Help needed about my Polish surname, Dobbert.

No, say does it cost anything to check the LDS database? Also, thank you for the link. I have also talked to my living ancestors and they speak of Dabrowski and Dobrowskis in our line, as well as the more recent Doberski in my line.

I'm trying to get more info. So far I know most of my ancestors were from Eastern Germany and were labeled as ethnic Poles. I'm thinking my original ancestors were either the Dabrowskis or Dobrowskis, but I wouldn't understand how that name would change to 'Doberski' which does sound Jewish and I will admit most with the name are labeled as Jews. But Dabrowski and Dobrowski there aren't as many Jews.

Possibility my ancestors were Poles that wanted to be Jewish? Doesn't make much sense, back then there was very much anti-Semitism. I'm beginning to think the religions of my ancestors went back and forth from Jewish and Christian. Tis' a bit confusing.

I have also come to an interesting theory that there were never any 'Doberski' in my line, but instead Dabrowski, and Dobrowski. After all I only found Doberski on ancestry.com, my living ancestors never spoke of Doberski, in fact they never told me the Polish surnames except for Dobbert, but now a few various Uncles speak of Dabrowski and Dobrowski surnames. What I need to know is the origin of these names, and if these names are Polish, Jewish, Wendish, what not. I looked it up and 'Dabrowski' is actually a very common surname in Poland even to this day.

Dąbrowski: root word dąb "oak," toponimic from a village such as Dąbrowa or Dąbrówka, first recorded in Poland in 1386.

Dabrowski: Germanized Dąbrowski, rare in Poland with only 28 users, more popular in Germany: 414.
Dobrowski: likely, originally Dombrowski, with the same etymology as Dąbrowski, as dąb used to be spelled domb. Or possibly Germanized Dąbrowski as there are only 3 Dobrowskis in Poland and 11 in Germany.

Thank you.

Which means that it's probably Dąbrowski originally and was simply changed along the way.


If they couldn't read/write, then they were probably relying on someone writing it down. If they were living in a Germanic area, then Dąbrowski -> Daberski is quite possible.

No, not a dime, but you need to verify your findings because there are lots of errors in the database due to the fact that the transcribers can't read the old German script or Latin script in catholic churchbooks. To verify, you will have to order the relevant microfilm (the number comes with the dataset) at one of your local LDS Family History Centers. They will contact Utah and ship the film to your location so that you can read and print out the churchbook entries/civil registration records and others yourself. Costs a few bucks, but nothing major.

If you want to trace back your ancestors, I would start at the Social Security Death Index which is also available at the LDS web site I linked. Once you know the SSN and the place it was issued, you can follow that lead to obtain the Naturalization Record of your ancestor. Plenty of information on there. You can also check the web site of Ellis Island and see if you can find your ancestors in one of the ship manifests. Follow the trail to their place of origin, check online databases of the Polish and German state archives, and so on. The Polish ones have already released tons of churchbook scans and other material.

ellisisland.org (sign-up is free)
archiwa.gov.pl


Or Dombrowski, which might also be a variation of your family name.


Up until 1878 there were no offical rules how to write your name; the priests for example usually wrote the family names the way how they were pronounced. In genealogy you will very often be forced to trace various variations of your surname. That's normal.

Thank you delphiandomine and TheOther. You see, we can discuss this peacefully. :)

TheOther, seeing as it is not too much money i'll see what I can do, it's also good to know it is normal that I have found quite a few variations of this one name in my line, a relief.

deplphiandomine, I will look into Daberski, would make sense. I will also look into Dombrowski.

What do you mean?

It seemed like there were tensions between you, wlodzmierz, delphiandomine and myself. But now those tensions have disappeared it seems.

Dąbrowski, I do believe by now was my Family's original name, and was changed to Dobbert in Eastern Germany over the years. That is why when they came to America they came as 'Dobbert'.

As for Doberski, it factors in because I found records of my ancestors as 'Doberski' but I think the Germans maybe were pronouncing 'Dąbrowski' wrong and instead wrote Doberski. I never found Daberski, or Dombrowski in my line. I never found Dobrowskis either.

The most likely theory at the moment is that my ancestors surname was 'Dąbrowski' and had been changed when they came to Eastern Germany to Dobbert. Simple as that, as for Doberski, my ancestors may have not been able to write perhaps and the people who were writing thought it was Doberski.

I also think this means i'm not Jewish, because Doberski was not the real name, and was only how whoever was writing it down, wrote it.

Just a well meant advice: don't make assumptions when it comes to family history, or you will waste your time and money. Guaranteed.


Nah, not at all.

Good to hear. (I found out how to quote!)

Also, I guess maybe there is a very small chance I could be Jewish but I don't think the Dąbrowskis were Jewish. Though I will look into it.

The Other, Polish ethnicity is ethnically Slavic, therefore completely Caucasian (baring any Khazak-Asian intermingling over the centuries)-:))

You misunderstood. What I was hinting at was your claim that there is no American ethnicity because there is no link between today's population and the Native Americans. No "aboriginal connection, no ethnicity" ... that's how it came across. Since the "aboriginal population" of the territory which is now Poland cannot be determined, it's also impossible to establish a connection between the present and the distant path (same as in the US with the Native Americans). Thus no Polish ethnicity and no Polish-Americans, if I would follow your logic.

I guess what I was trying to say was simply that America is an ethnic, heterogeneous melting pot, a sort of Mulligan's stew of all races, creeds and ethnicities. Poland, Denmark, Germany to a major extent have instead a HOMOgeneous population stemming from essentially a single racial stock within the same Indo-European family, same with Italy, Ireland, etc..

That's all I meant:-)