Life / Customs - First Holy Communion in Poland [42]

First Holy Communion is succumbing to the same disease as weddings did earlier -- the hyper-commercialisation of our times. High-powered adverts have brainwashed people into allowing what since time immemorial had been family occasions par excellence fall into the ‘just reach for your credit card, we’ll do the rest’ mode.

Weddings have evolved into a wedding industry and a communion industry is well on its way to emerging. Same with studniówka. Rather than school-leavers decorating the gym with balloons and streamers and their parents preparing the eats, stretch limos are hired to whisk kids to clubs and restaurants for the festivities. So we can also speak of a studniówka industry…

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

SKIBICKI: root-word skiba (furrow); probably topo nick from Skibice (Furrowville).

MIKO£AJEC: patronymic tag for the son of Mikołaj (Nicholas), hence something akin to the English Nicholson; or topo nick from places like Mikołajów. Mikołajki or similar.

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

JUROWCZAK: basic root Jur- in old first names such as Juromir and Jurand or pet form of Jerzy (Jurek); patronymic tag possibly for ‘Georgie’s son’.

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

DUPECKI: Dupekski is not correct in Polish; it could have been Dupecki but no-one uses such a name in Poland today. There are a number of some dupa-derived surnames however including Dupacki, Dupczyński, Dupak. Dupakowski, Dupczyk, Dupało and Dupajko.

JUROWCZAK: basic root Jur- in old first names such as Juromir and Jurand or pet form of Jerzy (Jurek); patronymic tag possibly for ‘Georgie’s son’.

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

RZEPKA: this is the Polish word for turnip (rzepa) in the diminutive version (little turnip). This is typical of the kind of 'down on the farm' nicknames (foods, utentils, livestock, crops, etc.) given to peasants. Others included Śmietana, Serwatka, Marchewka, Byczek, Kozioł, Żyto, Maślanka, etc.

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

Indeed, these are variant spellings. Ściborski has 220 users and Ścibiorski 175. I don't know if anyone has ever conducted such an in-depth analysis of this surname including when, how and why the variant versions emerged. Often it is a case of varying dialectal pronunciation in different parts of the country.

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

WOSIEWSKI: Possibly patronymic from Wosio (pet form of Wojciech, also applied to storks); woś is also endearing for an ox (wół) and sparrow (wróbel). Wosiewski might have therefore emerged as a tag for the son of someone nicknamed Woś or Wosio.

No-one uses Wosiewski in Poland at present (as far as I could determine), but there are several dozen Woszewskis. Could Wosiewski have been a misspelling of Woszewski, possibly reflecting the palatalised dialectal pronunciation of a given area or village. Woszewski most likely was derived from Wojciech.

For what it’s worth, there is a locality called Вошивка (Woszywka) in Russia’s Pskov region which might have generated Woszywski or Woszewski, subsequently palatalised into Wosiewski (???)

ŚCIBORSKI: either patronymic nick for the son of Ścibor* (a form of Czcibor -- an old Polish first name no longer used) or topo nick from such places As Ściborki, Ściborze or similar.

The etymology appears to be cześć (praise, honour) and bor (battle, struggle)

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

GOZDOR/GOZDÓR: probably from verb guzdrać (to dally, be a slow coach, poke about); hence a nick for someone who acted that way.

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

MOSIEJUK: patronymic nick from Mosiej (a form of Mojżesz or Moses); the -uk is a typical Ruthenian ending.

ZUBRZYCKI: root-word żubr (bison); probably origianted as a topo nick from Zubrzyce (Bisonsonville)

Genealogy / Czajka name? And Poland questions. [25]

There are numerous villages called Rudki all over Poland and Ukraine.
Czajka CAN be a Polish name, but not only. In Polish it means lapwing or pewit (a wading bird), in Russian it means seagull.

Čajka would be the Czech and Slovakia spelling. But in America accent marks get lost so it would end up as just plain Cajka. Probably more than one Heinz 57 would Anglo-mangle it into something like CADGE-ka. Someone hearing it might equate it with kaczka....and that is how the confusion spreads.

