Stanisław-derived last names

If you are a Pole or a person of Polish ancestry, live in Poland or in or near a Polonian community abroad or have ever been to Poland, chances are you have encountered some of the following surnames.

STANIS£AW, derived from two Slavonic roots meaning 'glory of the camp' is not related to Stanley except for its similar sound (in Middle English the latter meant 'stoney meadow').

Stanisław has genrated various patronymic nicknames including Stanisławczak, Stanisławiak, Stanisławek and Stanisławski (from the standard form) and even more numerously from its hypocoristic (endearing, pet) versions. These inlcude Stachowiak, Stachniak, Stachowicz, Stachura and Stachacz (from Stach), Stańczak, Stankiewicz, Stańczyk, Stanecki, Staniewicz and Stanasiuk (from Stanek) and Stasiak, Stasiecki, Staśkiewicz Staszczak, Stasik, Stasiuk and Staśkowiak (from Staś).

For more information on the above and other Polish surnames please contact me

Is there any reason that some Polish last names (like Stanisław) often end up as given names as well? Is there any kind of background to why some surnames ended up at the front of the chain as well?

One explanation is that if a single person had a first name in a given hamlet, it sometimes began fucntioning as a patronymic nick passed down to his descendants as is without any special ending.

These were less common than typical patronymics. So there are surnames in Poland such as Ignac, Andrzej, Zygmunt, Wojtek, Urban, etc. but they are greatly outnumbered by their traditonal equivalents -- Ignasiak, Andzrejczak, Zygmuntowicz, Wojtczak and Urbański.

I think Stanisław was a given name first, then it became last name in various forms. I can't think of any last names which became given names

If one really scrounged about, probably some exception could be fdug up to prove the rule, but yes -- ordinarily it was the Chrsitian name that evolved into a surname.

I'm almost in tears. "Glory of the camp"...my great-granduncle Stanislaw was called "Stanley" and was the firstborn of the boys to become a Messianic Jew--the last one to do it, but the firstborn boy to do it. The weird thing is that much of the past weeks' Torah readings have had to do with the camp of Israel. I wonder if my great-great-grandparents had any idea about great-granduncle Stanley's name when they were naming him.

I very strongly doubt it. It is only linguists that worry about the etymology of names. To the average Stanisław or Stanley thjs is only another name.

How many peope named Steve know their name came from the Greek word meaning crown or garland or that Edward came from Germanic roots meaning 'guardian of inherited property' and Elisabeth traces back to the Hebrew words meaning 'God is my vow*?

I'm sure that my relatives did in some cases--Jews are very careful about naming; and if we don't pick out a name with G-d's help, G-d will pick it directly out for us. Jews like myself just do not believe in random chance--co-incidence (co incidences, incidents that happen side by side or at the same time), sure; but not random chance. Therefore, as I said and for example, "Glory of the camp"...my great-granduncle Stanislaw was called "Stanley" and was the firstborn of the boys to become a Messianic Jew--the last one to do it, but the firstborn boy to do it.

As I also said, I wonder if my great-great-grandparents had any idea about great-granduncle Stanley's name when they were naming him. To be fair, they probably didn't and would've been among the generation to die in the desert, anyway, were they born during that time. Nonetheless, Great-Granduncle Stanley was the "glory of the camp" of that family--the firstborn Messianic boy.

As for Elizabeth:


My great-great-grandparents would have known this--they were the first Anusim in that family, so they were well aware what Eliszeva (Eljszeva) or Elisheva meant. Keep in mind that they lived on a farm in Lipsk nad Biebrzą and not in a big city where the Reform, Neolog, or Polish-equivalent Reform and Neolog movements were going on--they were well versed in Torah, or at least what they knew from their clergymen ("rabbis") about Torah and Talmud Bawli (Talmud Bavli). Besides, that was why they were able to be Anusim--that is, as a friend put it, P'rushi Judaism is the Jewish equivalent of Roman Catholicism; and they could easily pretend to be Catholic as they observe the practices of P'rushi Jahadut (P'rushi Yahadut).

Besides, they picked out the Jewish spelling for "Cecilia" (Cecelia) for their youngest daughter; her (that is, Great-Great-Grandma's) name for the next-oldest daughter (Were they descended from "Marranos" and using Sefardi naming practices? I don't know; but naming after the dead is mostly or only an Ashkenazic Jewish practices.), and "Regina" for the oldest (as is far known, anyway. But they lost children who they never spoke the names of; and anyway, none of the surviving girls were named "Mary", "Maria", "Marjsia", "Marisja", "Marja", or any variant of the Virgin Mother Mary's name as used in Catholicism.).

As for "guardian of inherited property", that you mention that is interesting re "Edward"--he probably, given that he was older than Great-Granduncle Bernie, was probably Messianic first; and that's a whole other megillah.