Does your last name end in CKI not SKI

So Berestetsky could mean someone from the village of Berest?

Generally -ski could be unterstand as "from something" or "related to sth". As a example niebo=sky and color niebieski is a color of sky (blue). And the same is with names it could be Zamojski is a person from Zamość, but my surname is Kmiecikowski (kmiec=peasant) my ancestors were in some way connected with peasants (I do not know if one was nobilited or he had many). And at the begining -ski was only a surname of nobility.

--
Krzysztof Kmiecikowski

**But there is a surname like Dziedzicki. As a patronymic nick it would mean "son of the lord/squire/". In some cases it may have emerged as a toponmyic tag to identify a native of the village of Dziedzice.

**Rather from the locality of Beresteczko in what is now Ukranian-occuped eastern Poland. In the mid-17th century the flower of Polish knighthood delivered a stunning defeat there to the rebelling Cossack hordes.

Thank you Polonius3! Looks like another place for me to research. ;-)

I like having the name Szenk, I think it's quite unique (as in the Polish version of the name). People in England can't pronounce it for love nor money. Germans manage to tell what it is quite quickly though.

Shenk doesn't seem that dffiicult for Anglos to pronounce. Once they know the sz has an sh sound. Now if it were Chrzęszczykiewicz, that would be quite another story!

KMIECIKOWSKI: Kmiecikowski may have emerged as a tri-generational surname. The father was known as Kmieć (the peasant); His son was Kmiecik (the peasant's son) and his son in turn was called Kmiecikowski.

No coat of arms goes with Kmiecikowski but there is one for an etymologically related one -- Kmieciński. The well-born Kmiecińskis were entitled to use the Hozjusz heraldic device.

SZENK: Shenk doesn't seem that dffiicult for Anglos to pronounce. Once they know the sz has an sh sound. Now if it were Chrzęszczykiewicz, that would be quite another story!

You'd be surprised that they just don't make the connection.

The names I usually get called are; s-zenk, sa-zenk, zenk, s-zank, zank, s-cze-znik (that last one is my favourite)

Because they don't realise that sz = sh, that's it :-)

I know that they struggle with that but it get's ridiculous. For example if I give someone my name over the phone, 9 times out of 10 they will still repeat it back to me in a completely different way to how I said it to them.

Hi. Wondering if anyone knows about the name Winnicki. I am doing my family tree and am having issue with my fathers family. Winnicki is my grandfathers name ( they came in the 1890's and his passport is from Galicia)... My grandmother's family came in the 1890's as well and they were Prystach. Ellis island records do not match the limited papers I found upon my grandmothers passing... Any hints tips or anecdotal info is much appreciated.

WINNiCKI: root-word winnica (vineyard); either occupational nick for vineyard owner or topo nick from a locality called Winnica.

PRYSTACH: Ruthenian version of Przystarz (a husband who has settled on a wife's family farm).

Biedrzycki (a)

Does this have to do with ladybugs?

I don't think so. Ladybugs are Biedronki in Polish.
The poster Polonius3 often gives meanings of surnames, so perhaps he will be able to help.

BIEDRZYCKI: like most surnames ending in -ski, -cki and -dzki, this is probably a topo nick from Biedrzyce.
A biedronka (ladybug) is called that in Polish because it was thought to resemble a miniature version of a red-coated cow. A biedroń is a red bull and a biedrula a red cow. A ladybug is also known by such folk terms as boża krówka (God's little cow) and krówka Matki Boskiej (Our Lady's little cow).

Polonius your are awesome. Any chance you are into Thelonius Monk?
Found two people with the info you provided. One named Bobeck or Bobick and the other Wojowciewski? Any chance your genius could help me here!!!

Thank you so much!!!
I am eager to find family as we know only our immediate members and from I can tell a lot of people came over at that time. Why they mass exodused is still stumping me? As is the Russian approved passport of my grandfather - I trying to find an old Russian translator !!!

so I was close.....a little. :)

Wojowciewski does not exist in Poland. It is possible linguistically, but if it ever existed it was surely on the rare side.
Wojciewski would be more like it. It comes from the first name Wojciech but most likely originated as a topo nick from places such as Wojcieszyce, Wojciechy, Wojcieszyn or similar.

For 123 years between the late 18th century and 1918 Poland did not exist as an indepndent country, having been carved up by Russia, Prussia and Austria. Tsarist Russia had annexed the largest chunk of Polish territory. Poles coming to America in that period bore passports of that parttioning power which ruled their native region.

For translation of Russian documents check out: andywbuffalo@yahoo

Thank you!! I am getting a better picture now!!!

Thank you so much :-)

Hark, P3, you are the man, dude, I didn't know that. keep a good job

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum, and have a few questions about my family surnames. My paternal grandmother's family are from southeastern Poland, near Ulanow/Przedzel/Rudnick/Zarzecze. My research shows that there still families in that area with each of these surnames.

Wrobel - I read that this surname is used by both Polish and Jewish people. Did one group borrow it from the other?
Puskarczyk - what does this name mean? Is the -czyk suffix typical of Polish surnames?
Rzepiela - this name does not sound Polish to me; what is its origin?
Dubeil - also does not sound Polish to me; what is its origin?

Thank you!

sorry, I forgot to say that I am writing from the USA -

hi I married into bialota family and my sister into bialecki, we have been told ,but not sure bialota means piece of white cloth like you put on back of chair , what might bialeki mean and is meaning right for bialota

Bzdura. Nonsense

'C' is pronounced as "TS", not "S"!

You need to say that "TS" very quickly if you want the final sound to be correct when doing it that way.

Right.

My great-grandmother came to America from Poland in the early 1900s and her last name was Abrecka but I can't seem to find it anywhere in Poland. I was wondering if that was a name they americanized or if it was really a Polish last name

You may find this page interesting. It includes people born in the 1820s and 1860s with the surname Abrecki (the male form of Abrecka): myheritage.pl/site-individuals-160946181/grażyna-adamczyk-alik-lidtke

And also here:
myheritage.fr/names/anna_siedlarz

It seems rare. Sometimes surnames are rare, sometimes they mostly die out in one particular place.

Polish uses a modified version of the Latin alphabet, but its letters do not have the same sounds necessarily as English. "C" in Polish has the sound of "ts." C could be pronounced "ch" if it is written "ć." "Cz" is also pronounced "Ch." "C" is, however, never "K." "W" sounds close to "V" or "F." Unfortunately, many Polish and other Slavic people in the United States have lost touch with their original language and insist on pronouncing their last names as if they were English. So, "Murawski" becomes "Murauski" instead of "Muravski" or "Muroffski." "Brarycki" becomes "Brarikee" instead of "Brarytski" etc. Bear in mind that the English use of the alphabet is very different than its usage in other European languages. You need to look up the alphabet and its sounds for your particular language, whether it is Polish, Czeck, Croatian, Serbian, etc. and sound out your last name correctly.

Exactly.
E.g, a famous Polonia lawyer in Chicago changed his surname from Polish Wrzesień into September coz he had had enough correcting his clients and colleagues` faulty pronunciation.

However, later, after meeting some native guys from Poland, and impressed with their truly Polish culture and traditions, he changed it back into Wrzesień. Amasing!

So, not all Poland is lost as long as such Polonia guys live.

with the last name dziedzicki, doesn't that translate to heir? i have family who lived in Pinsk and Paryduby when they were both under poland? just interested to know where it comes from as i have seen it is a part of the dolega clan