Asher (name)

Asher
Gender	Primarily male
Language	English, Hebrew
Origin
Languages	Old English, German, Hebrew
Meaning	"one who lives by an ash tree or ash grove" (Old English); "fortunate" or "happy" (Hebrew)
Region of origin	England, Germany, Israel
Other names
Variant forms	Osher; Usher
Related names	Ash, Ashley, Ashton, Zelig,

Asher is an English-language occupational surname for an ash maker, derived from the Middle English surname "Aschere" or from the German "Äscher" (Ashman).^[2] It can also be a form of the Old English surname "Æsċer" (Æsċe + ere), meaning "one who lives by an ash tree or ash grove."^{[citation needed]}

It is also a common Jewish first name and surname (Hebrew: אָשֵׁר; also transliterated as Osher and Usher) meaning "fortunate" or "happy" in Hebrew, unrelated to the Germanic occupational root. It is the name of Asher, the son of Jacob, in the Tanakh.^[3]

People with the surname

Alec Asher (born 1991), baseball player
Alexander Asher (1835–1905), Scottish politician
Allan Asher (born 1951), Australian public affairs official and activist
Barry Asher (born 1946), American bowler
Bud Asher (1925–2013), American politician, football coach and lawyer
Gerald Asher (born 1932), wine writer, ex-wine merchant
Hank Asher (c. 1951–2013), businessman
Helen Asher (1927–2001), German-born Australian novelist and short story writer
Herb Asher (born 1944), university professor
Iraena Asher (1979–disappeared 2004), New Zealand trainee teacher and model, disappeared
Irving Asher (1903–1985), motion picture producer
Jack Asher (1916–1991), British cinematographer
Jana Asher, American statistician and human rights activist
Jane Asher (born 1946), English actress and novelist
Jane Asher (swimmer) (born 1931), British swimmer
Japhet Asher (born 1961), English filmmaker
Jeremy Asher (born 1958), English businessman
John Mallory Asher (born 1971), American actor and director
Joseph Mayor Asher (1872–1909), English-American rabbi and professor
Lee Asher (born 1976), magician
Max Asher, drummer of the band Warrant
Maxine Asher (1930–2015), researcher and businesswoman
Michael Asher (artist) (1943–2012), an American conceptual artist
Michael Asher (explorer) (born 1953), a British explorer and author
Neal Asher (born 1961), English science fiction writer
Peter Asher (born 1944), artist and record producer
Richard Asher (1912–1969), British endocrinologist and hematologist
Robert Asher (director) (1915–1979), a British film and television director
Roderick Asher (1931–1997), American geologist
Tommy Asher (1936–2017), English footballer
Tony Asher (born 1939), American lyricist
William Asher (1921–2012), American producer, director and writer
Zev Asher (1963–2013), Canadian musician and film director

People with the given name

Male

Asher, character in the Hebrew Bible
Asher Angel (born 2002), American actor
Asher Allen (born 1988), University of Georgia cornerback
Asher Asher (1837–1889), Scottish physician
Asher ben Jehiel (1250 or 1259–1328), rabbi and Talmudist
Asher Benjamin (1773–1845), American architect
Asher Bilu (born 1936), Australian artist
Asher Blinkoff (born 2008), American child actor
Asher Book (born 1988), American actor
Asher Brown Durand (1796–1886), American painter
Asher Cohen, psychologist and President of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Asher D (disambiguation)
Asher Hirsch Ginsberg (1856–1927), pseudonym Ahad Ha'am, essayist
Asher Grodman (born 1987), American actor
Asher Hong (born 2004), American artistic gymnast
Asher Hucklesby (1844–1908), mayor of Luton, Bedfordshire, UK and hat manufacturer
Asher Karni (born 1954), businessman known for involvement of Pakistani and Israeli nuclear programs
Asher Lämmlein (c. 1500), German who proclaimed himself a forerunner of the Jewish Messiah in 1502
Asher Levy (died 1682), butcher who left Recife, Brazil for New Amsterdam, U.S. in 1654
Asher Peres (1934–2005), Israeli physicist
Asher Robbins (1757–1845), United States Senator
Asher Roth (born 1985), American rapper
Asher Tishler (born 1947), Israeli economist; president of the College of Management Academic Studies

Female

Asher Jay, designer, artist, and conservationist
Asher Keddie (born 1974), Australian actress
Asher Yasbincek (born 2001), American actress

Fictional characters named Asher

Asher, one of Jonas' best friends in The Giver
Asher Lev, the main character in the 1972 novel by Chaim Potok, My Name is Asher Lev.
Asher Siegel, one of the protagonists in the 2023 television show The Curse

References

^ Kaganoff, B. C. (1996). A Dictionary of Jewish Names and Their History. J. Aronson. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-4616-2720-3.
^ "Ascher". Ancestry.com.^{[user-generated source]}
^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). "Asher". A Dictionary of First Names (2nd ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-172667-5.

Name list

This page or section lists people that share the same given name or the same family name.
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[1] Kaganoff, B. C. (1996). A Dictionary of Jewish Names and Their History. J. Aronson. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-4616-2720-3.

[2] "Ascher". Ancestry.com.^{[user-generated source]}

[3] Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). "Asher". A Dictionary of First Names (2nd ed.). ISBN 978-0-19-172667-5.