To: Kristen Weaver, Knnwr860@cs.com, who wrote:

... Hi. I am just starting to research my family, and my great-grandmother's name was Sadie Bernice Dzierva. I looked on your site (which is very informative) but found nothing on Dzierva. Can you help? 

Well, a compilation of 1990 data on Poles and their surnames showed some 800,000+ distinct names borne by Poles as of that year. So there are one or two I haven't gotten to yet!

The name we're looking for is Dzierwa -- Poles don't use the letter V, they use W as we use V (and frequently in their handwriting it looks rather like a V), so it's easily confused. The name is pronounced roughly "JARE-vah."

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 918 Polish citizens named Dzierwa. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Katowice 165, Krakow 261, and Tarnow 217. So the name is most common in southcentral and southeastern Poland. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have.

According to a Polish name expert who wrote a book focusing on names in southcentral Poland, Dzierwa and its companion forms Dzirwa, Dzierzwa, and Dzirzwa come from the root seen in the verb dzierac~, "to tear, rip." It would apparently have started out as an old first name or nickname, perhaps not unlike "Rip" in English (e. g., actors Rip Torn, Rip Taylor), a manly, heroic sort of name for one who ripped and tore his way out of difficulties. If we accept that comparison of "Rip" and "Dzier-" as names expressing something similar in different cultures, I think Dzierwa can be interpreted as little more than "kin of Rip."

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GABIS

To: D.Gabis, Trudarl@aol.com, who wrote:

... Hi, I am trying to find where my fathers Grandparents came from the last name is Gabis. They were supposed to have come from Poland\Russia but I have no idea where to start in Poland. Any help at all would be nice. 

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 90 Polish citizens named Gabis (pronounced roughly "GAH-bees"). They were scattered in small numbers all over Poland, with no significant concentration in any one area; so the name distribution data doesn't really tell us much about where your ancestors may have come from.

There were 48 more named Gabis~ -- I'm using S~ to stand for the Polish S with an accent over it, pronounced kind of like a soft "sh," so that this name sounds more like "GAH-beesh." The largest number, 22, lived in the southwestern province of Leszno, with the rest scattered in small numbers all over. The ones in Leszno may not be relevant to your research because Leszno was in the German partition of Poland, whereas your ancestors lived in the Russian partition, which covered much of central and eastern Poland, as well as Lithuania, Belarus, and some of northern Ukraine. So unless the family was forced to relocate from east to west -- as happened to millions after World War II -- it seems doubtful this information is relevant.

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions this name in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it comes from the root seen in the verb gabac~, "to provoke, torment, attack." This suggests Gabis might have started as a kind of nickname for one prone to provoke or torment others. 

I'm afraid this doesn't tell you much that's helpful in determining where your family came from, but that's the rule rather than the exception with surnames. Relatively few provide any kind of useful clue as to a family's origin. Only genealogical research may uncover enough information on a specific family's background to establish a historical and linguistic context in which it is possible to determine exactly how and why the name developed and "stuck" in a given case. 

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KOPERSKI

To: Mike Koperski, HAWK2M@aol.com, who wrote:

... I've recently started worked on a family history .... I'm wondering if you have any info on Koperski ?

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 2,948 Polish citizens named Koperski. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Bydgoszcz 192, Czestochowa 126, Katowice 104, Plock 172, Poznan 481, Skierniewice 103, and Warsaw 339. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have. This data tells us the name is found all over Poland, with no real concentration in any one region.

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions this name in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it derives from the noun koper, "dill," or perhaps in some cases from kopr, "copper." In form it's an adjective -- the -ski just means "of, from, connected with, pertaining to" -- so the name Koperski means "one somehow connected with dill (or copper)." In practice it's likely to refer to a person or family who grew dill it, sold it, used it in cooking, something like that. It might also refer to the name of a place with which the family was connected, a name meaning, in effect, "the dill place." About all we can say for sure, all these centuries later, is that there was some perceived connection between the family and dill.

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BAROWICZ, MAZURKIEWICZ

To: Frank Krawczyk, frankk@oceanfree.net, who wrote:

... Looking for the origin and age of the Mazurkiewicz family. Also Barowicz. 

I'm afraid there is no such thing as THE Mazurkiewicz family; there are almost certainly a number of independent families who share this name, which means "son of one from Mazovia," a region of northeastern Poland. As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 15,364 Polish citizens named Mazurkiewicz, living all over the country. So one cannot talk in general terms about Mazurkiewiczes, but only in terms of specific families bearing this name, as different families would vary in age and exact origin.

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions Barowicz in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it usually comes from the German word Bär, "bear"; that was probably used as a nickname or first name for one of great size and strength. The -owicz just means "son of," so the name literally means "son of the bear." Rymut adds that in some cases, especially with less ancient names, Bar- can come from the first name Bartl~omiej, "Bartholomew," so Barowicz could conceivably mean "son of Bart." Without research into individual families, there's no way to know which derivation is relevant in a given case; but Barowicz is probably an older name, and as such probably does come from the word for "bear."

As of 1990 there were 206 Polish citizens named Barowicz. The largest numbers lived in the provinces of Legnica, 83, and Wroclaw, 52, in southwestern Poland, in areas long ruled by the Germans; the rest were scattered all over in much smaller numbers. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have.

