Czamiewski?

I am having a hard time finding this surname anywhere. I have been looking for 2 years. Does this surname even exist or could it be misspelled? At a local town hall, this is the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother but on her headstone it says Ciarniewska. If it could be misspelled, what would be the correct spelling for it?

Thank you in advance.

Czarniewski

Czamiewski was probably the way some American misread the fancy European script in which old documents were handwritten. No-one in today's Poland uses the Czamiewski surname, but theoreticlaly it could exist, ie its spelling conforms to Polish orthographic norms. No-one uses Ciarniewski either, although it too reflects Polish spelling. Most likely it was Czarniewski (used by several dozen bearers) and either was written down as Ciarniewski in an area where the cz is sofltly pronounced like ć, or the stonecutter making the gravestone instinctively engraved the lettering as per his own dialectic pronunciation.

Miss_Alycia
It's probably CZARNIEWSKA if buried in Poland.


It could also be Czerniawska. I went to school with a girl by that name and am still in touch with her.