I have a Rozalia Rucinaite (single woman in lithuanian territory) circa 1844, on my family tree. Village of Zasalacie on lake Salaciu, zarasai, kowno region. She married Adam Umbras . Polish,I believe. She had a daughter Ludwika who later married in Warsaw. No other info to date. Ruta is national flower of Lithuania? Also derivitive of girls name = Ruth.
My grandfather from Ostrołęka is named "Glinka." I've done a bit of research on it, and all the people I found in history with that name were Russian. But my grandfather says that he doesn't have a drop of Russian blood. Does anybody happen to know where the name "Glinka" comes from? Thanks!
KAMROWSKI: the ending "wski" suggests a toponimic name, however, on the list of all Polish localities nothing comes close to the root "Kamr" like "Kamry", Kamrów", etc. According to this site
stankiewicze.com/index.php?kat=44&sub=541
your name comes from German personal name Kamer, Kammer, Kammeres - from Old German word "kammerer", which means "chamberlain" or a person in charge of the noble houshold. See here:
houseofnames.com/kamer-family-crest
Of the same origin are similar Polish names such as Kamrański, Kamrek, Kamrańczyk, Kamraj, Kamracki, Kamraczewski. Kamrowski would mean a son of Kamer.
There are 649 people named Kamrowski in Poland, living mostly south of Gdańsk aka Danzig. See here:
GLINKA: root-word glina (clay). Could have originated as an occupational tag for someone working in clay (eg a potter) or a toponymic nick for a native of such places as Glinka, Glinki, Glinik, Glina and others.
Hello I have been told recently my surname may be Polish in origin. My family came from Mokhnate Ukraine in the carpathians, which is close to the Polish border. The only thing I do know is that my family were Romani. There is no one living that I can ask questions too... Can I get some opinions on the name Maletycz? Thank you.
We must not confuse names with ethnicity, as there are many German Nowaks and Polish Schulzes. MALETYCZ in form is most likely Ukrainian although spelt the Polish way. Most likely its root is the word mały (small, little, tiny). It might have evolved from an endearing form of the old first name Małomir or even more likely as a toponymic tag from some place called Maletycze or similar.
PYZALSKI: Root is pyzaty (chubby-cheeked), and such a one might have been humorously nicknamed Pyzalski. However most names with the adjectival ending -ski are of toponymic origin, so this could have emerged to identify a resident of Pyzy in Podlasie or Pyzówka in Małopolska
Volnick..or Wolnich: In proper Polish these names are written Wolnik and Wolnicz. Both come from "wolny" or "free". The ending "nik" and "(n)(w)icz" mean "son of wolny". "Nik" is more popular in southern Poland, "icz" in eastern. 1848 people in Poland are named Wolnik and 16 Wolnicz.
Pretty much impossible unless you have an EXACT location where they came from, and names and approximate dates of birth. Without that, there's very little you can do. Surname searches are just about worthless unless the surname is unique to a single family, which yours probably isn't.
SIANKOWSKI: root-word sianko, diminutive of siano (hay). Nearly all surnames ending in -owski originated as toponymic tags. This one from some loclaity called Sianków or Siankowo (rough English equivalents Hayville, Haybury, Hayton, Hayfield etc.)
my last name is halik but i know of a few ways it could have been spelled are holyk holik holek halyk and hallick all i know is i am doing a family tree and i found out that wladyslaw-walter my great grandfather he was born in opatow poland on january 28th 1903 and he had 3 brothers and a sister i got the name of his dad but not his mother his dad was stanislaw-stan wladyslaws brother names were john halik wincenty v halik juzef halik and the sister was onela halik i found this all from ancestry i also found wladyslaws wifes last name before they married and it was rospond other spellings for that name are rozpond and roszpond and her first name is anna i found more about her side then i have the haliks side i would like to know more about my family and the names and any more info i can get too
HALIK: possible topographic tag derived from hala (mountain pasture); or a toponymic for an inhabitant of Halicz (now in Ukraine) or Halickie (Podlasie).
ROSZPOND: Possibly dervied from roszponka (lamb's lettuce) or from a Polonised verison of Rospuda (a town in Podlasie).
Merged: Origin and meaning of Polish surname Bujak
I am having trouble finding any information on the surname Bujak. If anyone has information, I would be greatly appreciative. Thank you for your time. Any reference guides would be helpful, I do not mind putting in the work to research, I just have had no luck in finding anything.
BUJAK: this term was once a common nickname for the village brawler; but it could also have emerged as a toponymic tag to identify someone from such localiteis as Bujak, Bujaki or Bujaków.
KUCZAJ: possible etymology kucza (shepherd's hut); or a toponymic tag for a resident of Kucze or Kuczki.
DZIEDZIC: surname means heir or squire, but more likely than not it arose as a toponymic to identify a native of Dziedzice (several such localities in Poland).
WYRĘBEK: derived from verb wyrąbać (to clear land of timber); possibly a toponmyic tag from such localities as Wyrąb, Wyręba or Wyrębin.
TOPA: most likely derived from verb topić (to drown); could it have been applied to someone known locally as the drowner?; as a toponymic niccpossibly linekd to such loclalities as Topiło ,Topilec or Topiąca.
Merged: Meanings of a few names in the family tree
Hello, I have had great success with very precise and timely responses from especially Boletus and Polonius3. Thank you!
I have come across some more Polish and/or Belarusian names in my family tree and I am curious about their meanings. The names are: Kastucevicz, Grzegorzewski, Misavich, Orlik, and Orzab.
Any information you may have on these names would be a great help and very much appreciated!!
KASTUCEWICZ: the -wicz ending is clearly patronymic, but the base is less easily definable. Possibly from an endearing form of the first name Konstanty such as Kostuś or Kastuś in the Belarusian drawl. Not used in today's Poland.
GRZEGORZEWSKI: a clear-cut toponymic tag for someone from Grzegorzewo (Gregoryville, Gregton, etc.).
MISAWICZ: again a patronymic, possibly from Miś (bear or short for Michał). Not used in today's Poland.
ORKLIK: eaglet or toponymic from Orlik or Orlikowo (Eagletville).
ORZAB: (???) There was once an archaic Polish word orzba (ploughing); perhaps some semi-literate scribe misliterated it. Not used in today's Poland.
My husband's surname is Slivinski. He isn't on good terms with his father or his family so I have no way of speaking to them to find out any particulars about their history. I believe he told me though that his grand parents came over from Poland so he is only the second generation born in the states from that particular family. Any information about the last name and meaning would be greatly appreciated.
ŚLIWIŃSKI: Slivinski is an Anglicized spelling. Root-word śliwa (plum tree); probably arose as a toponymic tag to identify someone from Śliwiny (Plumville) or similar.
I am wondering if there is any connection to the surnmae Stankiewicz with Gypsies? Any information on the last name of Stankiewicz would be a blessing! Originated? Info on history of Village of Stankiewicz? A N Y T H I NG...lol! Thank you!
