Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ?

Check this page,
stankiewicze.com/index.php?kat=44&sub=548
Scroll down to a group of 20 or so names starting with PAJD- . Assuming that your name is of Polish origin, then it comes from the word "pajda", as in "pajda chleba" (chunk, piece of bread). Synonyms: skiba, kawałek, kroma, kromka.

From etymologia.org : pajda:
 pajda, bajda chleba, 'kromka'. It comes from Turkish and Hungarian "paj" meaning "porcja" in Polish, a portion in English. In some dialects "pajtasz" means "towarzysz" (companion), which comes from Hungarian "paitas".

Gosh, thanks boletus!

Etymology's fascinating, isn't it?

Yes, now you have to check Hungarian sources, then Turkish ones. :-)
But that's "małe piwo" for you, Lyzko. :-)

Cheers to that one, mate:-)
Search engines at the ready... DOWN THE OL' HATCHEROOO!!!

Here you go Lyzko:
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pajt%C3%A1s

The actual spelling is not "paitas" but "pajtás", plural pajtások.
This is a Hungarian word of Turkish origin - the Polish etymologia.org was right here.
From Ottoman Turkish پاﻳﺪﺍﺵ (pâydâş, "parter, sharer"), from پای (pây, "share, portion").
Hungarian meaning:

- comrade, companion, pal
- pioneer (member of a child organization in the soviet bloc)

Grandma always used to joke that we all had wandering eyes and itchy feet, so maybe add to the brew some Sinti-Roma thrown in for good measureLOL

Hi Strzyga. Thank you for your reply. It was very helpful for you to mention where the base "sap" may have originated from, even if it is "mud" or "soil". But there is no insult here. Some people have came from more muddy lands, hence a nickname, which evolved into a surname.

Hi Boletus. In addition to thanking Strzyga, I thank you for helping me here. Your mentionings of the likely origin of the base "sap" in Sapko is very plausible, even if it may mean "mud". There is no insult here. Some people may have come from more muddy lands, landing a nickname, pertaining to it, which evolved to a surname. It could have come from "one who makes flour" too, for that matter, as you have mentioned.

is Suhanik a Ukranian name?
it came up while i was doing the family tree, i'm on genes reunited if anyone wants to look me up

its the one exotic name in 4 boring centuries of Staffordshire ancestors!

Polonized Armenian surname: "Agapsowicz" (from Agapian)

"Many names ending with - uk or -icz are of Eastern origin (Ukrainian, Byelorussian, Lithuanian, whatever) - Wasiluk, Bohdanowicz, Hawryluk."

Pacewicz (Pacevicius?) has Lithuanian roots, probably not too prelevent

I did some research on etymology of Ukrainian surnames years ago. Of the top of my head, Sapko would splinter off from Savko and Sawko, which could be rooted in the Ukrainian word for owl (sova).

I did come across a very useful book on the topic though the exact name and author escape me. It was in English and it was something straightforward like Etymology or Historical Roots of Ukrainian Surnames. The book was purely on groupings and derivations of names over time. Very interesting. The thing that I did remember is that the book was published in Germany, possibly Munich.

Hope that helps. Good luck.

Merged: Foreign surnames popular in Poland

Like for example: My dad's father changed his surname when he moved to Poland from Western Belarus. It was Fox I believe and they changed it to Bernatowicz because Fox is German and they had to change it after the war.

Give me examples such as Miller (Mueller, Müller).

Fox is English. Polish translation is Lis, and German would be Fuchs.

There are also Szmidt (Schmitt), or Weiss. Too many to make a list. Many surnames were created by using foreign characteristics, for example the surname "Makaruk" is present both - in Poland and Ukraine. So is it Polish or Ukrainian?

So my grandfathers surname was English? Wow, I was sure that it was German.

What was his first name? Fox is definitely not a German word.

Franciszek, which is definitely Slavic.

Oh no! I meant that my grandfather's surname was Miller and I used Fox because I was thinking of something else. Miller is German (Mueller, Müller, Miler , etc.) Sorry about that.

Franciszek is not a Slavic name, it's a Polish name of a German origin.

Polish or German. I don't care, it's just his first name. It bares little importance. I'm asking if Miller is popular in Poland or Eastern Europe? Also my great grandfather was from Silesia near Wrocław and he was born in about 1903-1905 in Prussia.

Since you made a confident statement of the name to be Slavic I just decided to correct you.


There is quite a number of them in Poland. Eastern Europe? I have no idea.

My last name is pretty uncommon in Poland.

Szenk - Schenk (I presume)

• 
  
  

I have a couple examples:

Bernatowicz - 'Bernat-' is a polonised form of 'Bernhard'. I'm from Poland, this is my own surname and my family originates from Sląsk.

Szengart - Not too sure, probably comes from the German surname 'Schengard'.

Szulc - Met couple in my life. Comes from Schulz.

Grad - My cousin's surname, could be Slovak for 'Castle' or (which I seriously doubt) Irish.

P.S. If you have any suggestions, feel free to reply :D

Merged: Polish surnames of foreign origin?

Hi! I'd like to open a thread where everyone can contribute on Polish surnames NOT of Polish origin.

Bernatowicz - Polonized Armenian.

Cybert - Polonized (?) German.

Szengart - Silesian of German origin.

Müller/Miller/Millerowicz - German (or of German origin).

Niemiec/surnames based on locations - Given to people whose ancestors came from those places.

Has ANYONE come across the surname FROUDIST ? Both parents Polish. Grandmother on Fathers side birth name was Elzbieta Ross. We cannot go back any further than this. Family were killed during bombing in WW11 in Poland.

Wow have never heard that name! It's so different.

@Marsupial
I know.. we are the last of the Froudist's. We've been trying to find any link to any family members but no luck. Maybe the next route we take is to find our connections to the Ross family.

alot of surnames in Poland end with "czuk",they are of ukrainian origin i think,and,they are very common.ends with "ewicz" are of jewish origin some at least.

Nothing at all comes up for that surname on familysearch.org or other sites. The only reference I have found to the surname is that it is shared by an actress and talent agent called Halina Froudist. Guess you have a really rare surname!

Dorota,

google for "Froudist" genealogy or "Froudist" Poland . There's a whole bunch of hits showing up - lots from the UK and Australia, it seems.

This one looks interesting, too (5 Froudist on that list):
polishresettlementcampsintheuk.co.uk/passengerlist/dorsetshire1951sep.htm

@TheOther

Thank you for that. Yes we have that document. It's my mother and father and my older brothers and sisters who were travelling by ship

to Australia.

@Chemikiem
Thanks, yes that's my sister. She and I now run an Actors Agency together.