The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by Polonius3  

Joined: 11 Apr 2008 / Male ♂
Warnings: 1 - Q		 Last Post: 9 Apr 2018
Threads: Total: 980 / Live: 115 / Archived: 865
Posts: Total: 12275 / Live: 4521 / Archived: 7754 		From: US Sterling Heigths, MI
Speaks Polish?: yes
Interests: Polish history, genealogy

Displayed posts: 4636 / page 103 of 155
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Polonius3   
15 May 2013
Genealogy / Domino Family - immigrated to Chicago area from Poland [7]

DOMINO, DOMIN and similar are derived from the first name Dominik (English Dominic), originally from Latin Dominicus (lordly). SE Poland's Rzeszów region is the main Domino stronghold.
Polonius3   
13 May 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

PYZALSKI: Root is pyzaty (chubby-cheeked), and such a one might have been humorously nicknamed Pyzalski. However most names with the adjectival ending -ski are of toponymic origin, so this could have emerged to identify a resident of Pyzy in Podlasie or Pyzówka in Małopolska
Polonius3   
13 May 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

We must not confuse names with ethnicity, as there are many German Nowaks and Polish Schulzes. MALETYCZ in form is most likely Ukrainian although spelt the Polish way. Most likely its root is the word mały (small, little, tiny). It might have evolved from an endearing form of the old first name Małomir or even more likely as a toponymic tag from some place called Maletycze or similar.
Polonius3   
12 May 2013
Genealogy / Motyl - Tracing My Polish Roots for the 1st time [28]

MOTYL: the Polish word for butterfly; possibly originated a toponymic tag for someone from one of two localities in Poland called Motyl.
KASPRZYK: Patronymic nick meaning son of Kasper: English equivalent: Casperson.
To help track down your roots in Poland contact office@pol gen research
Polonius3   
11 May 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

GLINKA: root-word glina (clay). Could have originated as an occupational tag for someone working in clay (eg a potter) or a toponymic nick for a native of such places as Glinka, Glinki, Glinik, Glina and others.
Polonius3   
28 Apr 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

KOPCZEWSKI: root-word kopiec (mound) or kopeć (sooty smoke). The -ski ending indicates that more likely than not this nickname-turned-surname originated as a toponymic nick derived from some locality called Kopczew or Kopczewo.
Polonius3   
26 Apr 2013
Genealogy / Jerzy Skublicki- his sons Tomas and Pawel [10]

SKUBLICKI: root-word possibly skubać (to pluck /feathers/, pinch, peck). Possibly originated as a topo tag from such places as Skubianka and Skubicha in Poland, Skubice in the Czech Republic and Skubin in Slovakia. Around one-half of Poland's Skublickis live in the country's extreme SE corner in the Krosno area bordering both Slovakia and Ukraine.
Polonius3   
22 Apr 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

SKIEJKA: This surname exists and is used by some dozen people in Poland, but its etymology is a real stumper – at least to me. Nothing readily comes to mind. Could it have derived from skiła or skieł which once meant a mad dog and by extension -- a vicious person. But then it should have been Skiłka or Skiełka. Or a toponymic nick from Skierki, but then it should have been Skierka, not Skiejka. Or maybe it got misspelt somewhere down the line by the shaky hand of a semi-illiterate peasant centuries ago?
Polonius3   
15 Apr 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

KONIECZKO: root-word koniec (end, limit, edge). It's hard to say why someone might have acquired such a nick. Maybe becuase he lived at the edge of the village (na końcu wsi)???.

JUSKOWIAK: root-word first name Justyn; a patronymic tag meaning Justine's son.

AŚCIUKIEWICZ: Another surname of patronymic origin. This comes from the rather rare first name Eustaschy (Eustatius), specifically from the hypocoristic (pet) form Astiuk of its Ukrainian version Astachyj. Aściukeiwicz is the Polonised spelling.

NOTE: -wicz, -icz, -ic and -ycz are patronymic endings in most Slavonic languages. Jews adopted elements of local languages in the countries they lived in, hence there are many Yiddish surnames such as Moskowitz, Manischewitz, Berkowicz, etc.

the adjectival ending -ski is far more common in the names of Polish nobility than those ending in -wicz, etc..

