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Posts by polonius  

Joined: 24 Sep 2012 / Male ♂ 		Last Post: 10 Apr 2013
Threads: 54
Posts: 420 		From: USA Shelby Township, MI
Speaks Polish?: yes
Interests: everyhting pertianing to Poland, Polonia, Poles and things Polish

Displayed posts: 474 / page 1 of 16
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polonius   
10 Apr 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Other than being the son of a difficult (trudny) person, such surnames could have also emerged as toponymic nicknames. In Wielkopolska there is a village called Trudna, and Trudniak might have been the way an inhabitant thereof was called by outsiders. There are places such as Tруд, Трудный, Tруднвиков and others in Russia that could have generated similar toponymic tags as well .
polonius   
9 Apr 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

POLOWY: Indeed, the root-word here is pole (field). Polowy is an adjective so it would mean of, associated with or pertaining to a field or fields. It might have originated as a toponymic tag from a village called Pole (at least 2 in today's Poland). It can also have a military connotation as in szpital polowy (field hospital). BTW, the Polanians (early Poles got their name because they were 'field dwellers'.
polonius   
8 Apr 2013
Genealogy / Glownia family origin in poland? [4]

G£OWNIA: the stronghold of the some 700 people named Głownia is in the neighbouring Kraków and Katowice areas in the south of Poland.
polonius   
4 Apr 2013
Genealogy / Were my husband's ancestors possibly Jewish converts to Catholicism? [2]

Yes, these surnames definitely look Jewish. MOSCOWITZ would be the English respelling of the Polish Mośkowicz (son of Mośko or Moses).
KRAVITZ is the Yiddish word for tailor, borrowed from the Polish krawiec.

For more information on namesakes in Poland and contact with a Jewish genealogical researcher please contact me.
polonius   
1 Apr 2013
News / Homosexual lobby steps up infiltration in Poland [62]

Newsweek.pl quoted actress Joanna Szczepkowska as saying in an interview that homosexuals promote their own kind and sidestep others or throw them out of the game. "Heterosexuals do not meet up on the basis of their orientation, but homosexuals do. If you're not homosexual you won't get invited, or at least you won't get invited to certain gatherings, hence you do not belong to the inner-circle. That's the impression one gets, but you can't even ask if it's true. If you do you become a homophobe." Daily Rzeczpospolita recently reported the LGBT lobby launching an assault on school textbooks by demanding that they promote 'alternative households', with the Education Ministry succumbing to the pressure. Scholars who believe a mother, father and children constitute a family have been quietly eliminated and are no longer invited by the ministry to review textbooks.
polonius   
1 Apr 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

MASZCZYŃSKI: root-word possibly names in Ma- such as Maciej, Marcin, Mariusz, Małomir, etc. It may have originated as a topo nick from Maszczeny, now in Belarusian-occupied eastern Poland.
polonius   
31 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

ACERES: I haven't the foggiest about the meaning, origin or ethnicity of this surname or even if it is spelt correctly. It is certainly not of Polish origin and only one thing is certain: No-one in Poland uses it!
polonius   
29 Mar 2013
Food / Borscht - Zurek / Bialy barszcz recipe [153]

Merged: Żurek or biały barszcz for Easter?

What is your family's tradition for Easter breakfast: zurek or bialy barszcz?
Both are now available as dry soup powders from Knorr and Winiary, but needless to say theyboth taste like...well, dry soup-powder soups.
polonius   
29 Mar 2013
Genealogy / Last name - Murzyn [33]

MURZYN: originally from Latin Maurus (dark, black), which became Maur in German and Moor in English. Although it originally signified north Africans of mixed Berber and Arab blood, in Polish Murzyn has evolved to mean any representative of the Negroid race. Presumably in the old Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth anyone who stood out in his village for his unusually swarthy complexion might have been humorously dubbed 'Murzyn'.
polonius   
27 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

SNOPKOWSKI: root-word snopek (sheaf of grain); probably topo nick from the village of Snopków (Sheafville)

KROSTUJ: root-word krost (Old Polish for chrost/chróst/chrust) firewood or krosta ( pimple, skin blemish); possibly topo nick from Krotkowo..

SKIBA: furrow; possibly topo nick from Skiby or Skibice

SKOWROŃSKI: root-word skowron (skylark); possibly topo nick from Skowronno or Skowronów.

CORRECTION: KROSTUJ: root-word krost (Old Polish for chrost/chróst/chrust) firewood or krosta ( pimple, skin blemish); possibly topo nick from Krostkowo
(changing Krotkowo typo to Krostkowo).
polonius   
27 Mar 2013
Food / Which are the most frequently made Polish foods? [8]

Mielone (kotlety) are the favourite of many Polish kids who i reckon do not like to chew solid meat. These are flattened meatballs usually made of minced pork or the cheaper but nondescript mięso mielone which can cotnain most anything (poultry skins, assorted meat and fat scraps, gristle, veins, ligaments, etc.).
polonius   
26 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

KOZIURA: root-word koza (goat); one of several names suggesting a goatherd or goat trader; others include koziarz, koziara, and koziur. None-too-common in today's Poland (some 300 users). Since the biggest clusters are in the Recovered Territories (Ziemie odzyskane), it probably orginated in the eastern half of Poland annexed by Stalin in 1939 when he split the country down the middle with Herr Hitler. I do not know whether it was widely used by representatives of ethnicities other than Polish.
polonius   
25 Mar 2013
Love / Polish Weddings - what to wear, gifts, confetti, traditions [15]

Dunno if it is done all over but this wedding dj (djgodzilla.pl) definitely has it in his offer. At some weddings, there is also dancing with the bridegroom for money. At the end of it all, the loot is tallied up to see who has earned more na kołyskę. It's all in good fun, of course..