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SIEMBAB

To: Carl Siembab, Diva etal@aol.com, who wrote:

... I wonder if you can tell me something about my family name which is Siembab. I believe it is the proper spelling although I was told many years ago that it could also be spelled Siebab with a hook under the E and pronounced as it is presently spelled. My family came from southern Poland. 

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 752 Polish citizens named Siembab. The largest number by far, 422, lived in the province of Tarnów in southeastern Poland; the rest were scattered in much smaller numbers all over the country. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have. This data indicates enough of a concentration in Tarnów province that it would make sense to regard the Tarnow area as the one in which the name originated, and it later spread to other parts of Poland.

You're right that this name could also be spelled Sie~bab --- I use E~ on-line to stand for the Polish nasal vowel written as an E with a hook under it. This E~ is usually pronounced more or less like "en," but before B or P it changes to the sound of "em." Thus Sie~bab and Siembab are pronounced the same, much like "SHEM-bob." And we see in Polish records that when there is more than one phonetically adequate way to write a name, you're likely to see more than one spelling. But Siembab is clearly considered the standard spelling these days, because as of 1990 there were only 14 Poles who used the form Sie~bab, all living in Przemysl province in southeastern Poland. (As I said before, I have no way to get more info such as names and addresses.)

This name puzzles me because I can't find anything on it in any of my sources, and it's difficult to make an educated guess on what it might mean. The root siem- in Polish can be an archaic form of the numeral siedem, "seven," and bab- is a root meaning "woman," so that Siembab could plausibly be interpreted as "seven women." But just because that is plausible doesn't mean it is right! 

The root siem- also appears in the noun siemie~, "seed," and this same root appears in other Slavic languages with the basic meaning of "family"; that root is now archaic in Polish, as the word rodzina has taken over the meaning of "family," but we see ancient Polish first names such as Siemomysl and Siemoslaw with the root used in the sense of "family." Names beginning with Siem- can also come from a form of the first name "Simon." Still, "family women" or "seed women" or "Simon's women" don't strike me as convincing interpretations, either because they don't make sense or the form Siembab just isn't consistent with a construction meaning that.

So I don't have a definitive word from any scholars who have studied the name, and my gut feeling is that none of my educated guesses (which often turn out to be correct) is really quite right --or at least I can't be sure they're right. If I had to go with one of them, I'd go with "seven women," perhaps beginning as a nickname for a male born into a family composed mostly of women. Since I'm the only male in my immediate family, which consists of six people and four generations, I don't feel such an interpretation strains credulity. But I keep coming back to the same point: the fact that it's plausible doesn't mean it's right!

If you would like to get an opinion from the real experts and don't mind spending about $20, you can write the Anthroponymic Workshop of the Polish Language Institute in Krakow. The staff consists of Polish scholars specializing in name origins, with access to large collections of material on the subject; there is surely no one else in the world better qualified to answer questions on Polish names. They can correspond in English, and the charge for researching a single name is seldom more than $20-30. You write to them with your request, and the individual who does the research will reply, and will tell you how much he/she is charging and how best to send payment. It is usually quite painless, and most people I hear from are very satisfied with the results; but the staff has been a bit slow lately in answering letters -- they have lots of other work to do, after all -- so patience is advisable. If you'd like to give this a try, here's the address:

Instytut Polskiego Jezyka
Pracownia Antroponimiczna
ul. Straszewskiego 27
31-113 KRAKOW
POLAND

If you do contact the Workshop, I'd be very interested in hearing what they have to say. I would like to add such info to the next edition of my surname book, so we can share it with others who have this name.

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WOJDYL~O

To: Ann Wojdylo, anula4@sympatico.ca, who wrote:

... I was wondering what the meaning of my last name Wojdylo means....I would appreciate it if you can provide some info about it.

In Polish this name is spelled with the L with a slash through it, which is pronounced like our W; on-line I use L~ as a way of indicating this L, as opposed to the normal unslashed L. Polish W is pronounced like our V. So the name is pronounced roughly "voy-DIH-woe," with the middle syllable sounding almost like "dill" except that the L is more like a W.

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 1,633 Polish citizens named Wojdyl~o. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Katowice 126, Krakow 83, Przemysl 449, Rzeszow 72, Tarnobrzeg 61, Torun 80, and Wroclaw 62. So while this name was seen all over Poland, it was most common in the southern part, especially southeastern Poland. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, so I can't tell you how to get addresses for those Wojdyl~o's.

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions this name in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it appears in records as far back as 1385, and comes from the basic Polish root woj-, "warrior, war." It may come straight from that root in the meaning of "warrior," in which case Wojdyl~o would be kind of like "kin of the warrior." But it may also have originated as a kind of nickname formed from ancient pagan Polish surnames beginning with that root, such as Wojciech ("war" + "glad" ?= "joyful warrior"), Wojsl~aw ("war" + "fame" ? = "famous warrior"), etc. So one way or the other the name Wojdyl~o goes back to this root meaning "war," but it's hard to say whether it began as a reference to the kin of a warrior or simply as a kind of nickname for one of those old pagan first names (sort of the same way we get "Eddie" from "Edward"). Only genealogical research may uncover enough information on a specific family's background to establish a historical and linguistic context in which it is possible to determine exactly how and why the name developed and "stuck" in a given case. 

