Genealogy / Bronisław Knuth (Bronislaw) [7]

KNUTH/KNUT: Both spellings exist in Poland and the Bydgoszcz area is their major concentration. Both in German (Knuth) and Polish (knut) the word appears derived from a knotted whip with which people were once knouted (lashed).

MA£ECKI: probable source adj. mały (little, small, tiny). It might have oriignated as a patronymic tag for the son of someone nicknamed Mały (tiny). Alternatively, a toponymic nick for an inhabitant of Małe (Littleton, Smallville).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

WODICKA(?): This is not a Polish spelling (the 'di' combination rarely occurs in Polsih words). The closest I could find was Wodziczka and Wodyczko. Both appear derived from the word woda (water).

cbhsmisskathy
-ewski is an adjectival ending frequently used to indicate THE ORIGINAL BEARER'S (not your immediate ancestors) place of origin. After a generation or two it became 'just another name' with no particular meaning.

If you met a John Baker, would you seriously ask him how many loaves he baked that day? No, because Baker is now jsut a surname. But the original bearer back in 1256 or 1498 may have indeed been the village baker.

In a follow-up, 'vel' indicates an alias and means a.k.a. (also known as).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

SĄSIADEK: diminutive of sąsiad (neighbour) hence 'little neighbour'; possibly originated as a toponymic tag for a villager from Sąsiadka.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

BA£ANDA: possibly etymology: from first name Baltazar; from bal (beam), bała (clumsy oaf) or from Hungarian bal (left side).

SALYWONIUK: The closest I could find was Salwon (extremely rare, perhaps extinct) from Latin salvus (he who has been saved); the eastrn patronymic ending
–uk would have produced Salwoniuk.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

TALASKI: most likely adjetivalc derivative of talaga (a primitive farm cart in Poland's eastern borderłands); possibly a patronmyic nick: if the owner of the sole farm cart in some dirt-poor hamlet was nicknamed Talaga, the lad he fathered could have been dubbed Talaski (Talaga's kid).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

GRUZLEWSKI: root-word Old Polish gruzla = wart, blister, ulcer or other such small growth; however the -ewski ending more than 95% of the time indicates a toponymic tag, in this case traceable to some locality such as Gruźlewo or Gruźlew (Wartburg, Blisterton, Uncerville???)..

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

STAJSZCZAK: possibly toponymic nick from the village of Staje; or topo-patronymic: someone got nicknamed Stajek because he lived in Staje; when he fathered a son, fellow-villagers called him Stajszczyk, Stajszczak or even Stajkiewicz. Also, a staja was an Old Polish measure of length equal to 134 metres.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Good point! That is a possibility indeed. Multiple name sources are quite common. Neither can a patronymic source be ruled out in thsi case. If, for instance, someone got nicknamed Linek or Linka (for whatever reason), his son could have been dubbed Linkowski by the locals to mean Linek's or Linka's boy.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

LINKOWSKI: root-word lin (tench, freshwater fish species), specifically the diminutive linek; but -owski tells us this most likely originated as a toponmyic tag for an inhabitant of Linków or Linkowo.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

OSÓBKA: (pronounced: aw-SOOB-ka) indeed is a diminutive form of osoba (person). However the diminutive in Polsih is usually an endearing form so it does not have the pejorative ring of the English 'little person' which may suggest small size as well as pettiness, narrow-mindedness or selfishness. Just as piesek (diminutive of pies) suggests a cute, little, happy doggie, so too Osóbka would most likely appear in such contexts as 'miła osóbka' (cute and/or nice person). It could have also originated in some cases as a toponymic nickname for someone from Osobowice (Personville) or similar.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

BARCZEWSKI: toponymic nickname from village of Barczew (in Sieradz area).

