However, as Kaprys said in an earlier post, some of these old names are coming back.
Don`t be ridiculous, Kaprys wasn`t talking about Dennis or sth like that. She meant the come back of old fashioned names which were popular long ago, e..g, Franciszek or Antoni, one of most popular today. Your reading comprehension sucks.
The most common non-Polish male first names in Poland that I'm aware of (having identical spellings in English, most having slightly different pronunciations Polish):
Adam, Adrian, Alan (a contestant on Voice of Poland V, not sure if common name in Poland), Damian, Daniel, Donald, Edward (not sure if I've seen the spelling Eduard on Polish male), Fabian, Gabriel, Herbert, Hubert, Norbert, Robert, and Sebastian...that's all I can think of, so far
Not sure about these English-spelled non-Polish male first names (I'd guess most likely unpopular in Poland, most having only slight differences in pronunciations): Albert, Alfred, Alton, Barton, Bradford, Brandon/Branden, Brendan/Brendon, Brent/Brenton, Bret, Daryl, Douglas, Dylan, Edgar, Edmond/Edmund, Fergus, Frank/Franklin, Gilbert, Grant, Harold, Karl/Karlton, Kent, Kurt, Lars, Leonard, Liam, Logan, Manuel, Marlon, Nelson, Osborn, Piers, Ralf, Randolf, Raul, Reuben/Ruben, Roland, Ronald, Samuel, Sterling, Stuart, and Trent/Trenton...that's all that comes to mind
Adam, Robert, Daniel, Damian or Sebastian might not be originally Slavic but the're common in Poland and elsewhere in Europe. The same applies to lots of other Christian names.
In the past, you had to give your child a Christian name (if you were Catholic). In certain parts of Poland they were even written in Latin in church books - so Michał was registered as Michael, Zofia - Sophia etc. Still they were called Michał or Zofia by their families.
As for names I have seen in the 19th century church books, it's quite surprising how many are still used today. Those who are really uncommon now are for sure Wawrzyniec and Salomea.
As for names from the last paragraph Alfred, Albert or Edmund are rare but used. Frank is Franciszek (Franek ) - very popular now.
Yes the names I listed in that last paragraph are of English/non-Polish origin, but I would guess most likely having identical spelling both English & Polish (having either similar or slightly different pronunciations between English and Polish). And so I listed only first names that are a combination of consonant letters that are pronounced identically both English and Polish such as letters b, f, "Polish g", k (not ck), m, p, s (not sh/si/sz), and z (not cz/dz/dzi/rz/sz/zi)...that, combined with consonant letters that are pronounced more strongly in Polish than English such as d (not dz/dzi), h (only as first letter), l, n (not ni), r (not rz), and t (not th)...and then lastly combined with non-nasal vowels having same or different pronunciations English and Polish (very few of the listed names having letters i or y). So you'll notice all the names I listed have no accented letters nor letters c, ch, "English soft g", j, and w...plus none having pronunciations equivalent to Polish rz/ż/zi/ź
In English-language countries, the first name Frank is used both as shortened for Francis/Franklin etc and also as a standalone first name...also as a surname, most famously Anne Frank.
Other non-Polish male first names I forgot to add to that last paragraph's list: Alastair/Alistair (sp), Angus, Arnold, Bernard, Bertram/Bertrand, Ernest, Glen, Gordon, Hans, Helmut, Herman, Horton, Ian, Norman, Randal, and Rupert
These days - yes! But for the generation one or two earlier than the parents of today names such as Franciszek will always be associated with elder people. My grand-dad's name, for example, was Franciszek, and my great grand-mother's name was Franciszka. Thus, I have always thought these names were meant for very old people only!
The name of my grand-dad's father was Kacper and it is also a name that has been revived recently.
