Herszlewicz and Gdalywicz

My recently deceased father hailed from a village in Sosnowiec. He had a chance to visit his homeland for the first time in 60+ years since emigrating to Canada, just before he died. He was so thankful to have gone home to see his birthplace.

Most of my family is from Poland but most of them have passed away and I don't have access to their recollections of where their families were from or what the origins of our names are.

My surname is now spelled Herskowitz, but I know its original spelling was Herszlewicz. Son of ...?

My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Gdalywicz, but it was Anglicized on her emigration to North America to Davis (!!). Any information about what either name means would be so helpful to me.

Appreciatively,

Amy

Both don't sound Polish in origin, probably Jewish.

*lol*
I know I'm Jewish - on both sides of the family - but both of those surnames were of relatives who were from Poland.

And i know too, I'm just saying that name isn't Polish in origin so maybe you're asking the wrong people? lol
It say's it's Jewish (eastern Ashkenazic): variant of Hershkowitz. So if Ashkenazi it must originate somewhere in Germany.

Okay, thank you. I guess that makes my family "sons of deer/bucks" since Hirsch is German for deer. :-)

HERSZELEWICZ: partonymic from Herszel, a popular Jewish name, whose variant forms include Herszko, Herts (from Middle High German hirz for stag -- later Hirsch) as well as Giersz, Girsz and Gersz (as in Gershwin!); it was used because the stag was the symbol of the tribe of Napthali.*

GDALEWICZ: from gdakać (the clucking sound made by hens); gdak or gdal would be a nickname for a clucker (most likely a chicken rearer), and Gdalewicz would be his son.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tribe_of_Naphtali

There you go Amy Polonius our philosopher, found it.

Wow, thank you!
That's kind of funny ... now I know why my grandmother always used to say "we come from peasant stock"