Klonimus Genealogy and Klonimus Family History Information

Kalonymos or Kalonymus (Hebrew: קלונימוס‎) is a prominent Jewish family originally from Lucca, Italy, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany. The family is according to many considered the foundation of Hachmei and Hasidei Ashkenaz.

The name ought really to be spelled "Kalonymos," as Kalonymus ben Kalonymus and Immanuel of Rome both rime it with words ending in "-mos".[1] The name, which occurs in Greece, Italy, and Provence, is of Greek origin; Kalonymos (Kαλώνυμος) stands for "good name" in Greek and Wolf correctly pointed that it is a translation of the Hebrew "Shem-Tob";[2] Zunz, that it represented the Latin "Cleonymus".[3]

Traces of the family in Italy may be found as early as the second half of the eighth century. As to the date of the settlement of its members in Germany, the opinions of modern scholars are divided, owing to the conflicting statements of the Jewish sources.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalonymos_family