Polish surnames: Origin and Meaning?

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Apr 15, 08, 07:41 #1

Polish Surnames: Do they all mean something?
I met someone called Gruszka (sp?) and, in my dictionary's definition, it meant 'Peartree'.
Also Wałęsa (possibly the worlds most famous Polish surname) means 'wanderer' or something similar....I don't have it with me as I write this.

British surnames usually stem from a persons occupation or place of origin.
Example. Spittle (my surname) has a dictionary definition of 'Saliva' (I know! Lovely name!) But the origin is Spittler. Or a type of Inn keeper a few centuries ago.
Hospitality is a derivative.
My surname is most often seen spelt 'Spittal'. It's exactly the same root but English spelling was only standardised around 120 years ago. It's just luck that I was in a part of the family that chose the same spelling as the bodily fluid.
It's even worse when one considers my initial is 'P'.

Often a persons surname will be a place. John Wakefield, James Newcastle, Jennifer York....

Do Polish surnames follow a similar history?

miranda	Edited by: miranda Apr 15, 08, 07:44 #2
check this one out:surname analysis

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Apr 15, 08, 13:22 #3

I used this website it the past to get info on my surname. The webmaster used to give surname info free of charge but the site appears to have changed considerably and that option doesn't seem to be available.

polishroots.org/surnames/surnames_endings.htm
William F. Hoffman
WFHoffman@prodigy.net

Or you can buy his book:

amazon.com/Polish-Surnames-Origins-Meanings-Second/dp/0924207043

ArcticPaul:

Hospitality is a derivative

Maybe. The word for hospital in polish is szpital. I think in german it is something similar.

LAGirlThreads: 13 Posts: 598 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♀	Apr 15, 08, 13:57 #4
Janowitz or Yanowicz was my husbands name it means son of John in Polish

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Apr 16, 08, 05:11 #5

Polish and probably all otehr european surnames following a similar pattern. Polish ones are based on ia the following:
1) Occupation (eg Piekarz = baker)
2) Place of origin (Brzeziński = the bloke from Brzezina/Birchville)
3) Characteristic (Cimięga = duffer, clumsy oaf)
4) Common household and barnyard objects, animals, food, etc. -- typical of peasant names: Łopata = spade; Wróbel = Sparrow)
5) Nationality (Niemiec = German)
6) Polonised foreign names (Michejda derived from Scottish McCleod) -- BTW itinerant Scots traders were once so common in the sprawling Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that a (now obnolete) English saying once referred to "a Scots pedlar's pack in Poland" - meaning everything but the kitchen sink.

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Apr 17, 08, 10:31 #6

The peasants names (Spade, Sparrow) reminded me that CAPONE is Italian for capon. A castrated chicken!
It's not surprising Alphonse had something to proove!

polishcanuck:

Maybe. The word for hospital in polish is szpital. I think in german it is something similar.

That you for that, Polonius3. I'm always interested to learn anything about my surname. maybe I have Polish relatives?

Pawol Szpital.

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Apr 17, 08, 11:11 #7

You may be interested to know that there is only 1 person in Poland currently using the Szpital surname, but 31 people are named Szpitalak (a patroynmic meaning son of the bloke called Szpital).
Szpital nowadays means hospital but back when the surname was emerging it had a broader range of meanings including: poorhouse, homeless shelter, hostel for travellers, etc. BTW etymlogically the words host, hospital, hotel, hospice as well as the Germanic Gast, the English guest and the Polish gość all go back to the same Indo-European root.

NO 14Threads: 8 Posts: 54 Joined: Dec 15, 07 ♂	Apr 17, 08, 11:31 #8
Ive heard that Polish people with names ending in "Ski" or "Ska" originate from a family that has had wealth.I dont know how true this is though.

Patrycja19Threads: 76 Posts: 3,877 Joined: Oct 31, 06 ♀	Apr 17, 08, 11:37 #9
NO 14: Ive heard that Polish people with names ending in "Ski" or "Ska" originate from a family that has had wealth.I dont know how true this is though. I heard that too, but there is quite a few last names with Ski/Ska on the end.

