Quote:
Originally Posted by Cora McGuire
I guess? I just can't find anything written on it.
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It depends how it is derived: 'Richwine' doesn't sound like a name derived from the British Isles, but rather a translation or transliteration from another language. The closest I can think of is 'Reichwein', which could be jewish (although isn't exclusively) as many jews used 'Reich' as the basis for a new Germanized surname as 'Reichel' equates the Biblical 'Rachel' in Yiddish.
Add into that the fact that many jews in the Pale were involved in the trade in alcohol (as 'kosher wine' cannot be touched by gentiles) and ran hostelries and inns then it is easy to see a possible jewish derivation for a newly Germanized surname in 'Reichwein' or some such, which has then been transliterated into English by translating 'Wein' and removing the 'e' to make it a better play on words.