ZABIEGLIK: root-words zabiegać (make an effort, vie, bid, strive for) or adjective zabległy which in older Polish described someone who knew how to fend for himself. Today the word is zapobiegliwy (foresighted, provident). Zabiegły also had a secondary meaning: distant and remote.
Polonius3   
24 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

HUNKO: possibly from the German word Huhn (chicken, fowl). Interestingly, in a 1990s census only 1 person using this surname was found living in Wrocław (to which many people from Soviet-occupied pre-war Poland were transferred). At present there are 4 Hunkos in Wrocław, so they must have reproduced in the meantime.
Polonius3   
19 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

B£ASZKEIWICZ: probably orignated as a patronymic tag to identify the son of Błażej (Blaise).
According to a 1990s census the surname was shared by over 4,700 people in Poland. The break-down accoridng to the old small 49 voivodships into which Poland was divided back then was as follows:

Wa:240, Bs:10, BB:26, By:231, Ch:16, Ci:260, Cz:47, El:124, Gd:96, Go:63, JG:55, Kl:30, Ka:387, Ki:373, Kn:41, Ko:61, Kr:108, Ks:4, Lg:66, Ls:22, Lu:33, £o:18, £d:124, NS:3, Ol:124, Op:49, Pl:96, Pt:3, Pł:124, Po:83, Pr:13, Ra:35, Rz:19, Sd:45, Sr:21, Sk:37, Sł:85, Su:19, Sz:119, Tb:48, Ta:80, To:704, Wb:116, Wł:330, Wr:123, Za:7, ZG:58

The biggest concentration was in northern Poland's Kujawy region around Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Włocławek. In Mazwosze the most were living in Greater Warsaw and the surrounding Płock and Ciechanów areas and there was also a small pocket in Central Poland's £ódź region. Down south their stronghold is in the Świętokrzyskie region, as well as in and around Katowice and Kraków, and there is a small concenttraiton in Central Poland's £ódź region. In the recovered terriroies most of the Błaszkiewiczes were resideing in and around Wrocław, Wałbrzych and Szczecin.

I realise this cultural/geographic FYI will not help you track down your family. Isn't there an organisation that helps trace Polish biolgical families?
Polonius3   
19 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

MAKUSZEWSKI: The root-word appears to be 'mak' (poppy). Since. however, nearly all Polish surnames ending in -ewski or
-owski are of toponymic (place-name) origin, hence most likely this originated to identify an inhabitant of a village called Makuszew (Poppyville).
Polonius3   
13 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Maybe so, but with names one never knows for sure. If you were a peasant form a neighbouring village back in 1697 or 1740, what would you have humorously called someone from Grymiączki? Grymiączek, Grymik, Grymuk, Grymiąk, Grymiuk or maybe Grymasz, Grymak or Grymel? The illiterate peasants of yesteryear knew nothing about word-formation rules and blurted out whatever came to mind. Stankiewicz (Szczodruch) is generally good but not always complete, as I'm sure you have noticed.
Polonius3   
13 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

GRYMEL: possibly a toponymic tag; the only place in Poland I could find was Grymiączki, but there is a Grymov in the
Czech Republic andf a Grimeli in Norway. Other possible sources: grymasić (to sulk, whine. fuss) or the German noun Grimm (rage, anger).
Polonius3   
13 Sep 2012
Language / -ski/-ska, -scy/ski, -wicz - Polish surnames help [185]

A+ to Boletus! My granddad used to tell an anecdote about a wedding between a mythical Jan Chrzan and Maryanna Jedlig in which the priest supposedly said: Maryanna z Janem, Jedligówna z Chrzanem... (untranslatable!)
Polonius3   
12 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Kosztowny is the Polish adjective meaning valuable, costly, pricey, etc.. When someone known by that nickname (for whatever reason) fathered a son, fellow-villagers would have started calling the offspring Kosztowniak, a patronymic tag meaning 'Kosztowny's kid' ot 'the Kosztowny boy'.
Polonius3   
11 Sep 2012
History / Poland's undying debt to Polonia [76]

that Polish society as a whole NOW holds

Is the society of 'now' always right? We have seen how societies have let themselves be bamboozled into all kinds of things: the Thrid Reich, Stalinism , unbridled consumerism, environmental destruction, rat-racism, etc. Apparently those and other societies have been brainwashed into thinkintg and doing all kinds of things. That in itself does not make it wise, advisable or right. Sometimes the benefit of distance enables a diaspora to see the bigger picture which those immersed in daily in media res banalities can miss.
Polonius3   
11 Sep 2012
History / Poland's undying debt to Polonia [76]