My grandfathers' names were Jan and Franciszek - both names are often given to babies now. My great grandfathers were Antoni, Ignacy, Marian and Walenty . The last two are not used today but Antoni and Ignacy are. Surprisingly enough lots of names used in my family in the 19th century that are still popular like Łukasz, Wojciech, Szymon, Krzysztof, Michał, Stanisław or Maciej. Plus I have two Wawrzyniecs; ) but one was born in the 18th century; )
I have question about the Polish names Jan and Janusz, is Jan a short form of Janusz? Or are Jan and Janusz two separate names? Or can Jan be both a standalone first name and short form of Janusz?
Thanks for answering my question Re: Jan/Janusz. I had a previous question lost in the shuffle, are female first names with sława ending considered outdated and not making comebacks in Poland? (I'm guessing that's correct) The only Polish women I know with sława first names are 50+ yrs old
I'm not sure about the female version Sławomira (I don't think I've ever seen that name on any Polish woman of any age, much less one from age groups ranging from youngster to young adult) but there was a contestant Voice of Poland IV in 2014 named Sławomir and he looked to be in his 20s at most early 30s. I think he's the only contestant having that name on any season of that TV program, from what I remember
If English/non-Polish first names are generally frowned upon in Poland (especially non-biblical names), then how & why is it that male first names such as Adrian, Damian, Robert etc are widely popular in Poland? (my longer list of most common English/non-Polish male first names in Poland is 1st paragraph of my Post #65)
And shown below is my list of English/non-Polish male first names, whose traditional English spellings & pronunciations would be most compatible with traditional Polish spellings & pronunciations (all names of which I'm sure would most likely be highly unpopular/frowned upon in Poland. My longer list of such names is bottom paragraph of my Posts #65 and #67). You'll notice how none of the listed names have letter h nor r (certain other letters also absent), no double letters, and very few names having letters i or y. Please feel free to add to my lists!
Angus, Alton, Aston (as in, Aston Martin), Dalton, Denton, Desmond (although many Anglophones pronounce that name's letter s as z), Douglas, Dylan, Edmond/Edmund, Elton, Glen, Ian, Kent (yes I know, Polish spelling & pronunciation rule is "i before e, after letters k & g"), Liam, Logan, Nelson, and Stetson. That's all I can think of for now...
Adrian is of Latin origin, Damian is of Greek origin and Robert is of Germanic origin. So they're not actually English names. ... You can find patron saints of these names are they're more or less popular all over Europe including Poland.
So is or was Edmund like (Edmund) Muniek Staszczyk. Ian is a form of John just like Polish Jan is. The name is of biblical origin and actually John is just a form of it too
They're definitely not frowned upon. Some names are just popular and some are not, just like lots of boys named Olivier, Oskar or Marcel in Poland now. As for other names you mentioned, you may also wonder why Mirosław isn't a popular name in Scotland just like Angus isn't in Poland.
Honestly speaking, some of the names you mentioned are totally new to me so I wonder how popular they are in English speaking countries.
I did refer to those listed names as being "English/non-Polish"...so in other words, not necessarily "exclusively English", plus equally emphasizing on the fact that they're also non-Polish
Honestly speaking, some of the names you mentioned are totally new to me so I wonder how popular they are in English speaking countries
The 2nd list is something I did just for fun, I just listed traditional & non-traditional English/non-Polish male first names whose traditional English spellings & pronunciations would be most similar (if not identical) to traditional Polish spellings & pronunciations. I'd guess that most of the listed male first names on the 2nd list would most likely be unpopular in Poland (the least unpopular name on the list being Edmond/Edmund).
