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

@DominicB
@kaprys

You both have been so helpful, so first and foremost I just want to thank you!

I'm attaching the images of the records I have. One is the marriage record for John Rog & Mary Opata - they are row 13. Looks like Roj is Rog, and Gumula is his mother's maiden name. Similarly, Lopata seems to be Opata, with Cub being her mother's maiden name. I have reached out to the church to see if they have the original wedding record that may hold where John & Mary were born and/or when they were baptized.

Also attached are the Ellis Island papers for Magdalena Supka & her children. It appears that they were detained because one of the children, Michal, was hospitalized. It also denotes that Magdalena named her husband, Josef, as her nearest relative (his last name is written as well - I don't want to speculate, but it looks like Cupke? Supke? Not sure.). I'm going to reach out to the Ellis Island people to see if they can make sense of the numbers written on the kids' rows of the passenger list (Marjanna, Jan, and Michal). There is also her detained alien record - she is row 27 - while Michal was in the hospital. Not sure if these records help uncover anything, but wanted to share what I have.

Finally, I attached the 1940 census when Peter Supka was head of the household but his mother, Magdalena, lived with him. He shows as naturalized, but Magdalena is denoted as an alien. It's my understanding, since she didn't die until 1957, that she would have had to file for citizenship. Is that correct? I couldn't find her or Peter's alien files in the national archives, but am planning to submit a request for search through the US Citizenship & Immigration office. Here's the catch - the SEARCH alone is $65, so I want to make sure I'm requesting the right info....they ask for a country selection. I've seen both Austria and Poland on their various censuses and paperwork, as Galicia is a gray space. What should I use for my search? Poland?

Thanks again!

sorry - reattaching - files were too big.

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  
• 
  
  

@crmondo
I wish I could help but it's mostly guessing.
The surname looks like Supka indeed. The same with Rog, Opata and Cub.
As for the question of Magdalena's citizenship or the country selection in your search, I really don't know.
I hope someone will be more helpful.
Good luck!

KORCZESKI

A very rare name found in Dolnośląsk.
What might be the etymology?
z góry dziękuję.

According to Wikipedia, it's derived from Korczon or Krczon - a first name used by Polekszanie ( Baltic tribe) until the 14th century.

Were these a Slavic tribe?

pl.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korczewski

sorry, that was about KorczeWski.
They were a Baltic tribe.

Thank you, Kaprys.

Korczeski seems to be isolate in the Śląsk area.

SOKOŁ

In which part of the country was this name originally found?

Everywhere. It's a common name shared by many different unrelated families.

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

PAW
One very interesting surname is «Paw.» (Eng. Peacock)
Can anyone comment on its possible origin?
i.e. How would a family name most likely derive from this animal?
dziękuję z góry.

pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/pspsj/article/view/1981

As you can see there are lots of Polish surnames identical as bird names. Perhaps someone was dumny jak paw?

Btw, in 'Ogniem i mieczem' set in 17th century Poland and written in the 19th century sokół is used to describe a brave/cunning man/warrior.

Paw has more spiritual connotations in the ancient world.
However, according to some sources, it is claimed that Peacock feathers are associated with negative outcomes.
Perhaps these interpretations are mistaken.

Does anyone know the meanings of my surname? Swiecicki or Święcicki with the diacritics. I have been able to trace my family back to around 1700 in Busk near Lwow.

The earliest use of the name Swiecicki seems to have been in the 15th Century in Mazovia. My Y-DNA testing indicates I am of N1C1 (Finno-Ugric or Baltic Prussian ancestry I believe that as Mazovian lands border on, and were originally inhabited by the old Prussian west Galindian and Yotvingian tribes, it is likely that my ancestors were assimilated into the early Polish state in chaos of the northern Crusades around 1280.

I have read that Swiecicki the family of Swiecicki belonged to Herb Jastrzebiec-Bolesta) one of thirty Polish noble clans of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The name may be derived from the estate Swiecice (Sviencitse) in Orszymowo Parish, Plock County, Mazovia District.

