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

KACPER or KASPER: this is the traditonal name ascribred to one of the Three Kings (Magi, Wisemen) who according to the bible visited Baby Jesus in Behtelhem. The other two are Melchior and Balthazar. The name is believed ot have come from the Persian name Kansbar which meant "guardian of the treasury". It has gone into different languages as Gaspard (French), Jasper ( English), Kašpar (Czech).

A few of Poland's top 15 surnames:

WOJCIECHOWSKI: topo nick from Wojciechów or Wojciechowo (Albertville); 7 gentry lines;

MAZUR: regional toponym for an inhbaitant of Masuria; no gentry connections;

DĄBROWSKI: toponym from Dąbrowa or Dąbrowo (Oakwood. Oakville); a whopping 38 gentry lines.

NOTE: Each gentry line = a different coat of arms.

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

CHROSTOWSKI: root-word chróst/modern Polish chrust (dry twigs and brush, kindling); topo nick from Chrostowo or Chrostowa (Kindleton, Twigville, Brushburg); 1 noble line/c-o-a.

SZABLAK: root-word szabla (sabre); topo nick from Szablak or Szablaki (Sabreville, Sabreton, etc.); no c-o-a.

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

The overwhelming majority of Polish surnames with the adjectival -owski ending are of toponymic origin. It indicated a commoner as a native of a given locality or, in the case of the well-born, the name of his estate or a village he owned. Surnames ending in -ski ending were the most popular amongst the gentry and meant "of". Originally a nobleman would have been known as Jan z Brzezin (John of Birchville). Later it adjectivalised into Jan Brzeziński. In England the "of" got dropped and it became just John Birchville or John Birch. On the other hand, only about 10%of Old Polish society enjoyed szlachta status, so only a fraction of Wiśniewskis, Kowalskis, etc, held membership in a gentry clan.

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

BOJDA: probably form Old Polish bojeć się (be afraid); altetrnatively a misspelling of wojda from Hungarian vajda (voivode).

PABIJAN: variant form of first name Fabian.

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

KIESZNOWSKI: very rare, etymology uncertain; possibly a misspelling of Kierznowski from Old Polish kierz (shrub, bush); most likely a topo nick from Kierzno (Shrubville); three szlachta lines amongst the Kierznowskis with as many coats of arms.

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

GOLIŃSKI: root-word golina (tree branch devoid of leaves); spin-off golinka (growth on horse's lip); like most -ski surnames a topo nick from one fo several localities in Poland called Golin or Golina. The noble Golińskis belonged to seven different gentry clans, however the Zaremba clan whose coat of arms you have displayed is not amongst them. BTW there is actually an own-name Goliński coat of arms.

WIŚNIEWSKI: root-word wiśnia (cherry tree); topo tag from one of at least 9 villages called WIśniewo; Poland's 3rd most popular surname; 5 different noble lines.

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

JASZCZYŃSKI: from jaszcz, aka jazgarz - a small fish of the perch family; probably topo nick from Ящинo in Russia.

WITKOWSKI: root WItek, pet form of Witold; topo nick from Witków or Witkowo.

MARANOWICZ: root-word marana (old word for herb melissa); possibly someone got nicknamed Maran because he lived in a place overgrown with melisa; when he fathered a son -- instant Maranowicz.

CYGROWKI: possibly from German word Zieger (a kind of soft cream cheese); in a Polish-speaking area someone who produced such cheese might have got nicknamed Cygrowski.

ZYGAR£OWSKI: ???; possibly a distorted spelling of Cygrowski.

Sorry for typo; should read CYGROWSKI

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

Some 10,000 Szostaks, under 1,000 Ornats and under 200 Boronoskis.

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

SZOSTAK or SZÓSTAK: from szósty (sixth); possibly the sixth child or son; also topo tag from Szóstka or Szóstaki.

ORNAT: chasuble (liturgical vestment); possibly topo tag from Ornatowice (Chasubleton)

BORONOSKI: probably a misspelling of Baranowski - topo nick for someone form Baranów or Baranowo (Ramsville, Ramton).

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

KUNKIEWICZ: the -wicz ending is always a patronymic indicator; someone was called Kunk because he hailed from the village of Kunki or Kunkowa; when he fathered a son the offspring would have been dubbed Kunkiewicz; another possibiltiy -- Kunk was short for Kunkel, the German word for distaff (part of a spinning-wheel).

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

LIPIŃSKI: root-word lipa (linden, lime tree); toponymic tag from a mutlitude of villages called Lipiny (Lindenville, Limeton); all of 18 gentry lines with as many coats of arms including one own-name one.

OPALIŃSKI: root-word opał (fuel, firewood) or opalić (to heat or singe); topo nick from Opalenie, Opalenica or Opaleniska; only one noble line.

