Genealogy / Translation of last name (Blachowski) [8]

BLACHOWSKI: root-word blacha (tin, sheet metal); possibly originated as a patronymic tag for a tinsmith's son, but more likely a topo nick from Blachowa or Blachownia.

BLACKOWKI: doesn't exist in Poland; it could have been a feeble attempt to phonetically respell Blachowski, and the ck was inserted because it seemed difficult in English to indicate the Scottish ch sound (as in loch). But Blahoski would have solved the problem.

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

KANIEWSKI: root-word kania (kite - bird pf the hawk family); probably topo nick from Kaniew or Kaniewo (Kiteville).

FRĄCKOWSKI: root word Frącek (dialectic form of the first name Franciszek); probably originated as a topo nick from such places as Frącki, Frączki, Frączków or Frączkowo.

FRAKOWSKI: this surname also exists although it’s 4 times less common than Frąckowski; its root-word could have been frak (frock-coat) or maybe the ogonek (˛) from Frąkowski got lost after generations of recopying.

WIERZBICA: root-word wierzba (willow); topo nick from Wierzbica (Willowville).

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

PODSIADLIK: With surnames most anything is possible. The nicknames thta preceded them were not coined by linguitics professors but usually by largely illterate commoners (peasants) who blurted out whatever came to mind with little regard for linguistic niceties or etymological accuracy. So, yes, in a unique-case scenarior the 'siodło' (saddle) got have got mixed into the name-forming process. Incidentally, there was once a type of saddle called a podsiedziołek .

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

PODSIADLIK: from the verb podsiąść whose meaning includes: 1) to sit down at somebody's table, to join someone already seated as a freeloader sitting in for a free drink; 2) to replace, supplant, knock out in the sense of knocking someobody out of his positon or job and taking it over.

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

JAKACKI: topo nick from the village of Stara Jakać in the Podlasie region, £omża district, jurisdiction of Śniadowo.

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

CIEMCIOCH: baby talk for a kitty-cat (kicia, cicia, cićka) or something nice and cute (ciecia, ciemcia); other derivative surnames include Ciemciach, Ciemciak and Ciemciała.

History / POLES NOT KEEN ON REPRODUCING? WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GERMANS AND RUSSIANS? [67]

There are only about 116 million ethnic Russiann in the Russian Federation. The rest are nations conquered by the tsars and Soviets.
On a different score, anyone know what the Russian word ёрш or ёрщ means?

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

DUCHNOWSKI: root-word probably duchać (to blow; modern Polish = dmuchać); apparently origianated as a topo nick from Duchny or Duchnów.

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

ŻWIR: gravel; possibly occupational nick for a gravel digger

GRAMATOWSKI: root word gramatka (fruit soup); possible topo nick from Gramatów or Gramatowo

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

UNDELLO: no-one using this name in Poladn; looks to be Italian

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

PROWANCKI: probably traceable to the Franco-Italian border area known as Provenza in Italian or Provença (in French regional dialect). There may be an interesting story behind this family, its Polonisation and coat of arms. For more information please contact me

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

JAKOWCZYK = Jacobson (from Russian for Jakub - Jakow + Polish diminutive/patronymic ending -czyk).

USA, Canada / Polack/American Polonia/Plastic Pole "culture" [568]

A great many post-PRL and RPIII Poles are poor imitations of the 'cudzoziemcy' they pretend to be, second-rate copycats and wannabes, aping foreign things and rarely coming up with anything original of their own. They wolf down Big Macs, pizzas, kebabs and (if they are wannabe yuppies) sushi, listen to rap crap and don't even have their own Polish keybaord, but a Yankee one that requries double-typing to get the Polish characters. They are worse than 'plastic Poles' -- they are plastic people!

USA, Canada / Polack/American Polonia/Plastic Pole "culture" [568]

Why should Polonians living abroad even want to vote in Polish elections? Because they carry Poland in their hearts. They are capable of higher feelings and values such as Bóg, honor, Ojczyzna. Such a concept is apparently utterly alien to those PFers who believe that if you cant eat, drink, wear or f--- it, it ain't no damn good!

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]

I hadn't thought of that. Sounds like a great idea. What was left of the Wehrmacht plus every manner of Landsturm formation (all Germans 16-60 would be conscripted and armed) would be forced at US gunpoint to repel the Rooskies who, knowing the might of Uncle Sam was behind the offensive, would surely high-tail the hell back home. Many would get finished off by the NKVD troops shooting dead anyone retreating but they too would eventually get trampled underfoot by the fleeing Red Army hordes. All in all, the red and brown bastards would finish each other off and Poland...could live happily ever after!

Poland would get her pre-partition boundaries back in the east plus most of the territoriy up to the £aba (some going to Czechoslovakia of course) in the West. The land west of the £aba would largely get divided up amongst Denmark, Holland and France, leaving a German General Government reserve for German aborigines under joint Polish-Western Ally military occupation...