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WOJDYL~A

To: Jan Augusta, augusta@home.com, who wrote:

... I am curious to the origin of my maternal grandmother's maiden name of Wojdyla. She came from the Malopolskie district. I am also curious because of the closeness to the Pope's name of Wojtyla. How many Wojdyla's were there in Poland in 1990?

In Polish this name is spelled with the L with a slash through it, which is pronounced like our W; on-line I use L~ as a way of indicating this L, as opposed to the normal unslashed L. Polish W is pronounced like our V. So the name is pronounced roughly "voy-DIH-wah," with the middle syllable sounding almost like "dill" except that the L is more like a W.

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 2,680 Polish citizens named Wojdyl~a. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Katowice 286, Krakow 193, Krosno 244, Nowy Sacz 172, Opole 185, and Przemysl 264. So while this name was seen all over Poland, it was most common in the southern part, ranging all the way from southwestern to southeastern Poland. Clearly this includes Malopolska, so the data is consistent with the information you have. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, so I can't tell you how to get addresses for those Wojdyl~a's.

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions this name in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it appears in records as far back as 1473, and comes from the basic Polish root woj-, "warrior, war." It may come straight from that root in the meaning of "warrior," in which case Wojdyl~a would be kind of like "kin of the warrior." But it may also have originated as a kind of nickname formed from ancient pagan Polish surnames beginning with that root, such as Wojciech ("war" + "glad" ?= "joyful warrior"), Wojsl~aw ("war" + "fame" ? = "famous warrior"), etc. So one way or the other the name Wojdyl~a goes back to this root meaning "war," but it's hard to say whether it began as a reference to the kin of a warrior or simply as a kind of nickname for one of those old pagan first names (sort of the same way we get "Eddie" from "Edward"). Only genealogical research may uncover enough information on a specific family's background to establish a historical and linguistic context in which it is possible to determine exactly how and why the name developed and "stuck" in a given case. 

The name Wojdyl~a is indeed very close to that of the Pope, Wojtyl~a, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. It is, of course, possible the names might link up somewhere way back -- D and T are closely related sounds, so it wouldn't take much at all for Wojdyl~a and Wojtyl~a to be confused. Still, it seems likely in most cases they are unrelated except for a similarity in sound, occasioned by origin in a common root; but that doesn't imply a blood connection, any more than we'd expect a Jones to be related to a Johnson. Wojtyl~a may come from that first name Wojciech, but it may also come from the noun wójt, an official in charge of a rural district. Thus his name may come from an entirely different root.

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SOBANIA

To: Eddy Pieniazek, eddy.p@dial.pipex.com, who wrote:

... Came across your offer of help on the web and wondered if I could take advantage of it! Its very kind of you to offer. I only need a 'quick and simple' guide, anything you may have to point me in the right direction. The family name I would like some clues for is Sobania from the Kielce region in late 1800s.

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 569 Polish citizens named Sobania. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Katowice 57, Opole 63, and Radom 254; the list said only 1 lived in Kielce province at that time. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have. This data suggests there are two pockets of concentration of this name, one in southwestern Poland (the region called Silesia), the other a little southeast of the center of the country (near Radom).

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions this name in his book Nazwiska Polakow [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it appears in records as early as 1469, and comes from first names beginning with Sob-. There are several names that could apply, such as Sobestian (a variant of Sebastian), or Sobiesl~aw or Sobiepan (ancient pagan Slavic first names, no equivalents in English). Poles often formed nicknames from popular first names by taking the first few sounds of the name, dropping the rest, and adding suffixes (much as we do with names like "Eddie" from "Edward"). So they would take the Sob- part from the names I mentioned above, drop the rest, and add suffixes to come up with Sobania. There is no way to translate the name, any more than we can translate "Ted" -- they're just nicknames from longer names that did mean something long ago. The closest we could come is "kin of Sobie," noting that that is a nickname from Sobestian or Sobiesl~aw, etc.

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SIDOR

To: Terry, LO3@aol.com, who wrote:

... I have been researching my family history and would like to know if you have any information on the surname Sidur or Sidor. My great grandfather was from Bren Oslechowski, Poland. Any information would be greatly appreciated. 

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 5,607 Polish citizens named Sidor, as opposed to 34 named Sidur, so odds are it was Sidor. Both names are found all over Poland, but with concentrations in the eastern and southeastern part of the country; for instance, the largest numbers of Sidors lived in the provinces of Lublin (1,210) and Zamosc (409).

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions Sidor in his book Nazwiska Polakow [The Surnames of Poles], and I think it's reasonable to assume Sidur is just a misspelling or variant of that name. The surname Sidor comes from the first name Izydor, which comes from the Greek name Isidoros, meaning "gift of Isis." This name did not become common in Poland until the last couple of centuries, and the distribution data quoted above suggests it is still more common among eastern Poles and Ukrainians, due to the influence of the Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholic churches in those regions. Some names coming from Greek are much more common among Eastern Slavs because they were connected with saints of the Orthodox Church, which tended to use Greek, rather than the Roman Catholic Church, which used Latin. 