KAPERZYŃSKI: topo tag from Kapera; variant of Kasperzyński -- patornymic meaning Kasper's son or from kaper (pirate) - the pirate's son.

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

PAWACKI: Several hypothetical possibilities: 1) patronymic from Paweł; 2) two-stage patronymic: someone got nicknamed Paw (because he was proud as a peacock), his son got dubbed Pawak and his son in turn became Pawacki; 3) toponymic from Pawielin, Pawęzów or similar;

No-one at present uses the Pawacki surname in Poland. There are a few Pawęckis and even fewer Paweckis.

CIENKUS: from adjective cienki (thin, lean, poor), either someone thin as a rail or dirt poor.

GRUDZIEŃ: the month of December; a nickname for someone born or who converted to Catholicism in that month.

WILCZEK: diminutive of wilk (wolf), meaning little wolf or wolf cub. As a nickname it could have been a patornymic for the son of someone nicknamed Wilk.

Or a toponymic tag from any of numerous localities called Wilcza, Wilcze, Wilczewo, Wilczkowo, Wilczyca, etc.
5 different coatrs of arms among bearers of the Wilczek surname.

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

BOROWSKI: root-word bór (coniferous forest); topo nick from one of many localities in Poland such as Bór, Borowo, Borów, Borowa, Borowskie and others.

(17 different noble lines with as many different coats of arms used the Borowski surname.)

WE£NIŃSKI: root-word wełna (wool); topo nick from Wełna or Wełnin. (No known coats of arms.)

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

SZYPULEWSKI: root-word szypuła (stem, hull, stalk); since nearly all surnames ending in -ewski are of toponmyic origin, this one is probably traceable to some locality called Szypulew or Szypulewo (Stemville, Stalkton, Hullbury).

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

No Kosztella in Poland at present. A census in the 1990s showed a single Kosztela (with one 'L') living in Warsaw. Possibly derived from Latin castellum (castle) which incidentally gave Poles the word for church - kościół.

Maybe your dad changed it because nobody had ever heard of Abbot & Kosztella!

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

RYKIEL: known and used in Poland - most likely a polonised version of the German name Rickel, probably derived from Old High German rik (ruler, king) or rihhi meaning royal, powerful or rich..

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

ROBAK: worm, maggot, insect; the well-born Robaks belonged to the noble clan of Ogończyk.

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

No-one in Poland by the name of Wopschall or similar. The name definitely appears to be German. There are two people named Wopschall in the western German city of Essen. They appear to be the only Wopschalls who haven't emigrated. Nearly all Wopschalls now live in North America. Meaning and origin obscure.

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

It apparently came from German Schortuch (a kind of apron protecting the wearer's back used by blacksmiths) which got shortened to Schürz or Schörz, and the latter form went into Polish as szorc.

There were two noble lines in the Wyszowaty family - Abdank and Roch, whilst the well-born Mieczkowskis boasted half a dozen different lines, each a separate coat of arms. It would take an essay or lecture to even scratch the surface of the convoluted and meandering world of Polish heraldry.

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

The closest I could find was ŚWISZCZAK. Maybe Swiszek is the way someone tried to spell it phonetically as he heard it. The root is świst - a whistling sound made by some birds or the crack of a whip.

OBIREK: variant of obierek (peeling) form verb obierać (to peel or pare fruit, potatoes). Obierki means the peel itself. Only potential toponymic soruce might be the village of Obierwia in Mazowsze.

MIECZKOWSKI: root-word miecz (sword); toponymic tag from Mieczków, Mieczkowo and similar (Swordville, Swordton).

SZORC: a kind of apron or waist-cloth, also part of a knight's armor

WYSZOWATY: possibly a patronymic nick from the old first names Wyszebor or Wyszermir or topo tag from Wyszomierz.

KULESZA: a kind of mush made by boiling grain meal, sometimes with potatoes added; a staple of the poor peasantry.

TOLCZYK: patronymic nick for the son of Tolek (pet form of Anatol).

GUTOWSKI: topo tag from places such as Guty, Gutów, Gutowo, etc.; German-originated "Gut" means estate, landed holdings, grange, etc.

PISANKO: from pisać (to write); possibly a nick for the village scribe; a pisanka is a patterned Easter egg but men were never involved with them -- only the womanfolk.

CHOJNOWSKI: chojn- root means pine or evergreen in general; topo tag from places like Chojnowo and Chojnów (Pinwville).

HERMANOWSKI: patronymic nick for the son of Herman or (more likely) topo tag from Hermanów or Hermanowo (IHermanville).

RUTKOWSKI: root-word ruta (rue - a plant associated with spinsterhood); topo tag from places like Rutków and Rutkowo (Rueville, Ruebury).

For more information on the above please contact me

In a follow-up to the preceding post, you may be interested to know that coats of arms went with all the surrnames you have listed ecepted Tolczyk.