Life / Gifts from Poland (I'm returning to my country after a year in Poland) [37]

As regards sweeties for the kiddies, besides chocolate-covered plums, other favourites are ptasie mleczko (chocolate-covered marshallow-like mousse), krówki (carmel-fudge) and delicje (chocolate-covered biscuits with orange filling). Other fillings (cherry, etc.) are available but the original orange is best. Prince Polo wafer bars are also appreciated abroad. And pierniczki (gingerbread-like honey-spice cakes) are also very nice. Katarzynki are a classic variety. Smacznego!

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Wrong! Polish, German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, etc. surnames all originated for a reason. When the number of people with the same Chrsitian name in a given hamlet began to grow, there had to be a way to tell them apart, so they were given nicknames on the basis of their appearance, occupation, father or where they were from. And so the son of someone named Peter became Pietrzak in Poland, Peterson or Peters in England, Perez in Spain, di Pietro in Italy, du Pierre in France, Petersen in Scandinavia, Petrov in Russia, and so on. Eventually these evolved into surnames passed down from one generation to the next.

The number of people interested in finding out what their names orignally meant belies the contention that nobody cares because they're just names.

Poles are not American Indians, names are just names and nobody cares about their meaning.

In fact there are Polish surnames quite similar to Amerindian ones: Krzywonos
(Crooked Nose), Paluch (Big Finger), Baranek (Little Ram)...

STARNOWSKI: most likely this originated as a toponymic tag to identify someone 'z Tarnowa', 'z Tarnówka' or similar which incidentally mean something like Sloeberryville.

KRAWCZYK: basic root = krawiec (tailor); -czyk is a patronymic ending so the whole thing originated to mean tailor's son, apprentice or helper.

SĄSIADEK: diminutive of sąsiad (neighbour), hence 'little neighbour' or possibly (patronymic) 'neighbour's son'.

BRULIŃSKI: Probably originated from German Brühl (marshy meadow). The noble Bruliński family linked to the Pierzchała clan founded the settlement of Brulino in NE Poland's £omża area.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

JAGIELNICKI: basic root-word jagły (millet groats); it migth have been that somone who grew or traded in (or was epseiclaly fond of eating) millet got nicknamed jagielnik. The adjectival Jagieljnicki form could have been a patronymic tag given to his son. Or, alternatively, it could have come from a toponymic source, a locality such as Jagielniki.

STOLARZ: occupational nickname = cabinet-maker, fine carpenter ( as opposed to cieśla - rough carpenter).

KURYLUK: from Ruthenian first name Kirił or Kuryło (Cyril); patronymic meanign Cyril's son.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

ROZSYPA£: this is a verb-derived name derived from the verb rozsypać (to spill a dry substance such as flour, sand, poppyseeds, sugar, salt, &c.). Polish has a separate verb for spilling liquids: rozlać. Maybe it arose as a nickname for some clumsy butterfingers who routinely spilt whatever he laid his hands on.

Food / Tylko gęsina (only goose)!? [5]

Anyone interested may read up on Polish goose on St Martin's day:
kujawsko-pomorskie.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=227&Itemid=605/Mar5ti

Here's the English version:
kujawsko-pomorskie.pl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3839&Itemid=98

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

SATKOWSKI: possible source - dialectal Old Polish verb satać (weep, wail loudly); possibly confusion with more common surname Sadkowski which is pronoucned identically (before 'k' 'd' sounds like a 't'). Sadkowski is a toponymic tag from places such as Sadkowice (Orchardsonville).

GONDOREK/GĄDOREK: most likely from old Polish dialectal verb gędzić/gądzić (to prattle, gab); probably originated as a nickname for an extremely talkative person or gossipmonger.