Many of today's English/non-Polish male first names (especially "new-age"/"trendy" male first names, many of which are in the 2nd list) are named after English/non-Polish surnames (except the name Ian, which I think is only a first name and not surname), geographical/urban locations in Anglophone countries (Alton, Dalton, Denton, Kent, Logan, etc), famous people (Bob Dylan, Desmond Tutu, Dylan Thomas, Elton John, Liam Gallagher, Liam Neeson, Nelson Mandela, etc), fictional characters ("Clark Kent" from the "Superman" movies and the American TV show "Smallville", "Dylan McKay" from the American TV show "Beverly Hills 90210", etc), and even brand names (Aston Martin is a sports car, and Stetson is the name of a type of cowboy hat and also brand name of men's cologne). The name "Stetson" as a first name is most likely unpopular outside the USA and Canada, and is far more common as a surname than first name
Yes my list in the last paragraph of my Post #78, they're those new "trendy" Anglophone North American (especially USA) first names over these last 50 yrs give-or-take, some famous males have those first names (mostly American actors/musicians, politicians, pro athletes etc...and/or sons of). All of which are also names of geographical/urban locations mostly in USA (I think Kent is in UK, but there's most probably at least one American town also with that name), and also surnames & brand names (other American examples are the new-age/trendy first name "Mercedes", which I've seen most commonly American females...plus the unisex first name "Dakota", which would be pronounced identically both English & Polish, although most Anglophones in USA and Canada inadvertently pronounce the letter t in that name as letter d)
As I mentioned earlier, I listed those names in the last paragraph just for fun, to demonstrate which English names with traditional English spelling & pronunciation would have identical spelling in traditional Polish spelling, combined with same-or-similar traditional Polish pronunciation. And so you'll notice that I used only consonant letters that are pronounced identically in both English and Polish, such as b (no English "silent b"), d (no di/dzi), f, g (no gy), k (no ky), l (no ly), m, n (no ni), p (no ph, no English "silent p"), s (no sc/sch/sh/si/sz, no "silent s"), t (no th/ti), and z (no cz/dzi/rz/sz/zi...although this time I didn't even use z at all because not a traditionally-common letter in most English first names). Plus I rarely used vowels i and y, which I used only if they complied with Polish spelling & pronunciation rules (for example no di/ri/ti and no gy/ky/ly in spelling, and only Polish pronunciations of i and y such as "Ian", "Liam", and "Dylan"). You'll also notice no silent letters, no double letters, and obviously no accented letters
Another male first name I forgot to add to the list in the last paragraph is the male first name "Eliot" (although more commonly spelled in Anglophone countries as "Elliott"/"Elliot". All 3 versions pronounced identically)
In Poland, are Polish brand names ever used as first names (or vice-versa)? Or at least, have outdated/unpopular Polish first names ever been used as brand names, and therefore causing resurgence in those first names' popularities? (I'm guessing the answer is no to both questions?) What are the most common reasons in Poland why some first names that were previously considered outdated/unpopular become popular again? (example: Polish celebrities such as actors/musicians, athletes, etc naming their children such names? Or other reasons?)
Oh and before I forget, I just now came across another (also outdated/unpopular in most countries) male first name to add to my list Post #78: "Lancelot"...one of the few times a non-Polish letter combination ce is pronounced identical to Polish ce. (The only major pronunciation difference is that Lancelot is traditionally pronounced with first-syllable emphasis, therefore different from the Polish pronunciation norm of emphasizing 2nd syllable of 3-syllable names & words)
I take it that Ludwik is one of those outdated/unpopular Polish (male) first names, and not making a comeback? (Not that I think the dish soap could help with that...if anything, maybe the name Ludwik is unpopular at least partially because of the dish soap LOL)
And from what I remember, one of the most famous Lechs is a Polish former president...and so, which came first, him or the beer? (and I'm guessing neither is named after the other?)
And I recognize the name Michał from the brand name of the chocolate, is that a popular brand in Poland?
And also, have any Polish first names ever originated from fictional characters and/or locations? Two very common English-language examples are the female first names Wendy (the character Wendy Darling from early 1900s "Peter Pan" written by a Scottish author...and now also an unrelated fast-food hamburger chain, not sure if there's Wendy's in Poland?) and Tara (a plantation-type location from the American 1930s film "Gone With the Wind")
