"-ska" Polish last name different from "-ski"?

Dzien dobry!

I hope someone can give me some advice or if there has been anyone else in the same situation as me please? I am an English girl and I will be marrying my Polish fiance in the next couple of months in Poland. I have confirmed that I will be taking his last name which will end in "-ska" but i'm just worried that when it comes to changing all of my passport and documents etc back in England they might get a bit funny that our surnames are not the same? I understand that because I am a woman I have the "ska" ending and the man takes the "ski" ending but i'm not sure if this rule applies here even though it will be written on my marriage certificate. Urgh so confusing!

We will be living in England for one more year then moving completely to our house in Poland so thats why I want to take the "-ska" surname so that it makes sense.

My OH has told me not to worry and I'm sure it will be ok but I just need a bit of reassurance really, or someone who has been in the same situation!

Thank you in advance!

With half a million new Poles in the UK I'm sure the UK authorities are aware of this. Anyway, you could change your name to almost anything after your marriage, as is your right.

Yes, that is true. I just haven't met many English girls marrying a Polish men so I wasn't sure, normally its the other way around.

Hi,

I am using -"cki" ending instead of "cka" since in Turkey, we do not alter the surnames as they do in Poland. Thus, we have the same surname . It is the same in Germany, as far as I know. I thought it may cause problems in the future and authorities may claim that it is miswritten or we do not have the same surname. Do you hold such rights in the UK?

Pozdraiwiam

Hi, I am in exactly the same situation as you - and getting married in Poland in May. I *think* I will take -ska but I haven't 100% decided. However, I can tell you that English law is not as strict as Polish law regarding names. I think the easiest way for you to change your names hassle-free with the authorities is to simply change your name by deed poll. It costs about £30 and then you can use this document to send to the Passport office, DVLA, Bank, etc... this way you won't have to get your marriage certificate translated and send multiple copies to all the companies, then spend time explaining why your name is slightly different to your husbands!

Where are you getting married? Are you getting married in a church? I would love to hear how easy/difficult it's been for you to sort everything out!

:) x

As far as I know, when changing your name after marriage in the UK, your name can be changed to what's on the certificate. As long as the certificate is translated and legally confirmed then you won't have a problem. Just like with deed poll, you can really change your name to whatever you want...

actually, a deed poll costs nothing. you can write one for yourself on any bit of paper- as long as you cease to use your old name and start using the new one and you will have witness' signature on it.

Related:

Surnames of Polish names ending with an "a"


Surnames ending with an "a" suggest that they are being referred to a female. So when you say:

Mr. Kowalski - it is referred to a male Kowalski
Ms. Kowalska - it refers to female Kowalska

Other than that it doesn't have any special meaning.

What about Taflinski

Merged:

my last name

I live in the states and am of Polish decent. My last name ends with ska even though i am a male. Anyone know why? I have heard that the name used to be spelled with czka but i can't confirm that now.

That's found very occasionally in Poland, here's an example

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateusz_Wieteska

There's also an actor with the same last name (I have no idea if they're related).

I have no idea why (I can think of a few possibilities but I'll let those who know more about the history of names answer that)

Thanks, i just found this site and thought it would be the right place to ask.

I googled a little and it looks like Wieteska is declined like a feminine noun (like Wajda) so your name probably would be too...

Thanks for the help.

Have heard stories from various relatives about my Great Grandfather (guessing b. 1855), who left Poland at 14 to come to the US, regretting in his old age he never even said goodbye to his mother. Nevertheless, he was always referred to phonetically with an "a" ending, as Grandpa Pompusczka. (and I am at this sight to learn a typical spelling, first in the dark with Pompushka) The next generation was Pompy.

I'm curious as to whether or not Polish surnames starting with a K are originally typically of Germanic origin?