Tatarewicz
24 Nov 2007
Genealogy / When did Poles adopt surnames? [27]
My understanding (from relatives) is that the wicz's were middle class types: competent and prosperous farmers, businessmen, trades people. The ski's were the nobility. And any other endings were the peasantry. Jews seemed fond of substituting a y for the i.
Remember reading in my Polish (second language) university class that a "royal" representative roamed the countryside to assign and register surnames, based on vocation, geography or some other characteristic, to single name hut dwellers, no doubt for tax collection purposes.
My understanding (from relatives) is that the wicz's were middle class types: competent and prosperous farmers, businessmen, trades people. The ski's were the nobility. And any other endings were the peasantry. Jews seemed fond of substituting a y for the i.
Remember reading in my Polish (second language) university class that a "royal" representative roamed the countryside to assign and register surnames, based on vocation, geography or some other characteristic, to single name hut dwellers, no doubt for tax collection purposes.