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

WARCZAKOSKI

[Moved from]: surname Brenczuk?

Any informacion about surname Brenczuk?

BRENCZUK: Only Brenczuków is used in today's Poland. Origin uncertain, obscure, unclear. The only bren root in Polish is a borrowing from German brennen (to burn). The -czuk is an eastern patronymic indicator. There are localities in Poland called Brenna and Brenica which might have produced the topo nick Bren. When he father a son: instant Brenczuk! But this is only a wild a guesstimate. And why Brenczuków whcih soudns mroe like a palce-name than a surname?

WARCZAKOWSKI: probabyl topo nick from Warcz. Perhaps someone from there was called Warczak, and when he fathered a son -- Warczakowski.

[Moved from]: Looking for info on the name HOROCHEIFSKA...

Hello, I am from the USA. My mother was born in Poland. She's past away many years ago. Her maiden name was Horochiefska. Honestly I'm not real sure that is the correct spelling. My mother was a concentration camp survivor and I often have suspected that she altered the spelling so no one would go after any of her remaining family. She came from a town called L'VOV. Then after the war it was L'WOW. I might have that backwards. Anyway any help would be appreciated. Thanks

HORACZEWSKi: Probably topo of Ukrainian origin from Horaczew/Goraczew); indigenous Polish equivalent would be Góraczewski or Goraczewski; root-word góra (hill).

MACHNIC is rare but exists (3 bearers); Machnica is more common (183). Could well have been os Scottish origin.

It is possible that the person with this surname originally came from Warcza
mapy.eholiday.pl/mapa-warcz-trabki_wielkie-pruszcz_gdanski.html

It may be Machnicz which is a Lemko surname: lemko.org/genealogy/krasovskiy/namesUS.html

Also spelled: Makhnych

Warczak could have hailed from Warcza and his son could have become Warzakowski.
Or maybe, Warczak was a nickname for someone who constantly growled at people (warczeć=to growl). But his son would have been dubbed Warczakowski all the same.

That makes sense as they came from near Hummene in Slovakia and spoke "Slavish".

Here's an interesting one for you (or at least I think so):

My ancestor's name is John Lucka. He came to the US under the name Jan Lucki. On his St. Albans manifest, his father is listed as Lucka Wawrzyniac. Any idea why he would use his father's first name as his last name?

I haven't found his Canadian manifest yet, so I don't know if he arrived in Canada under Lucki or Wawrzyniac.

Many thanks as usual!

Kristen

That explanation sounds quite plausible. There were many Lewandowski's that immigrated to Toledo, Ohio from 1870 to 1890. Most Poles that settled in Toledo came from that area, especially from the villages near Żnin. My grandfather (Drzewiecki) was from Wenecja and was conscripted into the Prussian Army in 1885 and served until 1888. I have his military papers that he carried with him which is written in German and stamped with the official seal of the Prussian Empire.

Lucka or £ucka may have been pet versions of Lucyna (Lucille) or £ucja (Lucy). Wawrzyniac does'nt sound right, and no-one in today's Poland uses that spelling. There are a number of people surnamed Wawrzyniec (Lawrence). Could be that the document, if hand-written in that fancy European script, was misread, the e appearing to be an a.

I think you're right. I looked at the original manifest, and it's an "e." Also, it was written last name first (Lucka, Wawrzyniec).

Thank you!

Hey, if you find any information about the name lubaszewski please let me know. I am really starting to get into my heritage and am interested if anyone has any information.

Thanks,
Robert T. Lubaszewski Jr.

LUBASZEWSKI: more likely than not originated as a topo nick for someone from Lubasz, Lubaszew or Lubaszewo. The 'lub-' root indicates love, affection, liking, etc. hence Lovington, Loveville...

I am looking for any information on the the following last names;

Najwert

Razna

Radowska

Any information would be very helpful, thank you.

NAJWERT: polonised version of German surnames Neiwert or Neuwert

RA-NY: now archaic adj. meaning timely, beneficial, lively, spritly

RADOWSKI: topo nick from Radowo or Radów (Counselton, Gladbury)

The spelling was changed in 1909 from Butvilofski

[Moved from]: Descendents of Czesław Ira in Chicago?

Well are there any? My little Ms.'s father wants to find a long lost family member. This is all the information I got. Anyone know of anyone with the last name "Ira" that came from Zapolice born around 1926 (ish)?

Thank you for information.

what does lontkowski mean?

BUTWI£OWSKI(?): The closest surnames used in Poland is Butwiłowski; others include Butwił, Butwiłło, Butwiło and Butwiłowicz and. The –owski ending usually indicates a topo nick; possible root-word butwieć=to rot, mildew; butwiałka refers to a piece of rotting wood that has fallen off a tree.

LONTKOWSKI: possible root-word lont (fuse – originally from German loan-word Lunte);
or topo nick from £ądek, misspelt or phoneticcally re-spelt.

I've never encountered anyone surnamed Ira, but here is the distribution of the 112 Iras in today's Poland. Maybe it'll help you track down the one you're looking for:

Wa:11, BB:2, By:1, Cz:11, JG:3, Ka:28, Ki:1, Lg:1, Ls:2, Op:17, Pt:13, Ra:1, Sz:3, To:7, Wb:8, ZG:3
Śląsk (Silesia) encompassing Katowice, Częstochowa and Opole appears to be their main stronghold.

I have two I’d like to know the meaning of:

BIENKOWSKI
WOJTAL

Thanks, P3!

BIEŃKOWSKI: root-wiord Benedykt (hypocoristic form Bieniek); topo nick from Bieńki, Bieńków or similar (Bennyville)

WOJTAL: one of many derivatives from either the first name Wojciech/Wojtek or the word wójt (village mayor)

Thank you, P3, you are indeed a wealth of information. But now I have further questions…

Do I recall seeing somewhere that there was a Polish mayor or president or pope or something with a name very similar to “WOJTAL”? I know I’ve see mention of it somewhere around PF but I can’t find the thread just now.

And what does “topo nick” mean? I don’t understand this abbreviation.

Also, what does this mean?:


I know you’ve explained the meaning of “-owski” before, but if you could again…

A toponymic nickname is oen based on someone's palce of residence. Eglish does this to a limited degree (Londoner,Chicagoan, Bostonian, etc.), but Polish extends this to even the smallest hamlets.

So Józef Bieńkowski would mean the Józef from Bieńki or Bieńków.

What does "Dowgiewicz" mean if anything?

DOWGIEWICZ: the one certain thing here is that this is a patronymic nickname, indicating the son of someone. That someone may be Dowgird, the Polish version of the Lithuanian name Daugirdas. The "daug" syllable in Lithuanian means "much" and "gird" has to do with hearing, so Daugirdas may have originally meant something like "all-hearing". But my knowledge of Lithuanian is limited, so maybe someone else will have a better explanation.

My last name is Stapor, and I've seen it spelled 'Stąpor' if I dig around on the internet too. I'm just wondering what this means, because I can't find anything about the name.

a girl that I like really much got the last name: Kaczocha