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

In Polish the 'baj' root has to do with story telling. A bajka is a fable or fairy tale. A bajarz is a story-teller and the verb bajać means to spin yards or tell tall tales. Bajan sounds like a variant form of bajarz.

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

KĄTOWSKI/KĘTOWSKI: these are topo nicks from the localities of Kąty and Kęty (Corners, Cornerville). Kontoski and Kentoski would be diaspora respellings to facilitate pronunciaton in the English-speaking world.

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

BRZYMIA£KIEWICZ (?): A real stumper! Do you actually use this name? Have you seen it in any Old World documents?
No one uses anything close in Poland. Only the –wicz ending tells us this nickname emerged as a patronymic tag.
There is a village in Małopolska called Brzyna which theoretically at least could have prompted someone to call an inhabitant thereof Brzynałek. When he fathered a son, fellow villagers could have dubbed the offspring Brzynałkiewicz.

But this is all highly speculative.

Actually, having a rare surname can be a boon to family-tracers, because chances are you may be related to all of most of them. Since you know they came from the Środa area, if you are fluent in Polish you can ring up the local Dział Ewidencji Ludniości (public records section) of the town hall. They may be able to tell you whether any Środzńskis still live there. If not, then you can enlist the services of a good genealogical researcher such as Iwona Dakiniewicz:

genealofy@pro-onet.pl
Good luck!

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

ŚRODZIŃSKI: eps. in view of your family's Środa Wielkopolska connection, this must surely be a surname of toponymic origin. There are fewer than 3 doz. Środzińskis in Poland today, of which 8 live in or around Poznań (NW of Środa) and 2 in the neighbouring Kujawy region's Bydgoszcz area.

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

SERAFIN: from Seraphim (Hebrew pl. of Seraph), the highest choir of angel in Judaeo-Christian tradition, a celestial being often depicted with three sets of wings. Serafin was once a populat first name in Poland and other countries. Serafina for women also exists but is much rarer. Serafin could also ˛have origianted as a topo nick from Serafin or Serafinów.

SIEMBIEDA: possibly derived from the old Polish first names Siębor or Sambor.

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

No Premek in Poland at present but Prymek does exist. Probably from prymus (first place, front-runner, star pupil, top dog, etc.).

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

The Polish spelling would be Gardygajło and in Ukrainian – Гардигайло.
White Russia (Belarus) is north of Ukraine but he may have come from a mixed borderland area between the two where linguistic differences were blurred.

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

MONIUZSZKO: patronymic typical of the Lithuanian-White Ruthenian (Belarusian) borderlands; base form possibly monia (folk dialect for a lazybones).

ULSKI: possibly from ul (beehive) or maybe a contraction from Ulmański, Ulecki or similar. According to the last census only 1 person in Poland (Greater Warsaw) was using that name in the feminine form: Ulska. So it may already be extinct.

RODAK: compatriot, countryman – someone from the same country, region or locality.

ULSKI: possibly from ul (beehive) or maybe a contraction from Ulmański, Ulecki or similar. According to the last census only 1 person in Poland (Greater Warsaw) was using that name in the feminine form: Ulska. So it may already be extinct.

News / John Paul II's Beatification [134]

Pope John Paul II will go down in history as one of Christendom’s greatest popes, whose intense spirituality, intellectual brilliance and physical stamina were beyond dispute. Although a profound thinker, he never lost the common touch, brought the papacy to the people and earned the nickname ‘Pilgrim Pope’.

The Polish-born Pontiff has been acclaimed by many as one of the leading moral authorities of recent centuries. He was the first pope to enter a Jewish synagogue and a Muslim mosque, asking forgiveness for the transgressions Christians had committed over the centuries. He constantly stressed that Jewish, Christians and Muslims ‘all worship the same God, but we are moving towards him along somewhat different roads.’

