CADJI MJPN · KG

The surname Cadji, indexed under the Moroccan Jewish Personal Names (MJPN) root KG, is a relatively rare Moroccan Jewish family name attested in a small but geographically informative body of records. The Yahasra cemetery database records 17 burials under this root, distributed across several Moroccan cities, with the dominant spelling CADJI concentrated in the northern city of Tanger (Ouaknine, 2026). The name is also recorded in the wider Sephardic world, appearing in a dictionary of Sephardic surnames documenting immigrants to Brazil, though that attestation does not establish any direct genealogical connection to the Moroccan family (Harry Stein Sephardic Surname Index, as cited in context). Alliance Israélite Universelle school rolls add a modest complement of student records spanning the mid-twentieth century (Israel Genealogy Research Association, 2026). Together, these sources allow a preliminary portrait of a small but geographically dispersed Moroccan Jewish family.

The etymological record for Cadji is notably sparse. Beider's dictionary of Jewish surnames from the Maghreb lists the head form Kadji alongside several graphic variants, including Cadji, Cagi, Kachy, Kadj, and Kadjy, but provides no etymological derivation for any of them (Beider, 2017, pp. 304–305). The absence of an etymology in that reference means that no philologically grounded explanation of the root's meaning can be offered on the basis of available sources.

Laredo's comprehensive survey of Moroccan Jewish names likewise does not appear in the RAG context as a source for this surname, so no Laredo-derived etymology can be cited. Researchers should treat the name's linguistic origin as currently undetermined, pending further archival or comparative work.

The graphic diversity of the attested spellings, ranging from the French-influenced CADJI and COUGUY to the more phonetically transparent KADJI and KADJY, reflects the well-documented inconsistency of romanisation applied to Judeo-Moroccan names by French colonial administrators, school registrars, and cemetery officials (Beider, 2017). The variant COUGUY, attested once in Fez, is particularly divergent and may represent an idiosyncratic transcription of the same phonological root (Ouaknine, 2026).

Cemetery records in the Yahasra database assign 17 burials to the KG root, distributed across five localities (Ouaknine, 2026). The northern city of Tanger, specifically the Route de Rabat cemetery, accounts for 10 of those burials, or 58.8% of the total, establishing it as the clear demographic centre of the family (Ouaknine, 2026). Casablanca BenM'Sik follows with 3 burials (17.6%), Agadir contributes 2 (11.8%), and Tétouan and Fès each record a single burial (5.9% each) (Ouaknine, 2026).

The per-variant geographic signatures are particularly revealing. The spelling CADJI is overwhelmingly associated with Tanger, accounting for 76.9% of its own occurrences in that city (Ouaknine, 2026). The spelling KADJI, by contrast, is found exclusively in Agadir, representing 100% of its two occurrences in the southern Souss region (Ouaknine, 2026). Similarly, COUGUY appears solely in Fez and KADJY solely in Tétouan, each with a single record (Ouaknine, 2026). This pattern suggests that different orthographic conventions, and possibly distinct community branches, became associated with particular cities over time.

Alliance Israélite Universelle school rolls record 3 students bearing this surname, enrolled between 1942 and 1963, with birth years spanning 1935 to 1958 (Israel Genealogy Research Association, 2026). The schooling cities are Casablanca, with 2 students (66.7%), and Tanger, with 1 student (33.3%) (Israel Genealogy Research Association, 2026). The schools attended were the Ecole Primaire de Garcons and the Ecole Primaire de Filles (Israel Genealogy Research Association, 2026). The AIU distribution broadly corroborates the cemetery evidence in highlighting Tanger and Casablanca as the two principal centres of family presence, while the southern city of Agadir, visible in the cemetery data, does not appear in the AIU records, likely reflecting the small overall sample size rather than a genuine absence.

The most notable individual identified in the available records is Rabbi Jacob Cadji, whose Hebrew name is given as יעקב קדג'י. He is recorded as buried at the Casablanca BenM'Sik cemetery, where his burial entry carries the designation of rabbi (Ouaknine, 2026). Beyond this identification, the Yahasra database does not supply biographical details regarding his dates, his communal role, or his scholarly output. His presence in the Casablanca BenM'Sik cemetery is nonetheless significant, as it confirms that at least one member of the family attained rabbinic standing within the Moroccan Jewish community. No additional named bearers with biographical detail appear in the sources available for this article, and no Laredo biographies are present in the RAG context for this surname. Researchers seeking further information on Rabbi Jacob Cadji are encouraged to consult communal records and responsa literature that may document his activity.

Beider's dictionary is the principal reference for establishing the range of graphic variants associated with the KG root, listing Cadji, Cagi, Kachy, Kadj, Kadji, and Kadjy as forms grouped under the head Kadji (Beider, 2017, pp. 304–305). However, Beider offers no etymology for this surname, limiting the dictionary's contribution to orthographic documentation rather than linguistic analysis. Laredo's work, which frequently supplies biographical sketches of notable bearers and sometimes traces name origins to Arabic, Berber, or Hebrew roots, does not appear in the available context as a source for Cadji, leaving a gap that neither reference currently fills. The two sources therefore neither confirm nor contradict each other on this surname; they simply address different aspects of the record, with Beider providing variant attestation and Laredo contributing nothing recoverable from the present data.

Researchers tracing the Cadji family in Moroccan Jewish genealogy are invited to explore the full cemetery and AIU records available through Yahasra.org and the Israel Genealogy Research Association database. Users should bear in mind that the same family may appear under any of the attested spellings, including CADJI, KADJI, COUGUY, and KADJY, and that transliteration practices varied considerably by city, era, and registering authority. Cross-referencing multiple spelling variants is strongly recommended before drawing conclusions about family connections.