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]

The Soviets won only thanks to that senile paralytic FDR who sold Poland down the river. At least Churchill had the guts to see the error of his ways and made his famous iron curtain speech... Wasn't it our Gen. Patton who wanted to move across the River £aba and finish the job by rolling back the Soviets...preferably to beyond the Urals? Then Poland could have recovered her pre-partition territory and add some extra land as compensation collaboration with the third Reich, Katyń, Siberia, Kazakhstan and other Russian atrocities.

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]

The Krauts were duly penalised for launching World War Two and killing 3 million Polish citizens by losing Niederschlesien and other areas north to Westpommern, but the &!%#?$ß?Rooskies got off scot free. Although they were co-aggressors and Hitler allies, they not only annexed the eastern half fo Poland but never saw fit to return it. By rights, those 'ziemie utracone' should also have been returned to Poland. Soviet Russia surely had no dearth of territory! The resultant Poland would still have been smaller in the east than before the partitons, but what the heck!?

USA, Canada / Your favorite USA kiełbasa? [37]

Yes, she was 89, God rest her soul!

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

DERENIEWSKI: as noted earlier is derived from dereń (dogwood)

DEREWIŃSKI: although at first glance it may seem similar, its root is derew- (Ruthenian for wood, tree, timber; Polish: drzew-).

KUCHARSKI: adj. form of kucharz (cook), so either patronymnic (cook's son) or toponymic for someone from Kuchary, Kucharzew (Cookville).

DUBIAK: probbaly Rusnyak version of Dąbiak (Oakson).

Genealogy / Popular Polish First Names? [152]

It's all subjective but one name now popular in Poland that makes me smile is Oliwka. Reminds me of the olive in a martini and makes me thristy every time I hear it.

USA, Canada / Your favorite USA kiełbasa? [37]

I had an aunt in Detrioit (she died last month) who used to say: 'Ja i kiełbasa to dwie sprzeczności.' So at least there are two of you in the world.

News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [534]

In a civilised democratic state everyone is free to legally change his/her name according to personal preference. Even if you spell your name Smythe and pronounce it Jones, then Jones it is! In Lithuania the problem are not Polish diacritics (ć, ę, ł, &c.), but the actual officially imposed restructuring of the name itself. Only in a dictatorship is that possible. In dicatorial Belarus the regime has shut down the Polish organisation, set up a pro-government one in its place and is trying to fine the Poles' cultural enterprise out of existence.

News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [534]

Turning Grzybowska into Grybauskiene is more than a slight spelling change -- it is a downright mutilation. So is Stankowicz > Stankovièius. If it was only Stankoviè, OK. Poland's Lithuanians living in and around Puńsk and Sejny are not forced to respell their names the Polish way, are they?

News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [534]

Merged thread:
Non-integrating Poles can leave Lithuania!

The spelling issue may seem a clear case of a Polish ethnic group being persecuted by the host nation. However, recently a Lithuanian official source put it this way: 'If Poles do not wish to integrate with Lithaunian society, they are free to return to their homeland.'

I found that an itneresting twist (not that I necdessarily agree with it) in view of non-integrationist gendenceis amongst Muslims in Europe.

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

JUTRZONKA: root word is jutrzenka of which this looks ot be a dialectic variant; possibly toponymic in view of places in Poland called Jutrzyna and Jutrzenka and possibly more in the lost territories to the east.

DOLATA: probably from verb dolatać (to fly the final stretch if speaking of a bird). Since names sprouted up for so many often unexpected reasons, perrhaps someone known locally for frequently saying "Oby do lata" (I hope we make it through to summer) got dubbed Dolata.

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

MOMRYK(?): no such surname used in today's Poland. But I would venture the guess that this was a local, dialectic from of the old Polish momrot (mumbling, muttering, speaking indistinctly). In modern Polish it is mamrot.

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

MARCHWIŃSKI & MÓRAWSKI

MARCHWIŃSKI: root-word is marchew (carrot); ideally this should be a name of toponymic origin from a place like Marchwin, Marchwina or Marchwiny (Carrotville)

MÓRAWSKI: this is tricky because it could be a misspeling of Murawski (from murawa = sod, turf, lawn) or Morawski (Moravian), an ethnic tag, to which a superfluous acute accent somehow got inadvertently added; most likely it arose as a toponmyic nick from paces in Poland such as Murawy or Morawy.

Genealogy / Americans of Polish descent. How many of us are on Polish forums? [216]

An extreme case is the Amerindians who get to operate gambling casinos and rake in the profits, but other groups have access to various types of affirmative-action programmes, hiring quota systems (such and such a percent must be of a certain race), school ethnic curricula, etc.

To those hoping that after 234 years the melting pot will magerialise, I've got news for you. The notion that everyone would get boiled down into one, big, gooey and nondescript stew has not worked. America is a salad bowl. All its component parts form one big salad but you can always tell a piece of lettuce from a slice of tomato or cucumber. And to that we should say: VIVE LA DIFFÉRENCE.