Editing L. L. Zamenhof (section)

==Name==
[[File:LL Zamenhof birth certificate.jpg|thumb|Birth register]]
[[File:1905-uk-z-m.jpg|thumb|Families Zamenhof and {{Ill|Alfred Michaux|fr}} at the first Esperanto Congress, Boulogne 1905]]
Zamenhof came from a multilingual area. His name is transliterated as follows:
* English: ''Ludwik Lejzer Zamenhof'' – <small>English pronunciation:</small> {{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|æ|m|ə|n|h|ɒ|f|,_|ˈ|z|æ|m|ɪ|n|h|ɒ|f|,_|-|n|ɒ|v|,_|-|n|ɒ|f}}
* [[Esperanto]]: {{lang|eo|Ludoviko Lazaro Zamenhof}} – {{IPA|eo|ludoˈviko laˈzaro zamenˈhof|pron}}
* French: {{lang|fr|Louis Lazare Zamenhof}} – {{IPA|fr|lwi la.zaʁ za.mɛn.of|pron}}
* German: {{lang|de|Ludwig (Levi) Lazarus Zamenhof}} – {{IPA|de|ˈluːtvɪç ˈlaːtsaʁʊs ˈt͡saːmənhoːf|pron}}
* {{langx|he|אליעזר (לודוויג) זמנהוף|Eli'ezer Ludvig Zamenhof}} – {{IPA|he|eliˈ(ʕ)ezeʁ ˈludvig ˈzamenhof|pron}}
* [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]: {{lang|lt|Liudvikas Lazaris (Leizeris) Zamenhofas}}
* [[Polish language|Polish]]: {{lang|pl|Ludwik Łazarz Zamenhof}} – {{IPA|pl|ˈludvʲik ˈwazaʐ zaˈmɛnxɔf|pron}}
* {{langx|ru|Людвик Лазарь (Лейзер) Маркович Заменгоф|Lyudvik Lazar' (Leyzer) Markovich Zamengof}}
* {{langx|be|Людвіг Лазар Маркавіч Заменгоф (Заменгоў)|Liudvih Lazar Markavič Zamienhof (Zamienhoŭ)}}
* {{langx|yi|לײזער לוי זאַמענהאָף|Leyzer Leyvi Zamenhof}}

Born into an [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi]] family, at his birth Zamenhof was given the common Hebrew name ''Eliezer'' by his parents, which is translated into English as ''[[Lazarus (name)|Lazarus]]''. However, as the area was a part of the [[Russian Empire]] at the time, his name was recorded on his birth certificate as {{langx|ru|Лейзер Заменгов|Leyzer Zamengov|label=none}}, using the Yiddish form of the forename and a [[Russification|russified]] version of his surname;<ref name="bialystok">[http://www.bialystok.ap.gov.pl/bit/50lat/boznicze_zamenhof1.jpg Birth Certificate N 47: "Leyzer Zamengov, son of Mordkha Fayvelovich Zamengov and Liba Sholemovna Sofer"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722014023/http://www.bialystok.ap.gov.pl/bit/50lat/boznicze_zamenhof1.jpg |date=22 July 2011 }}</ref> many later Russian language documents also include the [[patronymic]] {{langx|ru|Маркович|Markovich|label=none}} « son of Mark » (in reference to his father, Markus), as is the custom in the language. His family name is of German origin and was originally written ''Samenhof''; this was later transcribed into Yiddish as {{lang|yi|זאַמענהאָף}}, then re-romanized back as ''Zamenhof''. The change of the initial letter from « S » to « Z » is not unusual, as in German an initial « s » is pronounced {{IPA|de|z|}}.

In his adolescence, he used both the Yiddish ''Leyzer'' and the Russian ''Lazar'' when writing his first name. While at university, Zamenhof began using the Russian name ''Lyudovik'' (also transcribed ''Ludovic'' or translated as ''Ludwig'') in place of ''Lazar'', possibly in honour of [[Francis Lodwick]], who in 1652 had published an early [[Constructed language|conlang]] proposal.<ref>{{cite book |last=Umberto Eco & James Fentress |title=The Search for the Perfect Language |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |page=[https://archive.org/details/searchforperfect00ecou/page/324 324] |date=9 September 1995 |isbn=978-0-631-17465-3 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/searchforperfect00ecou/page/324 }}</ref> When his brother Leon became a doctor and started signing his name "Dr L. Zamenhof",<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wincewicz |first1=Andrzej |last2=Sulkowska |first2=Mariola |last3=Musiatowicz |first3=Marcin |last4=Sulkowski |first4=Stanislaw |date=June 2009 |title=Laryngologist Leon Zamenhof—brother of Dr. Esperanto |journal=[[American Journal of Audiology]] |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=3–6 |issn=1059-0889 |pmid=18978199 |doi=10.1044/1059-0889(2008/08-0002) }}</ref> Zamenhof reclaimed his birth name ''Lazar'' and from 1901 signed his name "Dr L. L. Zamenhof" to avoid confusion with his brother. The two L's do not seem to have specifically represented either name and the order ''Ludwik Lejzer'' is a modern convention.