Dayan (surname)
Introduction '''Dayan''' () is a Hebrew surname. It means a Jewish religious judge in a Beth din—a position conferring social prestige in a traditional Jewish community, and therefore one whose memory is likely to be retained as a family's surname even after the passage of many generations.Notable persons with the surname include:* Shmuel Dayan (1891–1968), Zionist activist and Israeli politician (father of Moshe)** Moshe Dayan (1915–1981), Israeli military leader and politician** Ruth Dayan (1917–2021), widow of Moshe*** Assi Dayan (1945–2014), Israeli film director, actor (son of Moshe)*** Yael Dayan (born 1939), Israeli politician and author (daughter of Moshe)*** Uzi Dayan (born 1948), Israeli general and politician (nephew of Moshe)*** Dani Dayan (born 1955), Chairman of Yad Vashem (relative)*** Ilana Dayan (born 1964), Israeli investigative journalist, jurist and anchorwoman (relative)* Charles Dayan (1792–1877), American lawyer and politician* Charles Dayan (real estate developer) (born 1941), American real estate developer* Colin Dayan, American professor* Daniel Dayan (born 1943), social scientist* David Ben Dayan (born 1978), Israeli football player* Haim Dayan (born 1960), Israeli politician* Michele Dayan (born 1961), Israeli football player and manager* Peter Dayan, neuroscience scholar* Rebecca Dayan, French-American actress and model* Roei Dayan (born 1984), Israeli football player* Yosef Dayan (born 1945), Israeli political activistNotable persons with the given name Dayan (not always linguistically related) include:* Dayán Viciedo (born 1989), Cuban baseball player* David Dayan Fisher, British actor* Dayan Jayatilleka, Sri Lankan Sinhalese academic, diplomat, politician, writer; he was named after Moshe Dayan
See also * Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies