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

Are you saying we don't exist...? ;)

This was when Poland was part of East Prussia... and it originated somewhere in the Lakes region in the north. They were land owners driven out by the Prussians. But I will ask again...

And when I find out, I'm going to go back and take what's mine! (I'll give you 10% of course!) :)

Na zdrowie.

I merely stated to no-one in Poland at present uses that spelling nor any of the other hypothetical versions I listed.

Hey, no sweat, and I appreciate you looking...

It occurred to me that Polish doesn't retain the V like many other languages, and perhaps that is the Germanization of the name???

In any case, I haven't known for 30 years so I'm sure that another few months wont matter...

We have a good ancestry database facility online here, so I'll get my arise into gear and start researching.

Many thanks. :)

P.S. Do you work for the Gazeta?

Anybody know the last names of Stetz? Or, Spieski. Those are the names of my grandparents. I can't figure out the name origins. Anybody know what regions they may have come from? I can be reached at giulianogirls@gmail

Thanks, C

STETZ: German hypocoristic form of Stephan (like English Steve); adapted in Polish as Stec

SPIESKI: ??? uncertain, obscure; no users in Poland; perhaps misspelt?

"V" is not German either...the "W" is native here too.
"V" is nearly always the Anglicised version of the old central European "W". Being
adapted to the Anglo speaking USA.

So Viludski has been most probably a Wiludski back home in the old world! ;)

Apparently that doesn't exist either...

Do you know any Wiludskis yourself?

I'm guessing it's actually Widulski and my mum's alzheimers setting in! ;P

Sadly no...Google came up with that though:


And then that:


He was Russian...Is he the one you are looking for?

WIDULSKI: either from widać (able to be seen) or topo nick from Widuch, Widowo or similar.
Extremely rare (9 users in Poland).

Really? Perhaps the name was extremely regional and in an area heavily persecuted by the Prussians... It seems someone ended up going to the states, but I know for a fact that part of my branch ended up in modern day Germany...

It's almost more mysterious that there are so few remaining... Or perhaps they just weren't marriage material?? It wouldn't surprise me! ;P

Surnames shared by a very small number of people may mean that most of them:
--died heriless or emigrated;
--were stranded on ther wrong (Russian) side of the border in 1920 or 1945;
--had their name changed (inadvertently misspelt or deliberately respelt) beyond recognition.

We aren't hairy people... ;P


So I might have relatives in Russia...? or worse... America! Well that changes everything!


This sounds about right. Perhaps they were Jewish! :O

From the standpoint of a surname being used in today's Poland or not, landing on the Soviet side of the border in 1920 or 1945* would have removed someone from the Polish realm. If the last bearer of a surname emigrated or died without leaving a male heir, that would spell the end of the line. If the name got inadvertently misspelt (by a semi-literate priest, village scribe, clerk of the partitioning powers or immigration official) or purposely respelt (to facilitate pronunciation or shorten the name) -- any of those factors make tracing a name's meaning and tracking down a given family more difficult.

*However many of those stranded on the Soviet side of hte border in 1945 were subsequently repatriated to the new, small, truncated so-called 'People's Republic'.

WID

Pochodzenia starosłowiańskiego. Oznacza: dobrze widzący.
Origin: Old Slavonic, meaning: having a good sight

INNE FORMY: Widosław, Widzimierz. Forma żeńska: Wida.

NAZWISKA:
Widach, Widacki, Widajewicz, Widal, Widalski, Widański, Widasz, Widczyński, Widelski, Widenski, Widkowski, Wido, Widocki, Widoń, Widowic Widuch, Widuliński, Widulski, Widuła, Widyński, Wydz, Widzewicz, Widziadło, Widzibor, Widzibór, Widzięta, Widzik, Widzimek, Widzisławski, Widziszowski, Widzyk.

-ródło: Słownik Encyklopedyczny WIELKA KSIĘGA IMION

Słownik etymologiczny etymologia.org/wiki/Słownik+etymologiczny/widzieć

Online Etymology Dictionary

etymonline.com/index.php?term=vision

Merged thread:
Last Name Grajkowski

How about the last name Grajkowski, thanks.

