kolyapolska
30 Jun 2009
Genealogy / Polish Variations of Nick, Please help! [5]
So my name is Nick, and I am 2nd generation Polish in America.
And I am changing my name! When my grandfather arrived here, our last name was Wisniewski, and he changed it to something else because he didn't want my dad to get called a Polok in school. Which has me pissed because if I leave it that way, it erases all our family history and culture which I am newly very proud of. (I've even started rooting for the Poland soccer team, POL-SKA!)
At any rate, I intend to return the family name to Wisniewski, but I would also like to change my name from something less american sounding to something more Polish sounding. Here's the annoying part, I don't see myself as a Mikolaj, not at all. Neither do I like Mikus' as I've actually taken a liking to Kolya/Kolja because I have a few Ukrainian friends that have adopted that as a nick name for me.
The problem is, for my own aesthetics if I use Kolya, will I incur racism like I were Russian? Wisniewski does have some roots as Vishnevskiy in Russia so I don't believe it would be totally "out there" to use Kolya, but I would actually like to move to Poland to have a change from the USA and because I've always had a thing for Ukranian/Polish girls. Rant at me for my reasons but they are my reasons and I'm just seeking help.
So at the end of this long story comes my question. If I would incur hate for Kolya/Kolja, is there a version of Mikolaj that resembles Kolya more? Like Kolaj or something lol
Thank you!
So my name is Nick, and I am 2nd generation Polish in America.
And I am changing my name! When my grandfather arrived here, our last name was Wisniewski, and he changed it to something else because he didn't want my dad to get called a Polok in school. Which has me pissed because if I leave it that way, it erases all our family history and culture which I am newly very proud of. (I've even started rooting for the Poland soccer team, POL-SKA!)
At any rate, I intend to return the family name to Wisniewski, but I would also like to change my name from something less american sounding to something more Polish sounding. Here's the annoying part, I don't see myself as a Mikolaj, not at all. Neither do I like Mikus' as I've actually taken a liking to Kolya/Kolja because I have a few Ukrainian friends that have adopted that as a nick name for me.
The problem is, for my own aesthetics if I use Kolya, will I incur racism like I were Russian? Wisniewski does have some roots as Vishnevskiy in Russia so I don't believe it would be totally "out there" to use Kolya, but I would actually like to move to Poland to have a change from the USA and because I've always had a thing for Ukranian/Polish girls. Rant at me for my reasons but they are my reasons and I'm just seeking help.
So at the end of this long story comes my question. If I would incur hate for Kolya/Kolja, is there a version of Mikolaj that resembles Kolya more? Like Kolaj or something lol
Thank you!