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

I am new to the site and I am trying to learn about the surnames in my family. My family came from Lithuania, but as we all know families move and travel over time. The names I am researching are:

Mankiewicz -
Bernotus - Could this be name be related to the Polish name Bernawicz?
Matuzezicene-
Stasis (slaszye) -
Kuchinkas -

I assume that families that traveled could have taken the local suffix. For instance could Kuchinkas (Lithuanian) and Kuchinski (Polish) family lines be related?

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

Thanks for your answer. What does the name "Mank" mean? From the meaning "son of Mank". (From the name Mankiewicz).

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

Thank you all for taking your time to help.

I have another name that might or might not be polish, but married a Mankiewicz. I would like to learn the origins and the meaning of the name:

Theophilia Slaszyc.

Other spellings for Slaszyc that I have are: Stasis, Staszyc, Slassis.

Genealogy / Bernatowicz surname? (I am starting to wonder if anyone in my family was American?) [85]

Has anyone of the following surnames done a DNA test? That would be the easiest way to find a common ancestry. The names I am interested in are:

Mankiewicz
Bernot (Bernotowicz,Bernotus) or any other variant
Stazyc, Statsis, Slaszi or any other similar name.
Kucinskas, Kucinska, Kucinski

Let me know if you have, maybe we can compare our kits on the website Getmatch and find out if we are related.

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

Does anyone have any information on the surname: Amelia Valaria Kucinski (Kucinska)

Amelia = Emily or some variant

I assume that Valaria could be a lastname or first name of a family member. What does it mean?

What does Kucinski (polish), Kucinskas (Lithuania), Kucinska (Russian?) mean?

Thanks in advance for your time.

Genealogy / Bernatowicz surname? (I am starting to wonder if anyone in my family was American?) [85]

Please remember names change and spelling variants happen.

The name Bernot (Bernotus, Bernotas or Barnot) I refer too, was spelled several different ways on different documents. He was Lithuanian/Polish, it was spoken in the house. His wife was Polish/Lithuanian and they are buried in Lithuanian Cemeteries. I mention Polish and Lithuanian because it is very likely my roots go from Lithuania -> Poland.

It is not that far of a drive.

Genealogy / Bernatowicz surname? (I am starting to wonder if anyone in my family was American?) [85]

Putting a smile on my face here, and trying to answer politely. I will try to enlighten.

Name changing is quite common. There are many reasons for doing it:

1. Political - Jews changed there names for obvious reasons.
2. Social - Some societies will reject folks who have names from other parts of the world. Names are changed to fit in. Germans and Italians did this in America regularly

3. Ignorance - The port of entry officer who documents an arrival can't spell or the immigrant simply changes it to something they like better at time of immigration. In some cases you can tell where a family arrived in the United States simply based on the spelling of their name.

4. Most immigrants are not rich and educated, in the past most were illiterate folks who can't read or write. Imagine an illiterate person spelling a name and dealing with different sounds and character sets (Russian or Chinese). Imagine immigrating to China (or a province of modern day) in 1800 and having an immigration officer who does not speak Polish try to write your name in a Chinese character set. The name changes.

5. Real World Example: Original Name Matuzeziciene Turned into: Mathews
6. My neighbor told me his surename changed because his grandmother liked another name better.

My surname is Scottish, but my real surname and ancestry is Polish - Nothing alike, they only have a few characters in common.

I would love to compare DNA test with folks to learn more about my ancestry. The only way to prove relationships is through science and DNA. You can say it ain't so all you want, only a test will prove it.

Numbers don't matter, Robert De Bruce has over 40,000k descendants.

As mentioned in a previous post by OP - Bernot is at its root Polish without the wicz. Bernatowicz is just as much polish as Bernot.

In summary, names change and sometimes change dramatically.

I hope this helps.
.

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

How about the name: Steswich