gangster
 * Nathan J. Kaplan, American jurist and politician
 * Nathan O. Kaplan, American biochemist
 * Neil Kaplan, American voice actor, audiobook narrator, entertainer and comedian
 * Nelly Kaplan, writer and film maker
 * Nomi Kaplan (born 1933), Lithuanian-Canadian photographer and artist
 * Ori Kaplan, Israeli jazz saxophonist and a music producer
 * Perrin Kaplan
 * Philip J. Kaplan
 * Randall Kaplan, American businessman and investor
 * Robert D. Kaplan, American journalist
 * Robert S. Kaplan, American business school professor
 * Ron Kaplan (born 1970), Israeli Olympic gymnast
 * Sam Kaplan, author of The Pedagogical State
 * Sam Kaplan (American football) (1898–1931), American football player
 * Samuel L. Kaplan (born 1936), American diplomat
 * Şeydanur Kaplan (born 2000), Turkish female goalball player
 * Stanley Kaplan, American founder of Kaplan, Inc.
 * Steve Kaplan
 * Thomas Kaplan (born 1962), American investor and philanthropist
 * Tomáš Kaplan (born 1978), Czech footballer
 * Tomasz Kapłan (born 1984), Polish pool player
 * Valery Kaplan (born 1943), Soviet speed skater
 * Viktor Kaplan, Austrian inventor of the Kaplan turbine
 * Yıldız Kaplan, Turkish model and pop singer
 * Yisrael Mendel Kaplan