NO 14Threads: 8 Posts: 54 Joined: Dec 15, 07 ♂	Apr 17, 08, 11:46 #10
Maybe they all were/are wealthy then, my wife told me this, but her name also ended in Ska.

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Apr 17, 08, 19:04 #11

Those who had Ski or Sksa ending were not necessary wealthy but rather noblemen (szlachta) - at least according to "popular history".

BTW:
WALERIAN TREPKA in 16th/17th century had written LIBER GENERATIONIS PLEBEANORUM, It contains a list of people of plebeian origin who attempted, by one illegal means or another, to become members of the nobility.
Trepka on Podgurski:
http://www.podgourski.net/content/1739.html

isthatu2Threads: 12 Posts: 4,856 Joined: Apr 3, 08 ♂	Apr 17, 08, 19:18 #12
What about Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz? ;)

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Apr 18, 08, 04:08 #13

The -ski, -cki and -dzki in Polish surnames are adjectival endings (that is why they must agree with the person they describe: Mańkowski for males and Mańkowska for females). In the majority of cases, these are surnames of toponymic origin, ie they were derived from the name of a region, town, village or, in the case of nobility, estate.
In general, the -ki ending surnames were used by more people of noble stature than other surnames. In the olden days a nobleman owning the village and/or estate of Dąbków (Oakville) would have been known as Jan z Dąbkowa (John of Oakwood), but in time it got adjectivalised into Jan Dąbkowski (in English tradition the ‘of’ got dropped and it became simply John Oakwood).
But peasants living in the village would also be referred to by the Dąbkowski nickname which eventually evolved into a bona fide surname..
According to rough estimates, at various times in Polish history up to 10% of the population enjoyed noble status. The percentage among the bearers of ski-ending names would be somewhat higher.
The main reason for many non-ski-type surnames amongst the nobility was the practice of ennobling entire villages in exchange for defending the local prince’s castle or performing some service to the Crown. We therefore got a whole class of impoverished gentry who differed little from peasants in a neighbouring village in terms of wealth but had a coat of arms and sword to prove their noble status. This was especially true of the Podlasie region along the Polish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian borderlands. That area’s castle-towns were frequently attacked by the pagan Jadvingians and the local peasantry had to be enlisted to fend off the assault.

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Aug 31, 09, 13:35 #14

Hi. I have been searching for the origins of my polish grandfather and his family but am finding it really tough. If anybody knows anything of the surname SZALOMSKI I'd love to hear what you know. I have been able to trace the middle part of his life within the UK but don't even know his date of birth. He may have been from the Warsaw area but I really don't know.

I am fascinated by the information that you all have about the Polish surnames. I think Szalomski is really beautiful and would love to know it's origins.

Any advice or even just information about the surname would be wonderful!

Thank you

Polonius3Threads: 963 Posts: 4,547 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Aug 31, 09, 17:40 #15
SZAŁOMSKI - possibly linked to szałomaje (a rustic shepherd's pipe) known throughout Europe as a shawm (Eng.), Schalmei (Ger.), chalemie (Fr.), originally from Latin calamus. There is also a locality in Poland caleld Szałamaje.

yehudiThreads: 1 Posts: 816 Joined: Jul 27, 08 ♂	Aug 31, 09, 19:28 #16
Polonius3: 4) Common household and barnyard objects, animals, food, etc. -- typical of peasant names: Łopata = spade; Wróbel = Sparrow) That's really interesting! I have two acquaintances (both Jews) with those names. One, Lopata, is a lawyer in New York, and Wrubel (which I assume comes from Wróbel) is a teacher and a rabbi in Israel. I guess their ancestors lived in small villages.

searching4Threads: 1 Posts: 5 Joined: Aug 31, 09 ♀	Sep 1, 09, 10:41 #17
That's very interesting - thank you. I understand that my great-grandfather in Poland was a farmer of some sort. I have found it really difficult to find anything information about the name or even anyone with it. It doesn't seem to be a bery common name at all. So were family names often derived from the places where they originated from then?

