Isaac Satanow

Could it be...

SATAN?

Well, not exactly Satan. Satanow. Satanov, if you will. Now Sataniv.

Isaac Satanow, an 18th century Jewish poet and polymath got his name from his birthplace, the Polish town of Satanow. It was known as Satanov during its time under Russian rule, and is now part of Ukraine, as Sataniv.

The town dates back all the way to 1404. Starting in the 16th century, Satanow had a thriving Jewish community, which produced the aforementioned poet and other pioneers of the Jewish enlightenment movement, Haskalah. Jews used to make up the town's majority; after pogroms, the Russian revolution, and the Nazis, that obviously stopped being the case.

But back to, well, Satan, which, honestly, with all due respect to the scholarly Isaac, is the reason for this profile. Could it be?

It seems unlikely. The origins of the town's name are murky, but likely have Turkic roots, nothing to do with the Prince of Darkness. That hasn't stopped the speculation, of course.

So, not Satan. Whew.