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

TARASZEWSKI: root-word here is Taras, a popular Ukrainian first name. This could have originated either as a patronymic nick or a toponymic one.
For more info please contact me.

Hi, Any help with the surname Wybierski?

After researching I found the Wybierski surname used in 1580 and in 1610, both from Silesia. It seems this surname originated in Silesia. Today the Wybierski family lives in Katowice and Bierun, also Germany. I did get some information from Silesian contacts and they stated that Wybier means Choice. In Polish I believe it means dial but that is modern Polish.

My question: Is Wybierski a Polish Silesian surname?

Any help or other information would be most appreciated.

WYBIERSKI: from verb wybierać (to choose, select), maybe originally applied to a picky and choosey person; or topoymic tag from places like Wyborów or Wybrany; extremely rare. All its users live in the Katowice area. No coat of arms.

Thanks.

In 1765 Wybierski moved to Koszuty and Zagorow - Slupca County. From 1765 to 1820 the surname was Wybierski. In 1820 it changed to Wybieracki. Do you have any idea why it changed only in this area? If a Wybieracki moved outside the Parishes in Slupca County the surname reverted back to Wybierski. These are from actual birth, marriage and death records from Slupca County.

One other question. If Silesian dialect has a mixture of Czech would Vyber which sounds like Wybier be the same? Just asking.

Ray

Merged: Lacki meaning and origination

I am researching the Polish progenitor to South Africa, Jan Latsky (Lacki). Can anyone please tell me the origin of Lacki and what it means? Someone suggested that Lacki is derived from the name "Ladislaw"?

Any help would be much appreciated

It depends if the original had diacritical markings or not,

LACKI: probably adjectival form of Lach, the name Ruthenians called Poles.

£ĄCKI: would be a toponymic nick for someone from the village of £ącko.

Thanks for your help - so no connection to Ladislaw at all?

What about the surname Maksymezuk?

You mustt mean MAKSYMCZUK: patronymic nick for the son of Maksym(ilian); the -czuk is a typical eastern (Ruthenian) ending; indigenous Polish would be -czak or -czyk.

Various internet sites show that the Lacki family name is a bearer of each of the following clan Coat of Arms: "Jelita" "Jastrzebic" "Brodzic"

Question 1: Is it possible for one family name to be a bearer of more than one Coat of Arms?
Question 2: Which is the correct Coat of Arms for the Lacki family name?

Also, can anyone tell me what the name Laski means?

Any help will be much appreciated

No, the noble Lackis belonged to two gentry clans: Korab and an own-name clan named Lacki. It was amongst the bearers of the the £ącki family that there were 17 different noble lines including Brodzic, Brochwicz II, Jelita, Jastzrębiec, Prus and an own-name one as well. LACKI and £ĄCKI are two completely different surnames. Lacki is an adjectival form of Lach (Ukrainian for Pole) can mean "Polish" or "son of the Pole". £ącki refers to łąka (meadow) or a town called £ącko

If by family you mean people sharing the same surname then the answer is yes and the £ącki namesakes are the best example thereof. But a single line of a given family belonged to only one clan. However, at times a group of nobles broke off from thiei clan and set up an own-name one of their own.

I realise all this sounds fairly complicated. For more info please contact me.

Thanks very much for clarifying a few issues.
The person I am researching is known as Jan/John LATSKY here in South Africa and in military records obtained from the UK archives dating back to 1810. I was told by a Polish correspondent that Latsky translates to LACKI hence my enquiries about the Lacki family name.

Now that you've pointed out the difference between LACKI and £ĄCKI and the fact that I have no documented proof that Jan Latsky's original Polish name is LACKI or £ĄCKI, I'm going to have to clarify this first before continuing my research into name meanings and COA's.

I've only recently joined this forum and I must say I've thoroughly enjoyed your very enlightened input.

Latski or Latsky is a good practical way of phonetically respelling Lacki for the benefit of English and Afrikaner speakers. Spelt the original way, it would end up being pronounced like lackey meaning hired servant.

As for £ącki -- the phonetic version could be Lontski (if the hard "L" is used) of Wontski (for today's widespread £=W pronunciatio).