So as the distribution data suggests, this name first came into use among Eastern Slavs and gradually spread among Poles; but it is still more common in eastern Poland than western.

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CZUCZKO

To: Patricia Denham, sdenham@clarinda.heartland.net, who wrote: 

... I enjoyed your web site and wondered if you can find any information on Czuczko. I have had a very difficult time finding anything, so any bit of info would be greatly appreciated.

This is not a very common name. As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 101 Polish citizens named Czuczko. They lived in the following provinces: Biala Podlaska 1, Gdansk 4, Gorzow 4, Jelenia Gora 1, Katowice 7, Koszalin 3, Olsztyn 46, Przemysl 17, Slupsk 8, Szczecin 3, Zielona Gora 7. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have.

This data tells us the name is somewhat concentrated in northeastern Poland, but is found scattered all over the country. It is hard to say whether this dispersion is a recent phenomenon. After World War II, large numbers of ethnic Poles, Lithuanians, Belarusians, and Ukrainians were forced to relocate from east to west; if we had data from before 1939, we might find most of the Czuczko's concentrated in the east. But we don't have such data, so all I can do is speculate.

None of my sources directly address the question of this name's origin, but I note in a 7-volume Polish dictionary that the term czuczka is a variant spelling of ciuc'ka, a diminutive of ciucia, which is a child's expression for "little dog, puppy." Thus czuczka would be kind of like "doggy" in English. It is quite plausible that the name Czuczko comes from this word. It may have begun as a kind of nickname for one who liked dogs, or who had kids who went around calling dogs by that name -- all these centuries later, it's difficult to know exactly what caused people to associate a particular person or family with a particular nickname. About the most we can say is that there was some kind of link between a person or family and this child's term for puppies.

The name is pronounced "CHOOCH-ko," and the reason it can readily be confused with words beginning ciuc- is because Poles pronounce the combinations -ci- and -cz- more or less the way we pronounce "ch." There is a distinction between the two sounds in proper Polish, but we see them confused often enough in names to know that a name with -cz- can be connected with a name with -ci-.

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PILIPIEC

To: Peppie Pilipiec who wrote:

... My name is Peppie Pilipiec. I am searching for a long time about the meaning and origin of the name Pilipiec and found nothing about it. Short time ago I got acces to internet and I hoped to find some information but until now without success. Maybe you can help me. 
I am living in Holland and (so far I know) my family is the only one with the surname Pilipiec. I don't have much detailed information about my family history. There is some relation with the Czech Republic and with Hungary. But the oldest information I have originates from Poland. From stories my father told me in the past there could also be some relation with Ukraine, but I am not sure about that. Because my name is different from most other names in my country people often ask me about the origin. Maybe you can help me. Is it a common surname or am I the last and only one with this name? Maybe you also can tell me how to pronounce it.

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 182 Polish citizens named Pilipiec. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Koszalin 27, Olsztyn 15, Zamosc 71. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have... I should add that after World War II, large numbers of people were forced to move from eastern Poland to the west, so it is quite possible most of hose people named Pilipiec who live in western or northern Poland (Koszalin and Olsztyn provinces) originally came from southeastern Poland, near Zamosc. The data we have is too recent to tell us for sure; I wish we had data from before 1939, it would settle many questions.

This name is pronounced in Polish roughly as "pee-LEEP-yets" (that's using English phonetic values; a German, for instance, would write it "pie-LIEP-jetz"). It comes from Pilip, a form of the first name known in English as "Philip," plus the suffix -iec, which means roughly "son of, kin of." So Pilipiec means "kin of Philip." 

It is entirely possible there is a Ukrainian connection here. You see, in Polish the standard form of that first name is Filip; the same form is used in Czech. But in Ukrainian it is Pylyp, where the y stands for a short i sound, somewhat like that in English "ship"; the I's in Filip, on the other hand, sound more like the ee in English "sheep." A name in the form Pilipiec might well have originated among Ukrainians rather than Poles or Czechs, with later lengthening of the vowels from y to i. (Among Hungarians the name is Fülöp, that is with umlaut over the U and O; that different form, and the -iec suffix, make it unlikely this name is Hungarian in origin).

Still, one cannot be certain of a Ukrainian connection. The Slavic languages did not originally have the F-sound, so that in older records we often see P used instead of F. Thus in older records one does see Poles using the form Pilip, and only later did Filip become standard. So those P's in Pilipiec do not prove the name originated among Ukrainians; it could also 
have developed in Polish or Czech centuries ago, before the more modern form "Filip" became standard. Still, the moment I saw this name I thought of the Ukrainian form Pylyp; and people did sometimes move in ancient times, so that we see Ukrainian names in Poland and Polish names in Ukraine. 

To summarize, we can say with certainty that the name means "kin of Philip" or "son of Philip," and is most often seen in modern Poland in the area of Zamosc, in the southeastern part of the country, very near the border with Ukraine. We cannot be quite so certain whether the name was originally Polish, Ukrainian, or Czech (or even Slovak). Many names are very similar in those languages, and often the form of the name itself does not provide us with enough information to be certain. In this case, genealogical research is your best hope of answering the question of the exact origin, as it may shed light on the historical, linguistic, and social background in which the name developed.

