The name Kirchheim occurs occasionally among Frankfurt Jews in the 17th century. They are probably Jews who migrated to Frankfurt from one of the numerous German towns with this name. The Kirchheim family did not become prominent in Frankfurt until the 19th century, with Raphael Simon Kirchheim, a private tutor, and his brother, the merchant Moses Jachiel, who in 1876 endowed the Kirchheim Foundation, which is still active today.