We are searching for my husband's family which originated in Poland. If there are any persons out there with the same name, we would appreciate hearing from you. My e-mail is fkalichuk@sympatico.ca.
Hello, My son married a Polish Women and lives in Poland. She has an uncle who l eft for America, he was born around 1890 and his name was Jozef Kaliszuk. I know it isn't the same, but it is similar.
Kaliczuk is an eastern (Ruthenianised) version of Kaliczak. It's basic root is "kalika" (dialectic for "kaleka" - cripple; PC verison: physically challenged). The "-uk" and "-ak" are both typical patronymic endings, so the name originated to identify someone as "the son of a cripple".
As for Kaliszuk, one cannot rule out that a simple misspelling had occurred, esp. since the letter "s" in Cyrillic is written like a "c".
However, more likely than not Kaliszuk came about as a patronymic nickname describing someone as the "son of Kalikst" (Callixtus - a rare forename in English but once fairly popular on the continent). For more surname information please contact research60@gmail