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MADAJCZYK

To: Richard Madajczyk, RMadajczyk@RadixHealth.com, who wrote:

...I have been unable to find anything about my surname, Madajczyk. Do you know anything?

Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions this name in his book Nazwiska Polakow [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it developed by addition of the suffix -czyk, which generally means "son of," to the name Madaj. That name generally comes from a short form of the Latin first name Amadeus, rare in this country but not uncommon in Europe -- it is best known as the middle name of the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Latin name comes from the roots ama-, "love," and Deus, "God," so it could be interpreted as "one who loves God" or perhaps "one dear to God"; there are equivalents to this name in many languages, including German Gottlieb and Polish Bogumil, meaning the same thing. So the name can be interpreted as "son of Amadeus."

Rymut mentions that in some cases Madaj- might also come from the feminine name Magdalena, and I've seen surname scholars who think there may be a connect with the name "Matthew" or "Matthias," in Polish Mateusz and Maciej. These are possibilies, but in most cases the connection probably is with that name Amadeus.

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 595 Polish citizens named Madajczyk (pronounced roughly "mah-DIE-chick"). The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Poznan 78, and Wloclawek 228. So the name is found all over Poland but is most common in the areas just west and north of the center of the country. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have.

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GACKI

To: Anne Harman, aharman@westco.net, who wrote:

... Was wondering if you would have any information on the origin and meaning of my father's last name, Gatski. I am sure it is not the original spelling.

In Polish the ts sound is spelled c, so the original spelling in Polish would be Gacki. It's pronounced more or less "GOT-skee."

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there 2,236 Polish citizens named Gacki. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Bydgoszcz 149, Katowice 615, Lodz 113, Lomza 168, and Opole 238; the rest were scattered in smaller numbers all over Poland. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have. This data suggests the name is most common in southcentral and southwestern Poland, but not to the point that one can assume a Gacki came from there -- a family by this name could come from almost anywhere in Poland.

My sources indicate that the ultimate root of the name is most likely that seen in the noun gac' (accent over the c), "fascine, a bundle of sticks" (used generally to strengthen walls or various constructions). The direct connection, however, is probably with places with names from that root, especially various places named Gac' or Gacki, of which there are more than a dozen. So the surname probably means "one from Gac' or Gacki."

Neither the derivation nor the frequency data provides any clues that let us say which particular Gac' or Gacki a given Gacki family once came from. The only way to determine that is through genealogical research, which may allow one to focus on a particular area. Then, instead of trying to deal with a dozen Gac'es or Gacki's, one can say "It has to be one located near X" and search that area for the most likely candidate.

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KAMIEN~SKI, KAMIN~SKI, KAMINSKY

To: Terri (Kaminski) Shutters, Triladahun@aol.com who wrote:

... Hello! I was wondering if you by any chance had any information on the surname of Kaminski.

Yes, I've answered questions on this name before. I've quoted below my response to a girl in grade school who needed info on a paper she was writing on her name, which her family spelled Kaminsky. As I explain, slightly different versions of this name are very popular among many Slavs, but Kaminski is most likely Polish rather than Russian or Czech or Ukrainian. I think all the information I wrote to her may be helpful to you, so I'll quote the whole reply. I hope it is some help to you, and wish you the best of luck.

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Kaminsky or Kaminski is a surname we find among many peoples of eastern Europe. I don't know if you've ever heard the word "Slav," it is a general term used for many related ethnic groups of eastern Europe, including the Poles, Belarusians, Bulgarians, Czechs, Russians, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, etc.

About 1,200 years ago these people were all one large group and all spoke the same language; but as time went on they split up, moved to different parts of eastern Europe, and their language changed and developed into many different languages, as the peoples themselves gradually developed into different ethnic groups. A lot of words are still similar in the various Slavic languages, however, and your name comes from one of them, a word meaning "stone, rock." 

Poles spell this word kamien~ (I'm using N~ to stand for the Polish N with an accent over it, which American computers can't show without special configuration). Czechs spell it kámen (there's an accent over the A). When Russians write it in their alphabet, Cyrillic, it looks like KAMEHb; Ukrainians also use the Cyrillic alphabet, and they spell it a little differently, KAMIHb. So they all write the word different ways, but they all pronounce it more or less the same, sort of like saying "COMM-yen" in English (Ukrainians pronounce it more like "COMM-een"). Many surnames come from this word, and the one you bear is written in slightly different ways, too, depending on where it came from: Poles, for instance, spell the name either Kamin~ski or Kamien~ski. The spelling you now have, Kaminsky, might be Czech; it might be the Russian or Ukrainian forms spelled in English letters; or it may have been Polish but people changed the final -I of Kamin~ski to -Y in this country (this happened often when Poles came to America). You can't always tell just by looking at the name which country it came form, it could come from many countries where Slavs live.