Thanks for clearing that up for me - much appreciated. Now to continue my search for a COA used for the Lacki family name.

looking for the origin of the name stefanski, and the region. looking for relatives who might be that area

isnt that a bit like asking on a UK forum about the origins of the name 'Stevens' or 'Stevenson'?

STEFAŃSKI: This could have originated as a toponymic tag to indicate an inhabitant of such places as Stefanów, Stefamowo, Stefanówek, Strefania, etc. or as a patronymic nick describing Stefan's son (English equivalent Stevenson).

Unfortunately, this is a fairly popular surname shared by over 18,000 Poles, so it would be next to impossible to track down one's family if the name was all one has to go on. Have you any idea of what part of Poland your ancestors were from?

The largest concentrations are found in Mazowsze, the Świętorkrzyskie region, Upper Silesia and the £ódź region.

Any info about where they were from?

There were a number of Scots and English living in Poland at the turn of the century, particularly around Lodz, I believe.

KASPERZAK: patronymic nick for the "son of Kasper"; Eng. equivalent: Casperson.

ŚMIESZNY: adj. meaning funny, comical, laughable.

Can you tell me about the name: Wyberski

Thank You.

WYBIERSKI: Wyberski does not exist. It could have come about as a mistranslation from Russian or a simple mistake of dropping out the letter"i". It comes from the verb wybierać (to choose, select, pick and choose) and could have conceivably been coinbed to describe a picky and choosy person. It is very rare used only by a dozen or so people in Poland today, all of them living in the Katowice area in the south of the country.

Ladysław is a less common version of the first name Władysław (Ladislaus in English via Latin). If it came from Ladysław, possibly nicknamed Ladzio, it would have been spelt Ladzki. However since Ladzki and Lacki are pronounced identically, it is not inconceivable that someone said Ladzki and the copyist wrote it down as Lacki. With surnames most anything is possible!

There are actually 3 people in Poland who spell their surname Ladzki. But there are some 120 Lackis.

Can you tell me about the name Wybierczy. Also, Wybierek. Thank You

WYBIERCZY: No-one in Poland uses this surname at present; if it existed, it would trace back to the verb wybierać (pick, choose, select).

WYBIEREK: This name exists; its etymology is the same; its stronghold is the Katowice area.

I came across a Polish book on Military Chaplaincy in Poland 968-1831 and it list this surname: Wyborcjusz (Wybierski/Wybierek).

Does the surname Wyborcjusz have any meaning?

The wybor past of it suggests selection, election or choice just like Wybierski and Wybierek do. But Wyborcjusz is not currently used in Poland.

Was Wyborcjusz an actual Polish name that may have been used in the Past.

The book shows that this person was born in 1574 under the surname Wyborcjusz.

Thanks for you help.

The book says his name was "Wyborcjusz (Wybierek)." This means that his real name was Wybierek, but he also used a Latinized form of his Polish name (likely Viborcius) that was Polonized back to Wyborcjusz. It was a common practice at that time to Latinize Polish names and Polonize Latin (or any foreign) names. The Latinization/Polonization was especially popular among the clergy (Wybierek was a Jesuit). Because there were no official rules on how to write one's name many forms were used. Polish astronomer Kopernik became Copernicus outside Poland through Latinization, but he used to sign his name as he pleased - depending on his mood perhaps - as Koppernigk, Nicolaus Nicolai de Torunia, Copernik, Coppernicus or Copernici. In contemporary Polish, some historical names, usually foreign, are sometimes Latinized/Polonized. For example René Descartes becomes Kartezjusz; Charles Louis de Secondat baron de la Brède et de Montesquieu becomes Karol Ludwik Monteskiusz.

All these names - Wybierek, Wybierski, Wybor, Wybiera, Wybieracki, etc. - come from the verb wybierać meaning in Old Polish primarily "to pull out, to dig up (a vegetable from the ground) or to peel (a vegetable)" rather then "to choose." According to Stankiewicz, the meaning "choose" of the verb wybierać was the basis for name Wybraniec "one chosen for compulsory military duty."

Thank you for the excellent information.

Would you know anything about the surname Pomagierski?

From Pomagier (helper); Pomagierski would be a partonymic nick for "the helper's son".