ShortHairThug - | 1,101 30 Apr 2014 #3,422You will find it here stankiewicze.com/index.php?kat=44&sub=811
Kubusz - | 1 4 May 2014 #3,423Hi everyone! I'm trying to figure out what the surnames 'Fitkowski' and 'Klajbor' mean and where they originate from. I think 'Fitkowski' might be just a corruption of the name 'Witkowski', but I'm not sure. Thanks :)
Astoria - | 153 4 May 2014 #3,424Fitkowski: from fitać in local dialect "to catch;" from fita in local dialect "an instrument for measuring diameter of trees;" from German personal name Fit. Currently, 16 Fitkowskis live in Poland.Klajbor: from German personal names Kleiber, Kleber, those from Middle High German occupational name Kleiber "the one who plasters walls with clay." Currently, 248 Klajbors live in Poland, most in and around Bydgoszcz: moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/klajbor.html
SethDuzan - | 3 6 May 2014 #3,425My great grand dad's last name was Mieczkowski, and his wife's maiden name was Lychkowski. I was wondering about them as am also looking at the genealogy of the tree as well, and will be posting what I have later in hopes that anyone may have the links I need...
Astoria - | 153 6 May 2014 #3,426Lychkowski is anglicized: you won't find this name in Poland. Properly spelled, the name could be Lyczkowski or £yczkowski or in the female version Lyczkowska or £yczkowska.Mieczkowski is correct. Currently, 2393 Mieczkowskis live in Poland.
SethDuzan - | 3 6 May 2014 #3,429Currently, 2393 Mieczkowskis live in Poland.That is helpful, I was going on the spelling in my baby book, so... Lol... Yeah sadly on my mom's side I only have names and birth years. My great grandpa Mieczkowski immigrated around 1900 give or take a year from Russia Poland according to the little census photoscan on ancestry...
SethDuzan - | 3 6 May 2014 #3,431So turns out that because of handwriting that it was actually Luczkowski. Finally heard from a distant cousin this afternoon. :)
Astoria - | 153 7 May 2014 #3,432Luczkowski is correct. Only 15 Luczkowskis and 9 Luczkowskas live in Poland. More popular is £uczkowski (with a different first letter "£," often represented in English by "L"). Luczkowski and £uczkowski have different etymologies. Currently, 521 £uczkowskis and 594 £uczkowskas live in Poland.
OP Polonius3 993 | 12,357 7 May 2014 #3,433FITKOWSKI looks to be a name of toponymic origin, traceable to the locality of Fitków in the Lwów region (now in Ukraine). Nearly all Polish last names with the -owski ending or of toponymic origin.
OP Polonius3 993 | 12,357 16 May 2014 #3,435MENTEL: Probably of German or Yiddish origin from German Mantel (coat); possibly a misspelling of Mendel meaning 15 of something from German Mandel.
Harry 16 May 2014 #3,436Hi Polonius, welcome back, good to see you posting again, your knowledge in this area certainly is helpful.
Astoria - | 153 17 May 2014 #3,437Mentel is a relatively popular surname in Poland: 1890; most popular in Kraków: 111moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/mentel.html
Piotr Szudejko 20 May 2014 #3,438Szudejko comes from verb szudzić (now szydzić), which means to jeer, to mock.
LissLiesLis 24 May 2014 #3,439My last name is Lies and I have heard it was originally spelled 'Liss'. Could the Lies/Liss family be French, Dutch, Slavic or even Ashkenazim? My ancestor was Helen Mary Lies, born November 29th, 1875 in Stillwater, Minnesota and died August 31st, 1967 in Saint Paul. She married William Henry Foster on January 2nd, 1901 in Stillwater, and she is buried in Saint Michael Cemetery, Bayport, Minnesota. Her Father was Peter Lies, born May 24th, 1826 in Haller, Luxembourg and died on May 4th, 1909 in Stillwater, Minnesota. He is also buried in Saint Michael Cemetery, Bayport. He married Mathilda Pass on July 15th, 1875 in Saint Paul and with her had Helen Mary Lies, Henry August Lies (Leis), Anna Barbara Lies, Joseph Lies and Herbert Duncan Lies. He had previously been married to Mary Julia Ehman. Mathilda Pass, Peter's second Wife, was also born in Luxembourg on March 22nd, 1851 and died on December 8th, 1944 in Stillwater. She is also buried in Saint Michael Cemetery, Bayport.It seems to me like they are of Dutch origin, but I could be wrong. 'Lies' and 'Liss' surnames are said to have many origins, and in Poland 'Liss' is a variant of 'Lis' which means Fox in Polish. 'Liss' specifically is common among Ashkenazim Jews. For you all, my question would be: What is my 'Liss' family's origin? Does anyone out there know how far back my 'Liss' family can go? Is it quite possible they were originally from Eastern Europe?Thank you all.
Astoria - | 153 24 May 2014 #3,440Lis: first recorded in Poland in 1253; from lis "fox;" very common: 30000 people named Lis live in Poland. Liss is a less popular variant of Lis ( 585). Lis and Liss are not Ashkenazic names, but any Ashkenazi person could use any Polish name.
jlbrian 27 May 2014 #3,441I am trying to find the meaning of my both paternal & maternal grandfathers' names. My paternal grandfather surname Laby came over to america after WWI. He served in the Polish national army & was from an area of southern Poland that was under the control of Austria at the time. It has been very hard to find any record of this name outside of my family. My father said it wasn't shorten at immagration when he came over.My maternal grandfather's surname was Sito. As far as I know this is the original spelling also.My great granfather came over before 1900 and was from the countryside outside of Warsaw (I think). As far as i know there are still distant realatives still on the family farm. As far as I know both were 100% polish.Thank you!Johanna
Astoria - | 153 28 May 2014 #3,442Laby: from laba "idleness, resting, truancy;" Laby as an adjective could mean "son of Laba." Currently, 173 Labys live in Poland:moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/laby.htmlSito: first recorded in 1397, from sito "sieve" or from sitowie "wetland grass-like plant called bullrush." Currently, 893 Sitos live in Poland:moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/sito.html
jlbrian 29 May 2014 #3,443Thank you that helps w/my research on my family. My grandmother died this past Decemeber so i'm trying to gather all this information to pass on to my daughters. Thanks for the links also. I was getting alot of dead ends. I guess i couldn't access the right searchs.
Looker 30 May 2014 #3,444Unfortunately not Galina, but I found several people from Mława with Galinatys surname.. Just in case it was a typo or something.
jon357 74 | 22,060 2 Jun 2014 #3,446Probably from gontarz, somebody who made and fitted roof shingles (gont).
OP Polonius3 993 | 12,357 3 Jun 2014 #3,448MISZCZAK:1. patornymic -- in the eastern borderlands of the Commonwealth Misza was a pet form of Michał/Michaił. When such a one fathered a son you could have got Miszczak (Michaelson). But you could have also got Miszuk, Misiuk, Misiak, Miszczuk, Miszewicz, Misiewicz and other variants as well.2. topo-patronymic -- someone from the village of Miszewo could have been nicknamed Misz. When he sired a son the offspring got dubbed Miszczak.
jt101484 9 Jun 2014 #3,449Thank You. I just found an wedding certificate for my father. His Dad Gontarski. His mother Kopec. Do have any thoughts on Kopec?
jon357 74 | 22,060 9 Jun 2014 #3,450It's usually spelt Kopeć here, with a ć. The word means thick smoke or fumes (it's sometimes used as slang for a cigarette!) so perhaps someone whose job was melting tar, firing bricks or making charcoal. There's also a place called Kopcia if I remember correctly so it could also come from there.