Polonius3Threads: 963 Posts: 4,547 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Sep 1, 09, 12:51 #18
Only 10 people in Poland are now surnamed Szałomski. The vast majority of surnames ending in -ski (including -cki and -dzki) accounting for over one-third of all Polish sruanmes are of toponymic (place-name) origin.

searching4Threads: 1 Posts: 5 Joined: Aug 31, 09 ♀	Sep 2, 09, 20:31 #19
Oh my word! That's amazing. Maybe we're related then. I'm seriously impressed with your knowledge and am so glad I found this forum. Thank you SO much for that information. How do you know about the number of people with the name in Poland by the way?

ceferian	Sep 3, 09, 09:25 #20
Can anyone tell me the meaning of the name Kozanecki? I know that "koza" means goat, but I'm not sure how that plays into the whole meaning of the name. Any ideas? (I married into the name, and I just hope it doesn't mean something like "smells like a goat"!)

Polonius3Threads: 963 Posts: 4,547 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Sep 3, 09, 14:47 #21
As noted above, names ending in -ski, -cki or -dzki are usually of toponymic origin. Kozanecki comes from the locality of Kozanki in Wielkopolska voivodship. But you're right about the goat connection. The locality might be tanslated into English as Goatville, Goatman, Goatwood, Goatboro, etc.

ceferian

Sep 4, 09, 10:56 #22

Thanks so much for your reply, Polonius. Having the name mean "Goatville" or the like is much better than what my imagination was coming up with..."hairy like a goat", "goat-breath", etc. I still may tease my husband by calling him "goat boy", though.

It's funny, my maiden name means "of the sea", and my first name means "beautiful lady". So, I've gone from being "beautiful lady of the sea" to "beautiful lady of goat town". Hmm...not exactly a trade up. Ah well, good thing the hubby's worth it!

Polonius3Threads: 963 Posts: 4,547 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Sep 4, 09, 11:44 #23
As long as you don't call him an "old goat"!!! (ha-ha) BTW is your maiden name Polish?

ceferian

Sep 5, 09, 10:25 #24

Nope, my maiden name is Maris, which is English.

Amazingly enough, people in our area seem to have an easier time pronouncing and spelling Kozanecki than Maris, mainly due to the large Polish population near us.

I've always been surprised at how many ways people can misspell and mispronounce a short name like Maris (rhymes with Paris): Marris, Morris, Marsis, etc. I figured that I was in for even more trouble with a long name like Kozanecki, but it's been so nice not to have to teach everyone how to say it or spell it. Who would've thought?

And yeah, I'd better not call my husband an old goat...he's younger than me!

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Oct 6, 09, 13:16 #25

Kozanecki - means from Kozanki(lord of Kozanki). First document dated 1390,polish nobility. Coat of Arm - Amadej, from 17th century Waz (Snake). They were the Kozanki owners for over 500 years. Coat of Arm Amadej comes from Hungary and belonged to powerful clan Aba. Amade(Amadej) Aba helped to regain the throne of the polish king Wladyslaw Lokietek. His sons received lands in Poland and they were the ancestors polish noble families ( about 10 surnames).Kozanecki never were rich, but family history is probably as long as the Polish history.Maybe is time to start a genealogical research? :)

mlodarski	Nov 25, 09, 23:00 #26
Can anyone help me find the meaning of my maiden name "Lodarski" My grandfather came to the US in the early 1900's and passed away before I was born so I have no way of getting information.

BRNDNRDK	Dec 12, 09, 20:49 #27
hi anyone know the origin of thje name Redko - father originally from Tomaczaw thanks

Polonius3Threads: 963 Posts: 4,547 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Dec 12, 09, 22:51 #28
Redko – hard to say where this surname came from, but the fact is that in Russian редко (Polish trasliteration: redko) is an adverb meaning seldom or rarely (in Polish – rzadko). There is also the toponymic option – the Pomeranian locality of Redkowice.

bloodybob2Threads: 2 Posts: 2 Joined: Feb 18, 10 ♂	Edited by: Moderator Feb 18, 10, 14:43 #29
Feb 18, 10, 18:32 - Thread attached on merging: ancestry - origin or meaning of the names wegrzynski mostowski origin or meaning of the names wegrzynski mostowski

martmilk	Feb 19, 10, 00:10 #30
Does anyone know anything on the last name: MIŁKOWSKA? or if anyone knows of any other interesting polish last name facts please share your knowledge. thanks you!

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