THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME?

Likely sources of Rybczyński might also be 2 villages called Rybczyzna (in Mazowsze and Podlasie) as well as 2 called Rybczewice in the Lublin region.

Is there any history on the names Gorak and Studzinski?

GÓRAK: root-word góra (mountain, hill); hill-dweller, less common form of góral (highlander); also topo nick from one of many localities called Góra.

STUDZIŃSKI: root-word studzić (to cool, chill); eg studzienina (jellied pig's trotters); toponymic surname from Studziny, now in Ukrainian-occupied SE Poland.

Thanks for the replies guys, did a bit of digging and turns out Rybczynski was a surname which was a part of the Grzymala clan. Should probs look into the full history of my family, may be quite interesting..

Polonius, I would remain silent in case of "occupied" as I have enough of such Ukrainophobic "patriots", so I say only something about root of "Studziński". Studziński is a surname of nobility family ("szlachta") - there is no reason in looking for roots in meaning, due to fact that these surnames came from the name of settlement. "Studzić" has nothing to do with it.

Post Scriptum: There is also a surname "Gorak" as Fleetdavis mentioned. So if he said "Gorak" why are you so sure about "ó"? :)

Pawel, I'm glad I could help. Good luck in your research :)

You mean like the former German provinces of East Prussia, Silesia and Pomerania which are now "in Polish-occupied East Germany"? Are you hoping for another world war, or what is wrong with you?

Indeed, there is a surname Gorak, probably from the Old Polish verb gorać (to burn); gorak cold have been a nickname for
someone burnt out of house and home, the more common form of which is pogorzelec. Several dozen people in Poland use the Gorak surname, over 2,000 sign themselves Górak.

While with surname most everything is possible. After all, the original nicknamers were not university professors but simple, illiterate peasants. Nevertheless, a village called Rybka or Rybki should have generated Rykowski, not Rybczyński.

Does anyone have any info on the surname Kulewski? I am Kuler but apparently Kuler (possibly originating from Kohler/Kuhler), Kulerski and Kulewski could all be related?

Thanks.

KULEWSKI: could have originated as a toponymic nick from villages called Kule; it could have been a nickname for kulas (limpy); and it could have been a misspelling of Kulerski. Back in the day when illiteracy was widespread, misspellings were in the course of recopying were not uncommon

Aha, thank you! I assume that Kulerski simply means 'of the Kuler/s' and the names are essentially the same?

You can't leave out kohenic surnames if you're focusing on Levitic surnames.

LEWANDOWSKI: toponymic from Lewandów -- once a village outside Warsaw, now a section of the right-bank suburb of Białołęka. Lewandów would roughly translate as Lavenderville.

Surname Jasiak (also have Janick Jaseak Jasick and Jozwiak ) in same part of family tree. Would the name have to do with where they were from? I have also seen Josef Jasiak and later Joseph. Do you have any input on why two brothers would take different spellings to the same name?

All those names (some badly misspelt) originated as patornymic nicks, so they reflect not where someone was from (a toponymic) but who his father was.

JASIAK: from Jaś or Jasio (pet form of Jan) = Johnson; Jaseak and Jasick are misspellings.
JANIK: another patronymic derived from Jan
JÓ-WIAK: patronymic derived from Józwa, peasant form of Józef.

More info on the above at: research60@gmail

Merged: Origins of the names Bojdo and Pabijan.

I am close my family in Poland and have been to Poland many times so I don't need help tracing the town where my family comes from. I was just wondering if anyone would no the origins of my surnames Bojdo and Pabijan (pronounced boydo and pabian).

I have theories about Bojdo, maybe it's of vlachs origins and were passed on through gorals. I am a southern pole, my parents are from brzesko, 60 kilometers south east of krakow. My family is very dark complected, we look more eastern than most poles, and some family members have a very asiatic flavor to their faces. Thanks if you post anything.

Hi all the Surazynski names are from Suwałki area.

SURAŻYŃSKI: topo nick from Suraż in Podlasie.

PABIJAN: a dialectal alternative of the first name Fabian.

BOJDO: This is trickier. Could have been derived from old Polish bojeć się (to be afraid) as a nick for a timid, easily frightened person; or maybe a topo tag from places like Bojanay, Bojanów and similar; BTW there is a town in Germany called Boyda.

Can anyone shed light on the Surname Żółkiewicz?

Żółkiewicz is connected with yellow color - "żółty" in Polish. That's all I can tell.

Could there by chance be any connection to the city Żółkiew (currently Zhovkva)?

Basically, it means "the son of the little yellow guy". Not a common name. Probably everyone with that name is related to you one way or another. Most common around Sanok in southeastern Poland. See:

moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/%25C5%25BC%25C3%25B3%25C5%2582kiewicz.html

May have originated slightly to the east in what is now the Ukraine. Perhaps connected with the place called Żółkiew in Polish, now Zhovkva in Ukrainian, about 60 miles east of Sanok. See:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhovkva

But that is far from certain.

Cool! Thanks for the info!
I have a few more questions you may be able to help me with.

My great, great grandparent immigrated to Canada they put their birthplace as "Poland, Krywenki" I can't seem to find a settlement by that name. Has one ever existed by your knowledge?

They listed their relatives in Poland being at this location. "W.Krzywenki, P. Towstenki, Pow. Koyczynce, Poland"
Which I was able to find Kopychyntsi in Ternopil Oblast Ukraine.

To give you a time frame these were the dates of arrival for three family members.
1926, 1927, 1933

Do you have any input by chance?

It is Krzyweńkie in Polish, and Кривеньке (Kryvenhke) in Ukrainian. It is a village located in Ukraine -> parish Sidoriv -> Kopychyntsi county -> Chortkiv Raion -> Ternopil Oblast .

Thank you! You guys are the best.

Missed a letter. It would be Krzywieńkie in Polish. For such a tiny village (500 people) it has quite a write up on the Ukrainian Wikipedia:

uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B5

That is a big page. Hahaha
Can anyone put this into decent english?
Минали десятиліття, а становище селян залишалося по- колишньому жахливим. В 1920 році Кривеньке перейшло з-під панування габзбургських баронів під владу панської Польщі. Злигодні, темрява змушували кривенчан залишати своє село і їхати світ за очі в пошуках кращого життя. За вісімнадцять років (1920-1938) більше 100 хліборобів емігрували в Канаду, Аргентину, США.

Google translate makes
Стойко Анни
Stojko Anna
Is that correct?

ŻÓ£KIEWICZ: 99% of the time the -wicz ending is a patronymic indicator; some modern exceptions like majsterkowicz (do-.it-yourselfer) and przytakiewicz (yesman) are irrelevant to Polish omnomastics. Someone from such localities as Żółkiew or Żółkiewka got called Żółko and when he fathered a son: presto, instant Żółkiewicz!

Meaning and origin of last name Przepiora

PRZEPIÓRA: quail, a smallish game bird that is excellent eating; nickname-turned-surname could have originated as a toponymic tag from Przepiórów (Quailton, Quailville); a coat of arms went with a Przepiórkowski who could have been a Przepióra descendant.

Do you know the history of the name Taraszewski? I am trying to find the surname,meaning or coat of arms?