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

Most likely. Don't forget that the Slavic names got written down by non-Slavs at Ellis Islannand other ports of entry. That probably attests to the anomaly of the Polish cz in a Czech name instead of the Czech è. To America's Anglo and Irish im migration officials Slavic names probably looked like an unintelliglible jumble of consonants.

I understand. I've done some further digging, and I've encountered two more names that I'd like to tell you about. One is Tabaj, and the other is Goral. I've also seen Rataj. Are these names Polish?

TABAJ: Possibly dervied from the Hebrew name Tobiasz. The a instead of an o in the first syllable may indicate a Belarussian pronunciation. Or a topo nick from some such locality as

Tabaszowa. The -aj is a common Polish ending, eg hultaj (good for nothing)

GÓRAL: highlander, dweller of a moutnain area; in Sielsia used to mean every non-Sielsian outsider, whether from the hills or Kashubia or Białystok...

That's very interesting. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. What do you think about Kubeczkova? There's also someone in the family by the name of Gałgonek.

KUBECZKOWA: Kubeczkova would be the wife of Kubeczek (literally little mug or cup).
Kubeèek and Kubeèkova would be the Czech equivalents. Your Kubeczkova is a kind of hybrid spelling.

GA£GONEK: variant spelling of Gałganek (little rag, tatter) - perhaps a nick for a beggar or homeless soul wearing threadbare clothes or maybe a rag collector.

UNKA: probably the hypocoristic (endearing pet) form of Unisława, a rare first name used by on 12 ladies in all of Poland today. Although Unka is not used by anyone in today's Poland as a surname, there are 49 people named Unkiewicz - a patronymic nick meaning son of Unka.

JONKA: This surname is used by only 11 people in Poland today. It looks to be a short Polonised form of the Lithuanian-rooted surname Jonkaitis, dervied from Jonas (Lithuanian for John).

LESZKIEWICZ: patronymic nick = son of Leszek

ZALESKI: toponymic nick from Zalesie (Edgewood) or a topographic one for someone living on the other side of the forest

SZUMA: szuma, szumawa and szum all suggest the rustling of leaves, the sough of swaying tree-tops, murmur of rapidly flowing water or the swoosh of the sea. Could have origianated as a toponymic nick for someone from Szumanie or Szumowo.

SZUMSKI: patroynmic nick = son of Szuma.

ODYNIEC: the male of the wild boar; also a clan-name in Polish heraldry (there is an Odyniec coat of arms).

PRZYBY£A: Also Przybył and Przybyło come form the verb przybyć (to arrive). It was often a nick for a newcomer to the village or, as we might say today, the new guy on the block.

Would you be able to help me out with a few names? I only know the english spelling...

Bernat

Gembinski

Markowicz

Sech is my mother's maiden name(last name) Is the some meaning of her last name

SECH: It might be of non-Polish (eg German or Yiddish) origin. If of ethnic Polish origin, it could be related to the past tense verb sechł (he was drying off) which is pronounced exactly like sech (the final ł is silent). Or perhaps it arose as a topo nick from the village of Sechna in Małopolska.

BERNAT: Czech form of the German first name Bernhard or Bernard; the more Polish equivalent is Biernat but Bernat is also used as a surname in Poland.

GEMBIŃSKI/GĘBIŃSKI: root-word gęba - vulgar term for mouth or face (mug, yap, snout). Probably topo nick from Gębiny

MARKOWICZ: patronymic nick = Marcson, Marcuson (Mark's son).

zeslawski with a - onthe z
according to what you are saying the name is from zeslawice near krakow ?
i went there and there is notrace of our name. in the area of walkonwy dolne ,zelislawice
the name is quite common but spelt with a dot above the z i have asked many times why this is so but cannot get to find out where the name comes from

your help most welcome

Hello. What is the meaning of Praglowski? Thank you.

PRAG£OWSKI: -owski names are geenrally topo nicks, so this would be a way of identifying someone from Pragłów or Pragłowo. Meaning of pragłow- root is obscure. (Sounds like pre-head or proto-head whatever that might mean?!)

ZES£AWSKI: topo form Zesławice, a Kraków district. No dot (ż) over the z, btu it amy have got inadvertently added over the generations, maybe during the partitions. Zesławice means the place settled by the Zesław boys. Both Zesławski and Żesławski exist in todays Poland.

