Bernatowicz surname? (I am starting to wonder if anyone in my family was American?)

Is Bernatowicz Polish, Czech/Slovak or Eastern Slavic in your opinion?

Polish. Gentry.

What do you mean by Gentry? And also, is it possible that he/she had a different surname and it was polonised? If so then what name would it likely originally have been?

1. Polish coat of arms "Bernatowicz" was granted in 1676 (also with the surname Bernacki) to Bernard Krzysztof Bernatowicz for military merits.
2. Polish coat of arms "Bernatowicz, variation Trąb" was granted in 1768 to Jakub Bernatowicz, a secretary of Michał Radziwiłł and Karol Radziwiłł. Radziwiłł family members have given to Bernatowicz their own scheme of the coat of arms.

3. Polish coat of arms "Bernatowicz galicyjski" was granted in 1789 to Grzegorz Bernatowicz in Galicia (under Austrian partition).
4. Polish coat of arms "Bernatowicz-Gieysztoff" - no data.

On other site there information that Bernatowicz families used coat of arms:

1. Białynia - used by the families who were living mostly on lands of £ęczyca, Kraków, Sandomierz, Sieradz. First mentioned data about existance of this coat of arms comes from 1388. Used by 86 families. It is quite similar to "Bernatowicz-Gieysztoff" but not the same.

2. Leliwa - due to Długosz it came to Poland from Germany. Other experts in heraldry claims that it is native to Poland. First information about it comes from 12th century (then it was used by saint Bertold von Garsten). Used by 831 families.

3. Ostoja - used on many territories of PLC, also in Red Ruthenia and Ducal Prussia. First mentioned information comes from 14th century. Used by 770 families.

4. Prawdzic - existed on many names. Its decent is controversial. Used by 538 families.

It suggest that Bernatowicz family, was a part of "szlachta" - Polish gentry. There is a chance that your ancestor was one of them, no matter if he was Armenian, Slovak, Polish or what. In this information Bernatowicz are Polish - different ethnicity is hypothetical, as in the past Bernatowicz surname was also held by Armenians.

For now, good night. Need to sleep :)

What about Cybert? Is that polonised from Zeibert or from Seabert? Reply quick pls

Surnames with suffix "-ert" are suggesting German origin. But I don't know "original" version.

And when you stated that the prefix Bernat- is Czech, Lesser Polish and Silesian does that mean one of my ancestors could have been from that country?

And also is it possible that my ancestors surname was Bernat?

I said about Slovak and Hungarian. But yes, if the name was used in these countries it may mean that your ancestor ethnically belonged to mentioned nation.


First name.

Czech and Slovak do not have the "cz" digraph so whatever the actual origin of the surname (including its ending) is, it's definitely not Czech or Slovak.

Yay my ancestors were Slovak because I asked my dad and he said my great grandad actually from Slovakia!

Are czech and Slovak de same?

No. Though these languages are similar.

What about Stasiak?

Comes from names starting with "Sta-", for example "Stanisław" (in fact, the most probably, like 95%). Suffix "-ak" suggest partonymic character of the surname, so as in Bernatowicz was Bernat, here in Stasiak is Stanisław. Tendencies to create a surname with using suffix "-ak" were most common in western parts of Poland (Greater Poland).

Do you mean: Bernard Krzysztof Kunstetter? (D. 1680) and could I be an descendant of Feliks Bernatowicz? (Polish author).

Merged: LOOKING FOR RELATIVES!!!

Hello! I would like to find my relatives:

(My grandfather) Franek Bernatowicz
Born: September, 1938/9
Died: April, 2003

(My great-grandfather) Jozef Bernatowicz
Born: 1905/6
Died: 1960(s)/70(s)

(My great-grandmother) Jozefa Misiewicz (Bernatowicz)
Born: 1900(s)
Died: 1977/8

If you think that you're a relative of mine: contact me at;

*legoguy6772@gmail

Has anyone of the following surnames done a DNA test? That would be the easiest way to find a common ancestry. The names I am interested in are:

Mankiewicz
Bernot (Bernotowicz,Bernotus) or any other variant
Stazyc, Statsis, Slaszi or any other similar name.
Kucinskas, Kucinska, Kucinski

Let me know if you have, maybe we can compare our kits on the website Getmatch and find out if we are related.