Surnames like Kamin~ski usually started because of a link with a place. In Polish kamien~ski just means "of, from, pertaining to stone or rock," and sometimes it got started as a name for a person who worked with rock (like a stone-carver), or lived in a rocky place, or had some other connection with rocks. But much of the time the name started because a person lived in a place with a name like Kamien~ or Kamin~ -- which just means it was a rocky place. So Kamin~ski means either "rock-person" or "one from Kamien~ or Kamin~" = "one from the rocky place." Looking only at Poland, there are literally dozens of places named Kamien~, and this name could come from any of them; there are also many villages and towns in Ukraine, Russia, etc. where the name could also come from.

As of 1990 there were 87,935 Polish citizens named Kamin~ski, and another 1,514 named Kamien~ski. I don't have sources with data for other countries such as Ukraine, Russia, the Czech Republic, etc., but I'm pretty sure the name is just as common there. 

So in summary: 

1) the name comes from a Slavic word for "rock, stone," especially as a reference to people who lived in or came from a place with a name like Kamien~ or Kamin~

2) it could be Polish, Czech, Russian, Ukrainian, etc., but the spellig Kamin~ski is usually Polish

3) and it is a very, very common name in Eastern Europe.

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WIECZOREK

To: Veronica Corra, vcorra@hotmail.com, who wrote: 

... Hi!! My name is Veronica Corra de Wieczorek that why i want to know if this surname is common in Poland and what it mean may father in law tell us that is something like ligth afternoon or so...

Your father-in-law is close; this surname comes from the Polish noun wieczorek, pronounced roughly "vyeh-CHORE-ek," which means "evening" or "a small party in the evening." It comes from the noun wieczór, "evening," with the addition of the diminutive suffix -ek. So Wieczorek literally means "little evening," and might have originated as a sort of nickname for one who was most active in the late afternoon or evening, or one who often held little parties in the evening. The dividing line between late afternoon and early evening is not sharp, so it's reasonable to say the name could be understood as meaning "late afternoon" as well; but the dictionary definition, at least, is "evening."

One source also mentions that wieczorek is also a term for "bat," presumably referring to bats' habit of first coming out in the early evening; so it might also have started as a nickname for one who reminded people somehow of a bat. Another mentions that this term could be confused with another word, wie~ciorek (the e~ stands for the Polish nasal vowel written as an E with a tail under it and pronounced more or less like "en"); the pronunciation of the two words is very close, "vyeh-CHORE-ek" vs. "vyen-CHORE-ek," so it's not hard to see how they might be confused. That word means "a small fish-pot." This name could get started as a reference to a person's occupation and the gear he used in it, or it could be a nickname.

Still, it seems most likely the name started out due to some perceived connection between a person or family and something that happened in the late afternoon or early evening. These names developed centuries ago, and often we cannot hope to know exactly what led people to start calling certain folks by a specific name. The most we can do is say what the name means and make reasonable suggestions as to why it seemed applicable.

Wieczorek is a pretty common name in Poland. As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 46,920 Poles named Wieczorek, living in large numbers all over the country. So there's no one part of Poland with which the name is particularly associated; a Wieczorek could come from anywhere.

The "de Wieczorek" is interesting, you don't usually run into Polish names with de unless the family left Poland for France before coming to North America. In the Middle Ages Polish nobles used Latin de with the name of their estate, so that Jan who owned the estate at Piotrkowo might be called Johannes de Piotrkowo, "John of Piotrkowo." Later Poles quit using the de and adopted a more Polish way of saying the same thing, adding -ski to the end of the estate's name, so that this Jan would be called Jan Piotrkowski. There are similar names from Wieczorek, such as Wieczorowski and Wieczorkowski. 

I don't have any information that would shed light on why a particular family might go by "de Wieczorek." As I suggested, it's possible they lived in France for a while and called themselves by this name to indicate nobility. It's even possible they weren't noble but used this name to suggest they were. Still, all that's speculation; I don't have information on specific families, only on the origins and meanings of names from a linguistic standpoint.

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NIKODEMSKI

To: Bruno A Nikodemski, BANIKOD08@aol.com, who wrote:

... I'm starting to search around for info on our family name, Nikodemski. Will buy your first book, but am also interested in any other informational leads. 

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 516 Polish citizens named Nikodemski. The largest numbers lived in the provinces of Lodz (170) and Ostroleka (57), with the rest scattered in much smaller numbers all over Poland. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have. This data shows the name is most common these days in the center of the country (around Lodz) and a little to the northeast of the center (around Ostroleka).

The meaning of the name is simple: "of Nicodemus." Words ending in -ski originated as adjectives, so Nikodemski would mean "of, from, connected with, relating to Nicodemus." In the context of surnames, it would probably mean "kin of Nicodemus" or "one from the place of Nicodemus." That name, in turn, is Biblical, coming from Greek Nikodemos, "lord over the people." So about all the name tells us is that at some point in the past you had an ancestor named Nicodemus who was well-known enough that the locals started referring to his kin with this name, or who had a farm or settlement with which people bearing this name were associated.

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WOJTYNA

To: Elizabeth Whyte, Joyjeep50@aol.com, who wrote:

... I am hoping you can help me in finding the origin and the meaning to the surname of Wojtyna. It is my great-great-grandfathers name. He was born in Lancut, Poland back in 1879. 