They are the ones sending their American hard-earned cash so the gołodupcy of Tusklandia can keep body and soul together.
Polonius3   
11 Sep 2012
History / Poland's undying debt to Polonia [76]

–Material and moral support for Free Poland during the partitions
–Young PolAms joined Gen. Haller’s Army to fight for Poland’s freedom in and after WW1.
–Since the inception of the Polish Diaspora a steady stream of gift parcels and cash has been channelled back to the Old Country
–During WW2 Polonia redoubled its efforts and provided immeasurable assistance in the form of war relief via the Red Cross and all available channels.
–When Poland was a Soviet satellite, Polonia supported the Government in Exile and the Skarb Norodowy. Inr 1989, when Free Poladn was proclaimed, Polonia's Ryszard Kaczorowski, Polish exile president, offcially transferred authority to Lech Wałęsa, completely side-stepping and ignoring the pitiful episode known as PRL.

– Polonia upheld genuine Polish patriotic traditions banned by the puppet government in Poland – May 3rd, Soldiers Day and Independence Day.
—Polonia has created institutions such as American Częstochowa near Philadelphia to perpetuate the Polish people’s devotion and fidelity the Catholic faith.
– To Poles in their captive homeland Radio Free Europe, which enjoyed Polonia’s unquestioned support, had regularly beamed word of those celebrations and Polonia’s strong attachment to their true non-communist heritage.

–After Poland finally threw off the Soviet yoke, Polonia launched the biggest letter-writing campaign in history to lobby for Poland’s admission to NATO.
–Money continues to flow from Polonia to families in Poland.
–By overwhelmingly supporting PiS (70%), Polonians entitled to vote in Polish elections are setting an example for their misguided Old Country compatriots who have fallen for the lies, scams and cliques of tricky Don’s and his pals.
Polonius3   
10 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

The census taken in the 1990s showed a single female named Ciurczyńska living in Katowice. If it was not borne by a sole male of reproductive age, presumably by now the name has become extinct.
Polonius3   
9 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

It's probably a question of spelling. I have found Wikariusz, and an older spelling -- Wikarjusz, which means a vicar or the head priest's assistant. This is highly speculative but it has occurred at times. If some manual recopier of the in the murky pre-typewriter and computer era brought the two prongs of the letter 'u' a tad too close together, the next recopier down the line may have taken it for an 'a'

-- hence Wikaryasz. Only a thought!
Polonius3   
8 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

DUKOWICZ: maybe from dukać (to stutter, stammer); someone who stuttered might have been nicknamed Duk or Dukacz and his son would have been dubbed Dukowicz. The ending -wicz is nearly always a patronymic ending. Just a guess, but the English equivalent might have been Stammerson which doesn't sound half bad in English..
Polonius3   
7 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

GUZEK: diminutive of guz (bump, lump, tumour); any deformity or unusual feature often become the basis of a nickname centuries ago. Guzek may have been the way someone with a visible protrusion on his forehead or other prominent place would have been nicknamed.

The Austrian partition zone known as Galicja (Rzeszów, Tarnów, Krosno, Przemyśl, etc.) appears to be the Guzek stronghold, although there are concentrations throughout the country including Greater Warsaw and the £ódź region. No Guzek was ever known to have been admitted to a gentry clan, but there were nobles amongst the bearers of the Guz surname. They were entitled to use the Guzkowski heraldic emblem, a modified version of Lubicz.
Polonius3   
6 Sep 2012
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

S£AWIK: root-word probably sława (glory, fame, renown). However most likely it originated either as the diminutive form of such first names as Sławomir, Sławko and similar or as a toponymic tag from places such as Sławica or Sławice. But surnames have evolved in so many meandering ways that this might have even arisen as a Belorussian pronunciation of słowik (nightingale), where the Polish letter 'o' is often replaced by an 'a'.I don't mean the word for nightingale in Belorussian which is cалавей, but the pronunciation.

Slavik or Slavick would be an attempt at an English phonetic respelling.
Polonius3   
4 Sep 2012
Genealogy / Russian Poland-what general area would this be? [30]

They always saw the Poles on the other side as backward

I had the same thing happen. One of my distant cousins lived only miles from the old Galicja border, but even in the 1980s they were referred to by the locals as 'Galony'. Probably that weas meant to have a connotation simialr to redneck or hillbilly in the US.

In big US ciites (think late 1800s/early 1900s) each emigre group set up its own parish on the basis of the paritition they hailed from and people there shared the same customs and regional accent.