This page was last edited on 15 August 2020, at 20:38. The most common Polish names Nowak, Nowakowski, Nowacki, and Nowicki are variants meaning new, Przybyszewski and Przybylski mean he who has arrived. The adjectival suffixes would add another handful: Piotrowski, Piotraszewski, Petrażycki, Piestrzyński, Pietracki, Pietruszyński, Pietrykowski, Pietrycki, Pietrzykowski, and many more. Other names come from trees: Wiśniewski, Wiszniewski, Wiśniowski and Wiśniowiecki from wiśnia (cherry); Dąbrowski from dąbrowa (=oak forest). Jews were the last group of Polish society to acquire proper family names. Before we tell you what that could mean, check out the most common surnames in other European countries: In terms of linguistic build-up, the list is strikingly monolithic, featuring only names with Polish Slavic roots – a fact which obviously reflects the homogeneous character of Polish society after WW2. That's when the traditional Polish (sur)names of cognominal kind (see below), very popular with the people, start to morph with the noble -ski ending. However, the naming system as a whole must also have its history, rules and particularities, which in the case of Polish surnames makes it a fascinating story of social, ethnic, and cultural intricacy.

Thus, Skowron (lit. While Polish -ski names are, at least in theory, genetically connected with the upper classes of Polish society, the cognominal surnames are definitely more democratic as they stem from popular folk usage. Mickiewicz < son of Mit’ka < a diminutive formed from the name Dymitr, Mackiewicz < son of Mat’ka < a diminutive formed from Matiey [Eng. Examples: Kordziak (father) – Kordziakówna (daughter), Morawa – Morawianka. Where did this kind of name come from and what does it tell us about Poland? example: *lee will match names which end with the sound lee (s) will match exactly one syllable in the pronunciation. In a strictly stratified Polish society in which members of the nobility made up around 10 percent of society, the -ski name became an understandable objet du désir. Considering that most Poles have their roots in rural areas this may be an even more apt candidate for the most “Polish” type of Polish surname. Ohanowicz (John), Agopsowicz (Jacob), Kirkorowicz (Gregory) Abgarowicz, Aksentowicz, Awakowicz, Sefarowicz, Bohosiewicz (=Paweł = Polos, Bohos); Ajwasowski ,Torosowicz. This last name is Polish because it's got Z's in them and also it ends with "ski" which is a Polish last name. Particularly notorious and offensive were the names given by Austrian officials in Galicia: Wohlgeruch, Geldshrank, Singmirwas, Pulverbestandteil, Temperaturwechsel, Ochcenschwanz, Kanalgeruch, Wanzenknicker. One such first name could have in extreme cases produced as many as several dozens of surnames. You'll find here: Nowak (someone 'new' in the area), Bystroń (someone 'quick-witted'), Białas (someone 'white'), and Głowacz (someone with a big 'head'). The -ski names are by no means the oldest, but they've become by far the most recognizable type of Polish last name worldwide. suffix.

Matthew], Sienkiewicz < son of Sien’ka < a diminutive formed from Syemion (Pol. A completely different strategy was adopted in Russia. Today, the -ski in the name may still – with high probability – serve as an indication of someone's Polish origins. This does not mean that Polish Jews did not use surnames before this period. Nevertheless they all come from one Polish first name: Michał. Polish surnames are known from the Middle Ages, but only 200 years ago did the inherited surnames become compulsory. This is mildly contrasted with the fact that by far most popular Polish name is Nowak – a name which originated as a name denoting someone new in the region, a possible foreigner or migrant from a different location. Like: Brzeziński. Abdulewicz, Achmatowicz, Arsłanowicz, Bohatyrewicz (od: Bogadar), Safarewicz, Szabaniewski (szban), Chalembek, Kotłubaj (bej), Mielikbaszyc, Kadyszewicz (kadi), Tochtomyszewicz. Simon), Iwaszkiewicz < son of Ivashko < a diminutive formed from Ivan (Pol. Most of them patronymics: Abramowicz, Berkowicz, Dawidowicz,, Dworkowicz, Dynowicz, Gutowicz, Joselewicz, Jakubowski). It's also the most popular type of surname in the country today: structure-wise, surnames with the -ski suffix (and the cognate -cki and -dzki) comprise some 35% of the 1000 most popular Polish names. That's when the suffix loses its original toponymic or possessive sense, and becomes the most productive Polish name suffix (and pretty much neutral in meaning). These are not necessarily classical patronymic names – a term reserved for the name suffixes that carry the sense of “son of” [see below] (but these obviously fit in here too).

Found in probably every culture, the occupational names in Poland come in a great variety, part of it owed to a great productivity of different suffixes which are added to the original name, like -ski, -czyk, -ik, -ak, etc. Polish last names starting with M This coincided with the loss of Poland’s sovereignty at the end of the 18th century. This is mildly contrasted with the fact that by far most popular Polish name is Nowak – a name which originated as a name denoting someone new in the region, a possible foreigner or migrant from a different location. In a similar fashion, the typical toponymic coinages could be formed differently depending on the language: like Wolf Bocheński, Aron Drohobycki, Izrael Złoczowski vis-a-vis Szmul Kaliszer or Mechele Rawer.