The Święcicki family are also a named family within the Krzywda Clan of Poland and as this has a broken (Prussian-style) cross I think this may be the correct clan for my branch of the family.

Is it common for one family to belong to two "Herbs"? Is there any way of telling which one was used by which Swiecicki? Finally how did Old Prussian/Jatwingian nobles and their retinue become Polish? Any ideas gratefully received!

you have an answer in your own question - Święcicki simply means from Święcice or of Święcice - surnames of that type were common for nobility ( a contraction of pan Święcicki in your case (the lord of Święcice)) but were not restricted to nobility (in later times when peasants were given (or adopted) surnames some ended up with surnames of that type) - if you have family records you can probably establish if your family had noble roots

the place name Święcice is not an unusual one and there may be a good couple of places named so in Poland and therefore there could have been several unrelated families bearing the surname (hence the mention of the surname in conection with various coats of arms).

as for Baltic ancestry - hmm I am not sure about it but it is quite probable that the whole north of Masovia has a Baltic genetic substratum (i.e. that there were a significant number of Slavicized Balts living in the area dating back to the migration of Slavs) - another possibility is the flux of genes because of frequent warfare including taking slaves and hostages between Prussians, Yotvingians and Polish Masovians with raids on both sides of the border - another possibility is that some splinter fraction of Prussians or Yotvingians seeked shelter on the Masovian side after the conquest of first Prussia then Yotvingia by the Teutonic knights (they would have been required to adopt christianity in that case)

Hi, my last name is Pochinski....I am curious, does anyone know what the real spelling could be? I have looked my surname up and usually there is no genealogy or description. I believe it was changed during immigration from "paczyński" but I have no proof. Any help would be appreciated.

How about Poczyński? However, it's not a verticale popular surname.

PACZYŃSKI: toponymic nickname-turned-surname generated by localties such as Paczyn or Paczyna. There were four different noble lines in the Paczyński family each with a separate coat of arms. More info at: research60@gmail

PS - Pochinski is a fairly good folk-phonetic re-spelling if one considers the American o=ah pronunciation where pot is pronounced like paht.

Or not. That is a very recent sound change that first arose after WWI far from centers of immigration and only began to spread after WWII. If the ancestor in question had immigrated before WWI, as most did, then this would be a very unlikely spelling attempt. I've never seen an "O" become an "A" in a Polish name from that time, except for names from Belarus, where "akanie" is prevalent.

[Moved from]: What is origin of surname Turala?

What is the origin of the surname Turala? Thanks

Merged:

What origin is surname Szmul?

One of my ancestors from Łódź area has surname Szmul, what is it's origin? Thanks

Szmul is a Jewish first name - a variation of Samuel, I think.

TURAŁA: one of a group of nicknames-turned-surnames derived from the past tense of verbs. In this case the verb is turać (variant forms: tulać, tułać, turlać) which means to roll somthing (a football, barrel, other rollable object, etc.). Most such names are in the feminine (-a) so Turała would literally translate as "she was rolling". The reflexive form turać się means to wander, ramble, travel aimlessly.

other examples Gwizdała (whistler), Przybył (newcomer), Mrugało (winker).

BANISZEWSKI

An uncommon name apparently dominant in the Northeast.
Any ideas as to the origin?
z góry dziekuję.

BANISZEWSKI: The -ewski and -owski endings of Polish surnames are nearly always toponymic in origin. In this case, this nickname-turned-surname is traceable to Baniszew (aka Bieniszew), a small settlement first recorded in the 14th c., built round a Camedulian monastery in Wielkopolska. As to the etymology of that locality's name, both Baniszew and Bieniszew are tracebale to Banadyk, the peasant verison of the first name Benedykt.

@Polonius3
Thank you for this interesting information. Are these references available in a single source?

Please contact: research60gmail

What is the etymology of Wawrzyńczak

@St M

It means "son of Lawrence" (Wawrzyniec in Polish).

I'm looking for information on a few surnames, and if any could possibly be Jewish. Thanks.

Zemska, Zemski, Zemsky

Rachwal

Elczuk or Elczyk