Bernot is a French first name. Bernat is a Polish, German, Hungarian and Czech first name. Sorry mate, but I doubt you're related to him.

Please remember names change and spelling variants happen.

The name Bernot (Bernotus, Bernotas or Barnot) I refer too, was spelled several different ways on different documents. He was Lithuanian/Polish, it was spoken in the house. His wife was Polish/Lithuanian and they are buried in Lithuanian Cemeteries. I mention Polish and Lithuanian because it is very likely my roots go from Lithuania -> Poland.

It is not that far of a drive.

Hi, I too have doubts that we are related. Too much of a surname difference, why would the name be changed? It may have been Anglicized but surely not made into a complete different surname. My family never left Poland, I was born in Poland myself. Please remember, there are over 1000 Bernatowiczs in Poland, even if your surname was changed: we are unfortunately not related.

P.S. This is my new account

Putting a smile on my face here, and trying to answer politely. I will try to enlighten.

Name changing is quite common. There are many reasons for doing it:

1. Political - Jews changed there names for obvious reasons.
2. Social - Some societies will reject folks who have names from other parts of the world. Names are changed to fit in. Germans and Italians did this in America regularly

3. Ignorance - The port of entry officer who documents an arrival can't spell or the immigrant simply changes it to something they like better at time of immigration. In some cases you can tell where a family arrived in the United States simply based on the spelling of their name.

4. Most immigrants are not rich and educated, in the past most were illiterate folks who can't read or write. Imagine an illiterate person spelling a name and dealing with different sounds and character sets (Russian or Chinese). Imagine immigrating to China (or a province of modern day) in 1800 and having an immigration officer who does not speak Polish try to write your name in a Chinese character set. The name changes.

5. Real World Example: Original Name Matuzeziciene Turned into: Mathews
6. My neighbor told me his surename changed because his grandmother liked another name better.

My surname is Scottish, but my real surname and ancestry is Polish - Nothing alike, they only have a few characters in common.

I would love to compare DNA test with folks to learn more about my ancestry. The only way to prove relationships is through science and DNA. You can say it ain't so all you want, only a test will prove it.

Numbers don't matter, Robert De Bruce has over 40,000k descendants.

As mentioned in a previous post by OP - Bernot is at its root Polish without the wicz. Bernatowicz is just as much polish as Bernot.

In summary, names change and sometimes change dramatically.

I hope this helps.
.

You're taking this through the rather heavy side, I am not related to you. My family did NOT move to America. End of discussion. Though I can happily help you with your family and surname.

My paternal family surname is Bernat and I found a census form my grandfather filled out stating my great grands were from Alsace-Lorraine which kept changing hands between France and Germany. I am 3rd generation in America

Has any Bernat's try Ancestry.com and do your DNA test kit.
Mine is done looking for matches in Poland, Belarus, and Lithuanian.
When I was a boy my grandfather said his parents were buried near Russian border.
My other question: Are Catholics buried near their church or was there a large mass cemetery before 1913 or turn of century.
We're did people migrate from 1913 and the war in 1917

There is very low uptake of DNA ancestry tests in those three countries so you may not find many matches in those places.


It depends where. In villages there is often (though not always) a cemetery near a church, in cities this is rarer due to public health reasons and land values. Some of the very large ones in PL pre-date 1913.


The overwhelming majority didn't, however there was outward migration from many places.

To anyone with questionable French roots.
Could "Bernat" have migrated during Napoleons march to Russia, I understand in dead of winter.
Maybe Frenchman met Polish girl.
Just putting that out there unless we have DNA.
AncestryDNA is out there in USA.

There are many Poles with French or Low Countries surnames for this reason. Distances were further then and rag tag soldiers certainly didn't expect to return to their place of origin.

Plus of course there was inward migration during the Industrial Revolution to Śląsk.

There are also people in Poland with your surname that have roots in Armenia. It's mentioned already in this thread.