GRAJKWOSKI: root-word grajek (fiddler); either patronymic nick = fiddler's son or topo nick from Grajów or Grajewo.

For more info including genealogical and family-tracing leads please contact me

NIES£AWSKI: root-word niesława (infamy, shame, disgrace)

KASPRZAK: patronymic nick from Kasper (Casper, Gaspard) = Casperson

GO£ĄB: dove, pigeon

KACHARSKI: probably misspelt Kucharski; someone may have brought the the 2 prongs of the handwritten lower-case letter 'u' to close together, leading the next copyist down the line

to mistake it for an 'a'.

For more info on the above and other Polish surnames as well as helpful genealogical and family-tracing leads please contact me

What the last Gabanski Mean?

GABAŃSKI: topo nick from the village of Gabanie (now Gaboń) in Stary Sącz district; root-word: gabać (archaic verb meaning to harrass, pester, annoy, prey on).

For more info including genealogical and family-tracing leads please contact me

Can you tell me what my last name "Wadowski" would mean?

and thank you very much for doing this!

WADOWSKI: root-word probably wada (defect, shortcoming, failing); most likely originated as a topo nick from Wadowice (JPII's birthplace).

JACKOWSKI: topo nick from Jacków or Jackowo (Hyacinthville)

KOS: blackbird or topo nick from Kosy or Kosów.

Motyka clan is associated with village Motyka

Is the clan, family name Motyka associated with village or with an occupation, Is their a coat of arms associated with surname Motyka? Please help!

Can you tell me what 'Sinkiewicz' means? I think that it was changed from 'Sienkiewicz'

I know the suffix is 'son of'

-Thanks!

Can you please help me? The surname Motyka is related to The Viilage of Motyka or due to occupation? Also is the surname motyka associated any particular clan. The reason i ask I am last of My family with no male heirs.

MOTYKA: hoe; usuallly the names of tools, household items, animals, plants and foods were among the most common nicknames applied to peasants; however when there is a locality by that name, we cannot rule out that at least in some cases the surname is of toponymic origin. No coat of arms accompanies the Motyka surname, but possible Motyka descendants named Motycki (which could mean ' son of Motyka') belonged to the Lewart (Leopard) clan are were entitled to use the following c-o-a:

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plik:POL_COA_Lewart.svg

SINKIEWICZ: variant spelling of Sienkiewicz

Not necessarily as this form exist in Poland and is derived from the root word (siny) meaning livid (as in the colour or the skin when it's bruised) or perhaps from eastern Slavic name (Sinia), Polish equivalent Siemion. Of course that would only be the case if you're absolutely sure that the spelling of your surname has not been altered over the years.

What does the surname Zalecki mean? Is it a name derived form a town or family.

Ś£ĘĆ-KĄ

ZA£ĘCKI: root components za (beyond) and łęka (regional for meadow) or łęk (arch, trough, syncline). Either topographic (less likely) to identify someone living on the other side of the meadow or trough (less likely); or toponymic for a resident of Załęcze (more probable).

ŚLĘCZKA: from verb ślęczeć (to pore or agonise over books, papers, documents); the regional term ślęczka was used to describe someone not invited to a wedding who could only to peer through the cracks to see the festivities inside.

My grandmother's maiden name was "Bil" also seen it "Biel" from Bykowce Poland and around Sanok. Her father's name was Jakub Bil and her mother's maiden name was Wojnarowski from Olchowce Poland which is also near Sanok. Could there be a connection between your family and mine?

BIL: Ukrainian for biel (whiteness); possibly topo nick from Bilczów, Bilno, Bilsko (whiting, Whiteville)

WOJNAROWSKI: from German name Woiner derived from Wagner (wagonner, cartwright); probably topo-patronymic from Wojnarowa. The father was called Wojnar and his son became Wojnarowicz.