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

WSÓ£: Masurianised pronunciation of wszół meaning a louse; possibly originated as a nick for a lice-infested bloke or a toponymic tag for someone from Wszołów (Louseville).

FIC: Dialectal pronunciation of Wic (Wicek), pet form of Wincenty (Vincent).

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

UŚCIANOWSKI: root-word Uścian (old pet name for Justyn); either a patronymic nick or toponymic tag from such places as Uściany, Uścianki or Uścianek.

ZIMKA: diminutive of zima (winter); patronymic tag for the son of someone nicknamed Zima or toponymic nick for an inhabitant of Zimin, Zimno, Ziminice or similar.

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

Genealogy / Does your last name end in CKI not SKI [60]

Shenk doesn't seem that dffiicult for Anglos to pronounce. Once they know the sz has an sh sound. Now if it were Chrzęszczykiewicz, that would be quite another story!

KMIECIKOWSKI: Kmiecikowski may have emerged as a tri-generational surname. The father was known as Kmieć (the peasant); His son was Kmiecik (the peasant's son) and his son in turn was called Kmiecikowski.

No coat of arms goes with Kmiecikowski but there is one for an etymologically related one -- Kmieciński. The well-born Kmiecińskis were entitled to use the Hozjusz heraldic device.

SZENK: Shenk doesn't seem that dffiicult for Anglos to pronounce. Once they know the sz has an sh sound. Now if it were Chrzęszczykiewicz, that would be quite another story!

Genealogy / Does your last name end in CKI not SKI [60]

**But there is a surname like Dziedzicki. As a patronymic nick it would mean "son of the lord/squire/". In some cases it may have emerged as a toponmyic tag to identify a native of the village of Dziedzice.

**Rather from the locality of Beresteczko in what is now Ukranian-occuped eastern Poland. In the mid-17th century the flower of Polish knighthood delivered a stunning defeat there to the rebelling Cossack hordes.

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

ŚWIĄŻEK: A very rare surname used by only 7 people according to a 1990s census. Nearly all lived in Mazowsze -- Siedlce area (4), Radom and vicinity (2). A sole isolated Świążek lived in Dolny Śląsk's Wrocław area. This could have originated as an off-pronunciation of związek (union, relationship) back when illiteracy was widespread and some semi-literate priest or scribe wrote down what he heard.

It is possible that since the census was taken they all died out or emigrated.
One cannot rule out that a misspelling may have occurred somewhere down the line, and it originally was Świątek, a popular surname.

Genealogy / Searching for Jurczynski [10]

JURCZYŃSKI: root -- Jurek, Jurko, Jura pet form of Jerzy (George); probably toponymic in origin from places such as Jurcz, Jurczyce, Jurczenki, Jurczrenkowo, Jurki, etc.

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

Merged: SURNAME ORIGIN

ALBOSZTA: Probably derived from Germanic 1st name Albert (traceable to Germanic roots meaning noble + brilliant); there's a place in Romania called Alboteşti but that would probably be stretching things a bit.

WASZKIEWICZ: Patronymic from Waszka (pet form of Wasyl = Bazyl); rough Eng. equivalent: Basilson.

TURKIEWICZ: Patronymic meaning son of the Turk; the father might have really been Turkish, but many Polish Jews used the land they came from as single-generational quasi-surnames, e.g. Egipski, Syryjski, Grecki, Krymski, Hiszpański, Bawarski, etc.

FILIPOWICZ: Patronymic meaning son of Philip (originally a Greek name meaning "lover of horses")

PAW£OWSKI: Toponymic tag indicating a resident of Filipów, Filipowo or similar; or patronymic meaning Paul's son (Paulson).

CORRECTION SHOULD READ:

PAW£OWSKI: Toponymic tag indicating a resident of Pawłowo, Pawów, Pawłówka or similar; or patronymic nick meaning Paul's son (Paulson).

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

SKRZELIŃSKI: Possibly a toponymic tag identifying someone from Skrzelew in Sochaczew district (Centrla Poland). Skrzelin (if such a place existed) wold have been the ideal match, but with surnames one never knows. Rough English equivalents of Skrzelew might include Gillton, Gillbury and Gillville.

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

MISZCZAK:
1. patornymic -- in the eastern borderlands of the Commonwealth Misza was a pet form of Michał/Michaił. When such a one fathered a son you could have got Miszczak (Michaelson). But you could have also got Miszuk, Misiuk, Misiak, Miszczuk, Miszewicz, Misiewicz and other variants as well.

2. topo-patronymic -- someone from the village of Miszewo could have been nicknamed Misz. When he sired a son the offspring got dubbed Miszczak.

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

MENTEL: Probably of German or Yiddish origin from German Mantel (coat); possibly a misspelling of Mendel meaning 15 of something from German Mandel.