a High German language of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, spoken throughout the world. It developed as a fusion of German dialects with Hebrew, Aramaic, Slavic languages and traces of Romance languages. It is written in the Hebrew alphabet.  (Wikipedia)

Yiddish words which are now common in English: 
              bagel, blintz, bupkis, chutzpah, dreck, glitch, kibitz, klutz, kosher, kvetch, lox, maven,    mensch, nebbish,   nosh, schlep, schlock, schmaltz, schmooze, schmuck, schnoz, shamus, shemozzle, shtick, spiel, verklempt, # yarmulke, zaftig

Some references for further exploration: http://tinyurl.com/2x63cc

Names that were descriptive of the head of household:
HOCH (tall), KLEIN (small), COHEN (descendant of Aaron on the male line), BURGER (village dweller), SHEIN (good looking), LEVI (Levite), GROSS (large), SCHWARTZ (dark or black), WEISS (white), KURTZ (short), GROSSBARD (big beard), GELBART (yellow beard)

Names describing occupations:
HOLTZ (wood), SCHNEIDER (tailor), EISEN (iron), FISCHER (fisherman)

Names from place of origin: 
BERLIN, FRANKFURTER, DANZIGER, OPPENHEIMER, DEUTSCH (German), POLLACK (Polish), BRESLAU, MANNHEIM, CRACOW, WARSHAW, KOENIGSBERG

Names that were purchased:
GLUCK (luck), ROSEN (roses), ROSENBLATT (rose paper or leaf), ROTHMAN (red man), DIAMOND, KOENIG (king), SPIELMAN (spiel is to play), LIEBER (lover), BERG (mountain), WASSERMAN (water dweller), KIRSHENBLATT (cherry [colored] paper), STEIN (stone, stoneware, beer mug).

Assigned names (often insulting):
PLOTZ (to die), KLUTZ (clumsy), BILLIG (cheap), DREK (shit), BARDAKI (bordello operator), SCHEINSKOPF (shiny head), BECKMESSER (knife beak), MONCHARSH (monk's arse)

Original Birth Names of Jewish Performers:
Woody Allen --- Alan Stewart Koenigsberg
June Allyson --- Ella Geisman
Lauren Bacall --- Betty Joan Perske
Jack Benny --- Benjamin Kubelsky
Irving Berlin --- Israel Baline
Milton Berle --- Milton Berlinger
Joey Bishop ---Joseph Gottlieb
Karen Black --- Karen Blanche Ziegler
Victor Borge --- Borge Rosenbaum
Fanny Brice --- Fanny Borach
Mel Brooks --- Melvin Kaminsky
George Burns --- Nathan Birnbaum
Eddie Cantor --- Edward Israel Iskowitz
Jeff Chandler --- Ira Grossel
Lee J. Cobb --- Amos Jacob
Tony Curtis --- Bernard Schwartz
Rodney Dangerfield --- Jacob Cohen
Kirk Douglas --- Issue Danielovich Demsky
Melvyn Douglas --- Melvyn Hesselberg
Bob Dylan --- Bobby Zimmerman
Paulette Goddard --- Marion Levy
Lee Grant --- Lyova Geisman
Elliot Gould --- Elliot Goldstein
Judy Holliday --- Judith Tuvim
Al Jolson --- Asa Yoelson
Danny Kaye --- David Daniel Kaminsky
Michael Landon --- Michael Orowitz
Steve Lawrence --- Sidney Leibowitz
Jerry Lewis --- Joseph Levitch
Peter Lorre --- Lazlo Lowenstein
Elaine May --- Elaine Berlin
Yves Montand --- Ivo Levy
Mike Nichols --- Michael Peschkowsky
Joan Rivers --- Joan Molinsky
Edward G. Robinson -- Emanuel Goldenberg
Jane Seymour --- Joyce Penelope Frankenburg
Simone Signoret --- Simone-Henriette Kaminker
Beverly Sills --- Belle Silverman
Sophie Tucker --- Sophia Kalis
Gene Wilder --- Gerald Silberman

An article about the origin of Jewish last names, written by Bennett Muraskin in Slate:
http://tinyurl.com/ogrcg8d