This led to a frenzy of bureaucratic inventiveness which produced the majority of Jewish surnames in Poland. This basically means that one could tell whether a woman was married or maiden just upon hearing her last name. His reaction is probably illustrative of most foreigners’ frustration with our devilish Polish … Remember that when you consider people with the -ski names in Russia, like Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Vaslav Nijinsky or Felix Dzerzhinsky – you can be sure that many of them have some Polish background. , featuring only names with Polish Slavic roots – a fact which obviously reflects the homogeneous character of Polish society after WW2. Vector map of Poland provincesknown as voivodeships with administrative divisions. A Polish personal name, like names in most European cultures, consists of two main elements: imię, the first or given name, followed by nazwisko, the surname or family name. One of the most interesting sub-categories of cognominal names are the so-called occupational surnames. ), Dąbrowski and Zieliński. Many names originally of foreign origin were incorporated into the system and are hardly recognizable today as foreign. Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi: lark) changes to Skowroński, Ryba (fish) is now Rybiński, Kaczmarek (=innkeeper) is now Kaczmarski and Kowal (blacksmith) becomes Kowalski. The surname of Poland’s national poet Adam Mickiewicz may be even more instructive, as it comes from the name Dymitr – a name that is absent from Polish Christian calendar and the main stream of Polish national history. Toponymic – these names are derived from place of residence, birth or family origin. Otherwise the list features three occupational names (Kowalski, Wójcik, Kowalczyk) and five names of toponymic origin: Wiśniewski, Kamiński, Lewandowski (? Poland in 100 Words, Every name – and surname in particular – has a story of its own. There are many names coming from a profession, e.g Kowalski and Kowalczyk come from kowal (=smith), Woźniak means driver. No. The cognominal names were formed from nicknames, usually based on occupation, a physical description, or character trait of a person. The -ski names are by no means the oldest, but they've become by far the most recognizable type of Polish last name worldwide. Here’s the top 10 most popular Polish last names (as of 2014): As you can see Nowak is the most popular surname in Poland. Szymon = Eng. Many family names, such as Mickiewicz, Mackiewicz, Sienkiewicz, Iwaszkiewicz or Wańkowicz – to name only a few, and only those of well-known Polish writers – originate in the Eastern parts of the former PLC (Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine) and reveal quite an interesting and consistent feature of the making of Polishness in the peripheral Eastern territories. Importantly, these were originally names used by Polish nobility – noblemen were obviously landowners and as such had all the right to use their land (and its name) as a way of distinguishing themselves from others (that's what surnames are all about, right?). Those who could afford it could choose names that could be considered beautiful or august.

Starting in the late 18th century Polish Jews were officially given names by the new administrations. Compare: Anna Świderkówna, Zuzanna Ginczanka, Anna Skarżanka. See also: Szyszka (pine cone), Gwiazda (star), Noga (leg). Howev. This name appears in the cult Polish movie How I Unleashed World War II when a Polish prisoner pretends to be thus named in order to thwart the Nazi officer who has to keep track of prisoners’ identities. quarks-elephants-pierogi-okladka-cover-url-banner.jpg, A Foreigner’s Guide to the Polish Alphabet, Meet the Kowalskis: Clooney, Brando, Eastwood & a Penguin, Polish Vampires: Bloody Truth behind Dark Myth. Polish surnames are known from the Middle Ages, but only 200 years ago did the inherited surnames become compulsory. names missing pronunciations are excluded from results by default * is a wildcard that will match zero or more letters in the pronunciation. This is especially conspicuous with such names as Iwaszkiewicz or Wańkowicz, which both derive from the name Ivan (a Ruthenian/Orthodox variant of the name John), definitely not a name you would encounter in ethnic Poland. Every name – and surname in particular – has a story of its own. A large number of surnames with -ski and -cki suffixes come from a place name, usually place of origin, for example Poznański means from Poznań. The classic patronymic suffix -wicz could produce: Petrulewicz, Pietraszkiewicz, Pietrkiewicz, Pietrowicz, Piotrowicz, Pietrusiewicz. The usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed (in addition to personal taste or family custom) by three major factors: civil law, Church law, and tradition. While Polish patronyms may come in a variety of forms (like the suffixes -yk, -czyk, -ak, -szczak, -czak: Stach, Staszek, Stachura, Staszczyk, Stachowiak, Stasiak – are all sons Stanisław) the most important and recognizable is the one formed by the -wicz suffix – a one that can also be met in the Russian patronymic suffix. For example, the word for the profession kowal (meaning blacksmith, compare English last name Smith) in Polish gives Kowalczyk, Kowalik, Kowalski, Kowalewski, among others and along the original Kowal, which is also a popular last name. Think of: Piotrowicz or Staszczyk. As Jan Bystroń explains, the same person could function under a different name depending on whether he was addressing a Jewish or Polish community: “A Jew from Poznań could speak of himself in Yiddish as Pozner, but in Polish he would call himself Poznańskim (the same goes for such pairs as Warszauer/Warszawski, Krakauer/Krakowski, Łobzowski/Lobzower, Pacanower/Pacanowski),” explains Bystroń.

A married woman or a widow used her husband's surname with the suffix -owa or -'na / -yna: Examples: Nowak – Nowakowa, Koba – Kobina; Puchała – Puchalina. As Jan Bystroń suggests, Moses, the son of Jacob could be referred to as: Mojżesz ben Jakub, Mojżesz Jakubowicz or Mojżesz Jakuba but also as Moszek Kuby, Moszko Kuby, etc [the last three are formed with adding the name of the father in Polish genetive]. example: (s)(s)ra will match names which have two syllables and then the sound rah

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