KUKURA: probably from kukurydza (formerly also kukuruza) = maize/sweet corn.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

ecymbalak
TEDYS, TEDYŚ and TEDYSZ are all variant forms of the same name which probably goes all the way back to the Old German Theodoric. It has spawned such spin-offs throughout Europe as Dietrich, Derek, Dirk, Derrick, Dieter, Dirck, Rick, Ted, Teodorico, Thedric, Thedrick and Theodric.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

All I could find (without launching a major research project) was that Brykcy was a name of Celtic origin known in Poland from the 12th century. It also appeared under the Latinised form Brukcjusz. It has generated a number of variant and derivative forms as well as surnmaes including:

Briksy, Brichaczek, Brik, Brychcy, Brychczyński, Brychsy, Brycht, Brychta, Brychy, Brychlik, Brycki, Brykczy, Brykczyński, Bryksy, Brys, Brysiewicz, Brysiewski, Brysiński, Brysz, Bryszka, Bryszkiewicz, Bryszkowicz, Bryszyński, Bryśkiewicz, Bryx, Brzychy, Brzychciński, Brzychczyński, Brzyk, Brzyszczak, Brzyszkiewicz, Brzyszkowski, Brzyśkiewicz, Brzyśko, Brzywczy & Brzywczyński.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

JAROŃCZYK: The -czyk suggests patronymic ('son of...') origin. The root-word is Jeronim (dialectically Jaronim) which was Old Polish for Hieronim (Jerome), known in Poland since the 12th century.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Kuzara: from kuzar, variant form of huzar (Hungarian light cavalry); in old Polish peasant slang also big , burly bloke.
Kalita: variant form of kaleta (moneybag or pouch, leather purse)
Socha: primtive wooden plough
Osora: origin uncertain; possibly derived from noble clan-name and c-o-a Ossorya
Dudek: hoopoe (bird species)
Przegentka: form of Przegiętka (something bent or twisted)
Rajski: adjectival form of raj (paradise); several localities named Raj in Poland and vicinity.
Kieliński: from first name Kielijan or Kilian; or mason’s trowel (kielnia)
Brzyzcka: dialectal form of brzeczka (malt extract used in beer brewing), or from first name Brykcy (of Celtic origin) encountered in Poland from the 12th century.

Adamczak: patronymic from Adam = Adamson
Siwinski: root-word siwy (grey); probably topo nick from Siwin, Siwe, Siwianka or similar

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

ŻO£NIEROWICZ: patronymic tag, root-word żołnierz (soldier), hence soldier's son.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

RÓŻYCZENKO: root-word róża (rosa, the flower); the name is of obovious Ruthenian origin, -enko being a common Ukrainian surname suffix.

PROKOPIAK: This surname originated a patronymic nickname from the East Slavonic firrst name Prokop. The Ukrainian version would be Prokopiuk.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

SEROWSKI: would appear to be the most likely Polish spelling; root-word = ser (cheese); probably a toponymic nickname from the village of Serowo (Cheeseville).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

BAMBYNEK: root-word probably bęben (drum; diminutive bębenek means little drum); reveals apparent Lithuanian influence where the bamb- syllable is used in drum-related words.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

KUBASKA: Most likely either derived from Kuba (hypocoristic form of Jakub) or a topo nick from Kubaczyn. In the latter case it would be from western Poland's Wielkopolska region. But there are several places in parts of Russia that once belonged to Poland called Кубасово which etymologically is an even better source.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Gruß Gott!, Georg! Warzilek is impossible in Polish. The original Polish spelling must have been:
WARZYLEK: The root-word is warzyć (to cook, boil, brew [beer]). In Old Polish the term warzylek was used to describe the amount of beer produced in a single brewing. Maybe way, way back (generations or centuries ago) you had some brewmasters amognst your ancestorss.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

SA£AJ/SALAJ: believed to have been derived from first names such as Salezy and Salomon, possibly also from German name Sal.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

OBAREWICZ: The -wicz tells us this originated as a patornymic tag, and this form was most common in tne NE area of the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Wilno, Grodno, Białystok, Nowogródek, Kowno, etc.).

Root-word is obara (archaic term for a toppled pine-tree), so Obarewicz would have been the son of someone nicknamed Obara.