A great promoter of ecumenism, John Paul II gathered the leaders of all the world’s major religions in Assisi, Italy, to pray together for world peace. His moral authority was a major spiritual force driving Poland’s peaceful Solidarity revolution which ultimately led to the collapse of the Soviet bloc and put an end to the cold war and arms race.

Always concerned with human dignity and the sanctity of life, he opposed all forms of killing: capital punishment, abortion, euthanasia and war. When asked to bless the American-led invasion of Iraq, he only replied: I will pray for the children and others who will die and suffer in the war. John Paul pioneered World Youth Day which attracted crowds of up to a million and more around the globe.

He developed easy rapport with young people, because he did not talk down to them but tried to understand and empathize with their cares and problems. He warned them against the propaganda of cheap commercialism and passing fads, urging them to seek higher values. The night before he died, thousands of young people filled St. Peter’s Square, chanting SANTO SUBITO (instant sainthood) demanding his immediate canonization. His fast-track beatification, as Pope Benedict XVI himself admitted, in part came as a response to that grass-roots yearning.

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

KOZIO£: male goat, buck, billy goat; possibly topo nick from places like Kozłówka, Kozłowo and similar.

PIEPRZNIK: pepper cake or gingerbebread (modern Polish paradoxically uses the archaic form piernik).

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

WYSKIEL: from old verb wyskać (to shout. howl, call out, sing off
key)

SKORYK: from adjective skory (swift, eager), possibly a nick for an
eager-beaver type.

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

GAW£OWSKI: probably topo nick from Gawłów or Gawłowo (Gaulville); root-word Gaweł (first name Gaul)

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

BIL/BIEL: Bil (Ukrainian) and Biel (Polish) for whiteness. Possibly originated as a descriptive nick for a pale-skinned, whitish-haired blond or a topo nick from some locality like Biel, Biela, Bielawa, etc.

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

GARDYGAJ£O: Lithuanianised form of Gardygało, possibly derived from Old Polish gardian (head of a mediaeval monastery).

STASIEWICZ: patronymic nick for son of Staś (customary equivalent Stanson).

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

GISTINGER isd not a Polish surname, nor does anyone in Poland use it at rpesxent. It could be German or Yiddish and is known in the English-speaking world.,

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

JARCZEWSKI: probably topo nick from Jarczew or Jarczewo; basic root jar- (young, spring) pertaining to crops, yearlings, etc. Three noble lines belonging to Nałęcz, Kuszaba or Garczyński clans.

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

B£OŃSKI: root-word błonie (common pasture, grassy mall, meadow, etc.); since more often than not -ski names are of topoynmic origin, this one probably was dervied from more than a dozen places in Poland called Błonie or maybe Błońsko, Błonice or Błonawy. Southern Poland is the main Błoński stronghold with the Mazowsze region in second place.

HENTNIK: This would be a misspelling (in Poland) or respelling (in the New World) of the surname Chętnik. It could have arisen as a nick for some 'rarin' to go', eager-beaver type who was always the first to volunteer for things. Possibly also a topo nick from Chęciny (Willngton or Eagerville).

For more information on the above as wełł as other Polish last names please contact me

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

HETNICK?: Please check spelling. The 'ck' combination in final positon is not Polish unless it got clipped and originally was -icki. No-one in Poland called Hetnik, only Hutnik (foundry or glassworks employee). There are a few called Chętnik (from chętny -- eager, willing) and even more surnamed Chętnicki.

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

B£OŃSKI: root-word błonie (common pasture, grassy mall, meadow, etc.); since more often than not -ski names are of toponymic origin, this one probably was derived from more than a dozen places in Poland called Błonie or maybe Błońsko, Błonice or Błonawy. Southern Poland is the main Błoński stronghold with the Mazowsze region in second place.

For more information please contact me

Life / Polish folk-themed pop music? [30]

All you pop/rock experts out there...what is at the top of the charts in Połand these days? If there one main central chart or separate niche charts for rock, pop. disco polo, tehcno, reggae (dunno if it still exists), rap, heavy metal, punk, ska, etc.?