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 1,116 Polish citizens named Wojtyna. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Katowice 91, Kielce 199, Przemysl 115, Rzeszow 79 (which is the province Lancut was in), and Zamosc 60. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have. The data shows that the name is found all over Poland but is especially common in the southeastern part of the country.

Poles pronounce this name roughly "voy-TINN-ah." Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions it in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles]. He says it, like most names beginning with Wojt-, can come from either of two roots, and it can be very difficult telling which one is relevant in a given case. These names can come from the first name Wojciech, an ancient Slavic name meaning "war-joy," possibly meant in the sense of "may this child be a joyful warrior, may he find joy in battle." The other possibility is from the noun wójt, an official in charge of a district covering several villages. Wojtyna makes sense as meaning "kin of the wójt" or even "wife of the wójt"; that suffix -yna is one often added to a word or name to indicate a married female, so that "wójt's wife" is especially plausible. Still, there's no denying the name could just as easily mean "kin of Wojciech." In cases like this the only thing that would prove which derivation is correct would be genealogical research that uncovers records shedding light on the matter. But frankly, it's doubtful you'd find records that go back far enough -- a name like this developed centuries ago.

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WYRZYKOWSKI

To: Chet Wyzykowski, Wyzyfam@aol.com, who wrote:

... Do you have any info on the surname Wyrzykowski ( now Wyzykowski)

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 5,523 Polish citizens named Wyrzykowski. While there was a particularly large number, 960, in the province of Warsaw, the name is found all over Poland, to the extent that one cannot really point to any one area and say "That's where Wyrzykowski's came from." They could come from anywhere in Poland.

Names in the form X-owski usually refer to the name of a place beginning with the X part, with which the family was connected at one time; if they were noble, they owned it, and if not, they lived and worked there. In this case, we'd expect this surname to mean "one from Wyrzyki or Wyrzyków or Wyrzykowo" or some similar name beginning with Wyrzyk-. Unfortunately, there are several places in Poland with names that qualify, including Wyrzyki's in the provinces (per the 1979-1998 provincial organization) of Bialystok, Ciechanow, and Lomza. Another source mentions a connection of Wyrzykowski with Wyrzyków in the district of Kamieniec in the Mazovia region; I couldn't find that on any map, it's possible it has disappeared or has been renamed in the centuries since the surname developed.

So without detailed information on a specific family's background, there's no way to know which particular place a specific Wyrzykowski family came from. With any luck, genealogical research would uncover enough facts to establish this connection. But that is beyond the scope of what I can do.

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To: Stefan LUCINSKI, ste.lki@wanadoo.fr, who wrote:

... Thanks for any indications about my name [Lucinski].

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 468 Polish citizens named Lucin~ski. The largest numbers lived in the following provinces: Kielce 154, Plock 52, Poznan 38, and Warsaw 38; the rest lived in much smaller numbers scattered all over Poland. Unfortunately I don't have access to further details such as first names or addresses, what I've given here is all I have.

None of my sources discuss the derivation of this name, but it seems likely it refers to the name of a place where the family once lived; if they were noble, they owned the estate there, and if they were not noble, they worked there. There are several places in Poland the name might refer to, such as Lucin in Siedlce province, Lucin in Szczecin province, and Luciny in Leszno province (these are the provinces during the period 1975-1998; last year all this changed again, but most maps available show the 1975-1998 arrangement). 

Thus as with many Polish surnames, the name itself tells you little about where the family came from. Only detailed genealogical research into a specific family's past will uncover enough information to determine which place the name refers to in that family's case (different Lucinski families might come by the name in different ways).

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To: Jolene (Mleczewski) White, DaunJolene@aol.com, who wrote:

... Hi again: A couple of weeks ago you gave me information regarding my Grandfather's side of the family in Poland and I was delighted with your response. I have since found information relative to my Grandmother, and was wondering if you would be kind enough to give me a brief analysis of her side of the family. Her maiden name was Lewicki. She came from Teolin, Sokolka, Balostuckie (Bialystok??), Poland. Her Mother's maiden name was Sitko. Also whenever your time permits, my sister-in-law, is interested in a brief analysis of her family surnames: Sowka and Sakowicz.

Lewicki (pronounced "leh-VEET-skee") is a moderately common surname. As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were 13,441 Polish citizens named Lewicki, living all over the country. There was no one area of the country in which it was concentrated; a Lewicki could come from almost anywhere. As of 1990 there were 407 Polish citizens named Lewicki living in the province of Bialystok, which is most likely the province in which your grandmother's relatives resided.

In most cases Lewicki would refer to the name of a place where the family once lived, places with names like Lewice. The root of the place name could come from the first name Lew, from the Polish word for "lion" (used much like Leo or Leon in English), in which case the surname would mean "one from the place of Lew's sons." It could also come from the adjective lewy, "left," referring to one who lived in a place left of some landmark, or one who was left-handed. If there is any Jewish ancestry, it can also come from the term Lewit, "Levite," referring to the priestly tribe descending from Levi; in that case Lewicki would mean "kin of the Levite." So there are several different possible interpretations, and without detailed genealogical research into a given family's history there's no way to know which one is appropriate in their particular case.