Related: Do female guests wear hats at Polish weddings?

I am a guest at a wedding in gdansk shortly. The bride is polish, the groom is scottish. There will be a lot of guests from the Uk. Do female guests wear hats at weddings in Poland? I would if in the Uk but not sure if ladies wear hats at polish weddings. Thanks for your help.

No, women don't wear hat at Polish weddings. You are also not supposed to wear cream or white. I didn't see anyone wearing a hat at my cousin's wedding in Poland; neither female nor male.
polonius   
25 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

RECZKO: possible etymology - topo nich from Reczków; reczek (a field rodent similar to a hamster); reczka - from of hreczka (buckwehat); reczka - Ruthenian for little river, in Polish rzeczka.
polonius   
24 Mar 2013
Love / Polish Weddings - what to wear, gifts, confetti, traditions [15]

The basic traditions of a Polish wedding are:
-- parental blessing before the couple leaves for church
-- bread & salt welcome at reception site
-- oczepiny - veił removal
-- money dance with bride (male guests give a llittle cash 'na kołyskę')
-- poprawiny - follow-up celebration the next day.
polonius   
24 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

Sopot Kamionka
WARCHO£: In Polish this means trouble-maker, instigator, someone rocking the boat and stirring up unrest. Since I believe Andy Warhol's family was of Slovak origin, the Polish equivalent of his surname might be Wargol -- meaning someone with a prominent lip.

HOSZYNIAK, HOSZNIAK: possibly derived from the old first names Gościmir or Gościsław, esp. their Ruthenian or Slovak versions Hostimir or Hostislav.
polonius   
23 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

HAWRY£KO: The 'w' is what tells you this was dervied from the first name Gabriel, in Ukrainian Hawryło. To the untrained ear, it may have sounded in rapid speech like horyłka (vodka).
polonius   
23 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

the German name 'Schwarz' (which means black). Polonius?

Definitely. Germans and Jews named Schwarz (under whatever spelling) sometimes translated it to something like Czarnecki when they did not wish to broadcast their ethnicity.

MALEŃKI: one of the forms of mały (small, little). Other such surnames include Mały, Malutki and Malusi. In English we also have the surnames Little and Small., as do Germans and Jews -- Klein.
polonius   
22 Mar 2013
Language / "No tak"; The Oddest Phrase In Polish For This American [75]

Learners of Polish should bear in mind that Polish 'no' meaning 'yes' is extremely colloquial, at times (in a more formal setting) even impolite and inapprorpriate.. In that sense it is comparable to a the very casual term 'na' said when handing someone something. Roughly it conveys the flavour of: Hey you, grab hold of this... The poilite term would be 'proszę'.
polonius   
14 Mar 2013
Genealogy / Family members immigrating from Bereska [26]

BARRON: altrnative spelling of Baron which means baron, a minor noblemen. (In Poland gentry titles of count and baron emerged only under the occupying partitioners in the 19th century.) Only a handful use the Barron spelling in Poland but many spell it Baron. Perops the double vowel occurred in the New World.
polonius   
11 Mar 2013
Genealogy / Family members immigrating from Bereska [26]

Tymko is a pet for of Tymoteusz (Timothy). I was surprised to find a handful of people in Poland surnamed Barron. Doule consonants are quite rare in Polish names.
polonius   
11 Mar 2013
Genealogy / Family members immigrating from Bereska [26]

MADEJCZYK: Probably dervied from pet names for Amadeusz such as Madej, Maduś, Madek; the patronymic ending -czyk suggests that it probably emerged to indicate "Maddy's kid". Around 1,000 users in Poland, one-third in Upper Silesia, the principal bastion.

DUDA. primitive, goatskin bapgpipe; probably originated to identify a home-spun rural musician. The major stronghold is again Górny Śląsk.
polonius   
11 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

WO£OSZYN: from Wołoch (roving Vallachian /Romanian/ shepherd); Wołoszyn could have been a patronymic nick meaning "the shepherd's son"; also a topo tag from Wołoszyny in Podkarpackie.
polonius   
10 Mar 2013
Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4501]

SZMAK: root-word smak (taste), a borrowing from German Geschmack

DOBROSIŃSKI: root-word dobro (good, goodness, kindness); probably topo tag from Dobrosin (Goodville, Goodbury) now in Ukraine.

WIŚNIEWSKI: root-word wiśnia (cherry); probably a topo tag from Wiśniew or Wiśniewo (Cherryville).
polonius   
9 Mar 2013
Genealogy / Looking for Sitko family from Warsaw area [2]

SITKO: root-word sitko (sieve, strainer); some 4,000 Sitkos in Poland, 1,600 of them in the Katowice area, A secondary bastion (some 400) is found in Podlasie (NE Poland) in and around Białystok and Suwałki.
polonius   
9 Mar 2013
Genealogy / Tuzinowska from Gruta area and Wojtowicz of Radom area [7]

TUZINOWSKI: root-word tuzin (dozen); probably originated as a toponymic tag from a locality called Tuzinów or Tuzinowo. There are about 100 Tuzinowskis in Poland of which around a third live in the country's NE corner in the Suwałki area (north of £omża) along the Lithuanian border.