When my friends grand parents came to the UK (around 1940) their name was Davidovski but it was anglosied to Davies, does anyone know the origins of this name?
Origin of the name Davidovski
Polish spelling "Dawidowski".
It's Kashubian name used mostly in the area of Gdansk (Danzig).
Kashubians are West-Slavic minority living in Northern part of Poland, polonized but still using Kashubian as their second language.
Maiden name of Donald's Tusk ( Polish prime minister) mother is Dawidowski.
One of Polish ww2 underground heroes was Alek Dawidowski but I'm not sure about his Kashubian roots.
It's Kashubian name used mostly in the area of Gdansk (Danzig).
Kashubians are West-Slavic minority living in Northern part of Poland, polonized but still using Kashubian as their second language.
Maiden name of Donald's Tusk ( Polish prime minister) mother is Dawidowski.
One of Polish ww2 underground heroes was Alek Dawidowski but I'm not sure about his Kashubian roots.
They were Jewish btw.
Cheers for the info.
Cheers for the info.
They were Jewish btw.
That's what it is in Russia and what I wanted to say.
Better wait for someone who liked history at school, but if you want my wild guess, here it is:
It seems to me as if they chose this surname, from the biblic king David (Dawid in Polish and something similar in German or Yidish, because we weren't using "v" for "w") + Polish ending (-ski).
If they were Jewish, then the names were given to them probably by Germans (Austrians or Russians) during partitions (in the 19th century).
I'm not sure, but I think Jews weren't using surnames in the today's sense, so the occupants' bureaucracies had some problem with that and decided to give them names (you can read funny stories about those in German partitions - if one was rich enough to bribe an officer, he was given a name like Goldstein or Rosenkrantz, something that sounded well - rich or beautiful, if he was poorer, then he was a simple Apfelbaum = Apple tree or other more "ordinary" surnames).
I guess some of those people probably were allowed to change their surnames after Poland had regained independence in 1918.
It seems to me as if they chose this surname, from the biblic king David (Dawid in Polish and something similar in German or Yidish, because we weren't using "v" for "w") + Polish ending (-ski).
If they were Jewish, then the names were given to them probably by Germans (Austrians or Russians) during partitions (in the 19th century).
I'm not sure, but I think Jews weren't using surnames in the today's sense, so the occupants' bureaucracies had some problem with that and decided to give them names (you can read funny stories about those in German partitions - if one was rich enough to bribe an officer, he was given a name like Goldstein or Rosenkrantz, something that sounded well - rich or beautiful, if he was poorer, then he was a simple Apfelbaum = Apple tree or other more "ordinary" surnames).
I guess some of those people probably were allowed to change their surnames after Poland had regained independence in 1918.