In Sakowicz ("sah-KO-vitch") the -owicz means "son of," so the name means "son of Sak." That is a personal name derived from the noun sak, "fishing net, sack," presumably used originally as a nickname for one who made or used a sak, or who somehow reminded people of a sak in other ways. Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut mentions the name Sakowicz in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles], saying it appears in records as far back as 1390. As of 1990 there were 2,712 Polish citizens by this name, including 854 in the province of Bialystok, the largest single number for any province of Poland.

Sitko ("SHEET-ko") is thought to come from the noun sitko, "strainer, dredger," a diminutive of sito, "sieve, strainer." Rymut also mentions this name in his book, saying it appears in records as early as 1389. As of 1990 there were 4,387 Poles by this name, including 261 in Bialystok province.

Sowka is spelled in Polish with an accent over the O, Sówka, and pronounced roughly "SOOF-kah." It comes from the term sówka, a kind of owl, Athene noctua, or the Noctuidae family of moths. The basic root is sowa, "owl," plus the diminutive suffix -ka, "little." According to Rymut, this name appears in records as early as 1355. As of 1990 there were 1,498 Poles named Sówka, scattered all over Poland (although none appeared to live in Bialystok province).

Incidentally, Teolin is a village some 15-20 km. west of Sokolka in what was Bialystok province until last year, at which time the provinces were reorganized; it is now in Podlaskie province, near the border with Belarus. 

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RANOWIECKI

To: BsktLady2000@aol.com, who wrote:

... I have been searching for any information on my Maiden name Ranowiecki. I know nothing about it. I know that my ggrandfather came from Warsaw , or so I have been told, but so far have no verification of this. The best lead I have right now is my name is spelled very closly to the province of Mazowieckie , I'm hoping this is a sign that he lived in this area (Warsaw) Were surnames adapted from provinces? As you might find out there are NO other Ranowiecki's to be found except my family and we are very few. No one has any information about our name. Please help :) 

As of 1990, according to the best data available (the Slownik nazwisk wspolczesnie w Polsce uzywanych, "Directory of Surnames in Current Use in Poland," which covers about 94% of the population of Poland), there were no Polish citizens named Ranowiecki. Of course this doesn't mean the name isn't real; it could be there are a few who were missed in the data compilation, or it could mean the name was fairly rare and died out after the family emigrated. But it does make it very hard to say what part of Poland the name came from.

The similarity of the name to Mazowiecki is, I'm afraid, meaningless. It arises from the fact that Polish uses certain sounds and syllables a lot, and so some unrelated words can sound familiar. It means no more than saying that "information" and "formation" must mean the same thing because they both end in -formation.

In form the name is an adjective, like most names ending in -ski or -cki or -zki. It would seem to mean "of Ranowiec, from Ranowiec," or some similar name beginning with Ranow-. The -iec part usually means "property of, kin of," so that Ranowiec seems likely to mean "property of Ranow, kin of Ranow." Polish name expert Prof. Kazimierz Rymut doesn't mention Ranowiecki in his book Nazwiska Polaków [The Surnames of Poles], but he does mention Ranow, saying it can come from several roots, including rano, "morning," or rana, "wound," or an ancient pagan name Ranimir. 

This suggests the surname Ranowiecki meant either "one from the place of Ranow" or "one of the kin of Ranow or his sons." I can't find any place in eastern Europe named with a name beginning Ranow-, but that doesn't necessarily mean much. Surnames developed centuries ago, and often referred to the name locals had for a field or hill or some small settlement; such place names may never have been used by anyone but locals, or may have been renamed or absorbed into other communities, or may have disappeared. Or, as I say, the surname may just refer to the kin of an ancestor named Ranow or something similar, which could come from any of the roots mentioned above.

All of which means surname analysis is not likely to help you much. I'm afraid the only thing that's likely to tell you anything is genealogical research -- digging out naturalization papers, census records, ship passenger lists, that sort of thing. On one of those, if you're lucky, you may find a bit more information that will help you trace the family back to where it came from in Poland. At that point you may find something that sheds light on the name's origin -- perhaps a reference to some nearby place called Ranowiec or something similar, perhaps an alternate form of the name that clarifies its original meaning.

I don't have the time or resources to do that kind of detailed research on individual families; all I can give is "quick and dirty" analysis. If you would like to get an opinion from the real experts and don't mind spending about $20, you can write the Anthroponymic Workshop of the Polish Language Institute in Krakow. The staff consists of Polish scholars specializing in name origins, with access to large collections of material on the subject; there is surely no one else in the world better qualified to answer questions on Polish names. They can correspond in English, and the charge for researching a single name is seldom more than $20-30. You write to them with your request, and the individual who does the research will reply, and will tell you how much he/she is charging and how best to send payment. It is usually quite painless, and most people I hear from are very satisfied with the results; but the staff has been a bit slow lately in answering letters -- they have lots of other work to do, after all -- so patience is advisable. If you'd like to give this a try, here's the address:

Instytut Polskiego Jezyka
Pracownia Antroponimiczna
ul. Straszewskiego 27
31-113 KRAKOW
POLAND