Botbol

During the 19th century, Botbol was one of the twenty most common surnames within Morocco's Jewish community (see History of the Jews in Morocco). The origin of this surname (and its variants: Abitbol and Boutboul) is likely derived from the Hebrew shoresh ט.ב.ל (ṭ.b.l) meaning "purification in a ritual bath". The name means "father of the bath", i.e., the one in charge of this ritual bath. In Arabic, it means "father of the tambourine" which indicates a profession, i.e., the maker or salesman of this popular Moroccan musical instrument. The Botbol name is now found in Morocco, France, Belgium, Israel, Canada and South America.