Does anyone know the Polish version of surname Walker or anything close it may have been changed from ? I have an Andrew Walker born in Poland 1855,lived in Sheridan Ny,Thanks
There were different ways immirgants Anglicised their hard-to-pronounce Polish surnames. One was to choose a similar-sounding English name. If it was Walker, then perhaps its original form had been one of the following: Walkoski, Walkosz, Walkoś, Walkowiak, Walkowicz, Walkowiec, Walkownik, Walkus or Walkusz.
Another way was to translate the general meaning. Since walk in Polish is chodzić, it migth have been something like Chodek, Chodak, Chodziło, Chodkiewicz, Chodakowski, Chodziński, etc.