I am so lost with my family history, I need help. My family last name is "Auberzinski" I have half of my uncles that spell it "Auberzinsky" then I found a record of "Aubersinsky" and a record of "Aberzinski" and they are all relatives. I also found a record of "Rubersinsky" It is the same father mother and kids. I need help. I was told that the family name was shorted when coming to the states. They immigrated in 1892.

Where the Auberzinskis of ethnic Polish nationality?

Banaszak

Thanks so much. Really helpful. I now use this knowledge in my Maori mihi. Sonia

Being a fist generation American I still feel deep ties to the lands of my parents and grandparents but unfortunatly I have not been able to find a meaning or translation for my surname Kwasniewicz. My brother once told me he spoke with my grandfather about our family history briefly before he passed away a few years ago and all he could remember is that our family had been blacksmiths or something of the sort. I would greatly appreciate any information anyone can share.

Mkwas343@UWSP.edu

KWAŚNIEWCZ: This is a surname of patronymic origin (the -wicz tells us that!). IT means son of Kwaśny (the sour guy). Was he called that because of his constant sour puss or maybe he hailed from Kwaśno or Kwaśniów (Sourville, Sourton)? The nickname probably emerged centuries before your grandparents were born and it is unlikely to be indciative of their occupations.

BANASZAK: patronymic from Banach, peasant form of the first name Benedykt, so it means Benny's boy.

Thanks allot for the information. I realy do appreciate the insight to the origins of my surname. It is interests me that the meaning of the kwasny portion relates to "sour puss" as that niether my father nore my grandfather were particularly handsome in referance to deep frown lines along the sides of the mouth and down to the chin. I suppose I am a bit surprised at the accuracy of the depiction. Thanks again.

I have been researching an ancestor's surname Wikaryasz, but I'm having trouble finding much information on it. Any ideas what the meaning/origin is? Any help is appreciated.

WIKARYASZ: root-word wikary (vicar - priest who assists the rector or pastor of a parish). The Wikaryasz surname has been registered in Poland but no-one uses it at this time. There are a few people named Wkiarusz and Wikarski. Probably arose to identify the bastard son of a local priest. Men fo the cloth also had their human weaknesses and failings.

hi i am a friend of steve and my last name is kluk and i was just wondering what the mean of that is? is it polish?

KLUK: possibly derivative of kluka - a pole with a hook at the end of it for drawing water from a crane-type well, suspending a cookpot over a campfire, etc. or topo nick from Kluki or Klukowo.

[Moved from]: last name Buretta

Does anyone know anything about the last name "Buretta"? Thanks!

Mine is of Old Polish Language origin, word "Lach" or "Lech" and means "Pole" in old polish

[Moved from]: are there any Dowgiert out there?

Father was born in USA Grandparents ????? Went back to Poland around 1920

DOWGIERT: one of seveal variatn spellings of Dowgird, the Polish version of the Lithuanian name Daugirdas. In Lithuanian the name means much news, many tidings, etc.

BURETTA: Looks to be an Italian surname; a buretta is a cruet; perhaps it originated as a nick for a glassware maker; unless it is a deformed version of beretto (cap-maker) - that is where we get the word beret; or maybe a topo nick from the Italian locality of Buretto.

SOKO£OWICZ: -wicz = patronymic; a nick for the son of someone called Sokół, either through some association with falcons or becuase he hailed from some such place as Sokołów (most likely).

KRZYSIK: probbaly origianted as a patronymic nick fiom Krzysztof (Christopher). But one cannot rule out a toponymic source such as Krzyszkowice or Krzyszkowo.

[Moved from]: Looking for Teodorowski?

I am looking for family of Marian Teodorowski married to Mathilda. They had 3 children, Artur, born January1925, Irena, the older sister and 1 younger sister. I live in Australia and am the daughter of Artur. I would also like to know where the name Teodorowski came from. Would apprec anyone,s help. thanks

TEODOROWSKI: topo nick from Teodorowo (many such places in Poland) or Teodorów (several such localities) = Theodoreville.

Powałowski? I was always told by my father it meant 'close to the ceiling,' as in we had tall ancestors?

Hi All,
I am new to the forum and Polish genealogy....searching for meaning to the surname, Ciesiolka--family uses the American name Sankey, which makes no sense to me. What did all the immigrants do, get together and agree on a name for the family to use? Seems kind of random. Thanks for any help.