Well, my last name now is altered from when my family moved to America, but I'm just wondering - on my dad's side our last was Kuzdeba, is this Polish or not? I think my great-great-great grandfather Joseph was from Poland, but was drafted to be one of Czar Nicholas II's guards and my family lived in Russia for a while, but fled during the Russian Revolution.
I know I'm part Polish and Russian (I'm not 100% Polish, probably like 40-50%), so I was just wondering if this was a Polish last name or not - I apologize if this is a stupid question, or is a very commonly asked one.
I believe I asked this question before when I first joined as to what my last name was, but I'm going to ask again, just in case anyone else might have some information...
My last name now is Farrick, but that's some sort of screwed up adaptation of what my father's last name was - when my family came over from Russia (My great-great-great grandfather was a Palace Guard for Czar Nicholas II, but I believe he was originally from Poland) their last name was Kuzdeba. I'm not sure if that's Polish or Russian - Someone told me it may well be Russian, but if there are any other opinions, that'd be appreciated.
KUZDEBA: Kuzdeba could be most anything -- Polish, but even more likely Ukrainian or Russian. There is an archaic Polish word kuzdubek which once meant a small grey dove. But that word too looks "eastern" -- indigenous Polish would probably be closer to kozdąbek (although that is a hypothetical re-creation).
Not every surname can be ethnically pin-pointed owing to the amount of linguistic and culutual interation (respellings, misspellings, abbreivations, de-ethnicisations, re-ethnicisations, etc.) that has occurred over the generations.
I know the family came from Poland but there is very little information on the Kuzdeba surname. I have contacted many sources in Poland and they do not have a lot of information.
Most of mine came from Aunts and uncles, because their parents and an uncle came to America in the early 1900's. From what I heard they scattered all over the place.
How can we track down additional information?
How do you know it is a Polish surname? There are differing accounts as people moved from Poland to the Ukraine. how can this be confirmed?
There are 4 people in Poland surnamed Kuźdeba, and one who spells it Kuzdeba. Since there is no such commonly known word in the Polish language nor any loclaity incorporating it, I would venture a guess that it orginated in the eastern (Ruthenian) borderlands of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Ran across this info about the Kozdęba clan on the net: genealogia.mrog.org/Kozdeba.html
Some 470 people in Poland surnamed Kozdęba; ancestral nest appear to be SE Poland's Tarnobrzeg area (170). Possible etymology: koz- (goat) and dęb- (oak).
RyanJF, where exactly was your great-great-great grandfather Joseph Kuzdeba born? In case it might be in Kolbuszowa/Majdan/Deba area in West Galicia, please contact me at genealogy.mrog.org
My grandmothers Maiden last name was Kuzdeba I am looking for anyone that may be realted to her/me she lived in the usa until her passing.I know she had cousins in poland she wrote letters to often.Her marriage name was S.bodnar.Id like to find them or any other relatives
It's originally a Ukrainian name, usually transliterated as Kuzhdeba in English and Kużdeba in Polish. There are 23 people with that name currently living in Poland, and their pattern of settlement highly suggests that they were relocated from what is now the Ukraine after WWII. Your grandmother may have considered herself ethnically Polish rather than Ukrainian, especially if she was Roman Catholic Latin Rite. There wasn't as sharp a line dividing Polish from Ukrainian ethnicity at the time, and there are plenty of cases of two siblings, one considering themself Polish, and the other Ukrainian.
My great-great grandfather's sister Anna Bak married an Andre Kozdeba in Passaic, NJ in 1909. He was from the Kolbuszowa area. She was from Mazury, Poland. Any connection?
