Levin (original Russian: Левин) is a surname with several word origins. In most cases it is Jewish (a variant of Levy) and rarely Russian, derived from the Jewish biblical tribe of Levi, whose descendants the Levites had distinctive duties in the Temple period. In some cases the surname Levin is derived from the German personal name Liebwin. In other cases the surname represents a form of the Yiddish word for "lion". In some cases, the surname Levin represents a patronymic form of Lëva. It is also often an anglicisation of the Quebecer name Lavigne, especially in the northeast US.
Other variations include Lavin, Lavine, Le Neve, Levene, Levi, Levina, Levine, Levitt, Levy, Lewin, and Lieven.
People with the name Levin (and feminine variant Levina) include:
In literature and journalism
Adam Levin, fiction author
Alan Levin (filmmaker) (1926–2006), American filmmaker and journalist
Arnold Levin, New Yorker cartoonist
Bernard Levin, (1928–2004), British writer and broadcaster
Daniel Levin (writer) (born c. 1980), American attorney and novelist
Diane Levin, American author and educator
Hanoch Levin (1943–1999), Israeli writer and theater director
Harry Levin (1912–1994), U.S. literary critic
Ira Levin (1929–2007), U.S. novelist, playwright and songwriter
Mark Levin (born 1957), American conservative radio host, lawyer, author, and political commentator who served in the Reagan administration
Meyer Levin (1905–1981), U.S. novelist
Robert Levin (writer) (born 1939), American fiction writer
Beth Levin (musician), American pianist
David Levin (singer), American singer-songwriter
Harold Levin, American violist, composer, and conductor
Ira Levin (1929–2007), U.S. novelist, playwright and songwriter
Josef Lhévinne (1874–1944), Russian pianist
Robert Levin (Norwegian pianist) (1912–1996), Norwegian pianist and composer
Robert D. Levin (born 1947), U.S. composer and musicologist
Tony Levin (born 1946), U.S. bass player
Zara Levina (1906–1976), Ukrainian composer
Alan Levin (filmmaker) (1926–2006), American filmmaker and journalist
David P. Levin (born 1958), American producer, director, writer and editor
Hanoch Levin (1943–1999), Israeli writer and theater director
Harvey Levin, TV and movie producer
Ira Levin (1929–2007), U.S. novelist, playwright and songwriter
Marc Levin, Jewish American filmmaker
Mark Levin (director) (born 1966), American director and screenwriter
Roland Levin (born 1957), Latvian photographer
Adam K. Levin, former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and businessman in consumer credit-related businesses
Alan Levin (business), American businessmen, CFO of drug maker Pfizer
David Levin (businessman) (born 1962), British businessman
Gerald M. Levin (born 1939), U.S. businessman with TimeWarner
Nathaniel Levin (1818–1903), New Zealand businessman and politician
Neil Levin, former Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
Philip J. Levin (c. 1909 – 1971), American real estate developer and investor
William Levin (1845–1893), New Zealand businessman and politician
Myles Levin (born 1951), American CEO
In government, law, and politics
Adam K. Levin, former director of the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs and businessman in consumer credit-related businesses
Burton Levin, American diplomat, former Ambassador to Burma
Carl Levin (born 1934), US Democratic Senator from Michigan; brother of Sander Levin, cousin of Charles Levin
Charles Levin (judge) (born 1926), Michigan jurist; cousin of Carl and Sander Levin
Daniel Levin (attorney) (active 2004-2005), Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Justice Department
David L. Levin (born 1949), American politician from Missouri
Ezra G. Levin, American lawyer
Fred Levin (born 1937), US plaintiffs' attorney in the state of Florida
Joe Levin, American lawyer
Lewis Charles Levin (1808–1860), first Jewish Representative to the U.S. Congress
Mark Levin (born 1957), American conservative radio host, lawyer, author, and political commentator who served in the Reagan administration
Nathaniel Levin (1818–1903), New Zealand businessman and politician
Sander M. Levin (born 1931), US Democratic Representative from Michigan; brother of Carl, cousin of Charles
Susan Bass Levin, New Jersey, US politician
Theodore Levin (1897–1970), U.S. federal jurist
William Levin (1845–1893), New Zealand businessman and politician
Yariv Levin Israeli MK and Minister of Tourism
Yuval Levin, member of White House domestic policy staff
In science and academia
Alan Levin (internet governance), South African computer scientist and internet activist
Beth Levin (linguist), American linguist
Diane Levin, American author and educator
Janna Levin, theoretical cosmologist
Jack Levin, professor at Northeastern University
Kenneth Levin (born 1944), American psychiatrist and author
Leonid Levin (born 1948), Russian-born computer scientist
Michael Levin, professor of philosophy at the City University of New York
Nora Levin (1916–1989), Holocaust historian
Rick Levin (born 1947), American economist, president of Yale University
Simon A. Levin, theoretical ecologist, professor of biology at Princeton University
Vladimir Levin, Russian mathematician and alleged criminal hacker
In sport and games
Aleksandr Mitrofanovich Levin (1871–1929), Russian chess player
Aleksandr Romanovich Levin (born 1991), Russian footballer
Bobby Levin, American bridge player
David Levin (ice hockey), Israeli ice hockey player
Eyal Levin, Israeli Olympic sailor
Jill Levin, American bridge player
Tatyana Levina (born 1977), Russian sprinter
Dave Levin, co-founder of the KIPP educational foundation
Gilbert Levin, American engineer
Janice H. Levin (1913–2001), American philanthropist and art collector from New York City
Jennifer Levin (1968–1986), murder victim in New York City's Central Park
Jonathan Levin (teacher) (1966–1997), American murder victim
Rob Levin (1955–2006), founder of the freenode IRC network
Vladimir Levin, Russian mathematician and alleged criminal hacker
Kevin Levin, protagonist/antagonist from the television series "Ben 10"
Konstantin Levin, a protagonist in Tolstoy's novel "Anna Karenina"
Patti Levin, character in "The Leftovers"
Levin (surname) Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
