Life / Halloween vs All Saints' Day in Poland [48]

Celtic All Hallows' Eve is closely related to Slavic Zaduszki. Zaduszki, an ancient pagan festival, has nothing to do with All Saints Day, a Catholic holiday. All Saints Day celebrates martyrs for Catholic faith, not dead relatives. All Saints Day is on November 1, Zaduszki on November 2. Poles often confuse the two holidays. For some unknown reason All Saints Day is a state holiday in Poland, while more ancient and more Polish Zaduszki is not.

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

Szybkowski: first recorded in 1747, root word szybki "quick, swift, fast." Currently, 114 Szybkowskis and 111 Szybkowskas (females) live in Poland:

Language / -ski/-ska, -scy/ski, -wicz - Polish surnames help [185]


They do. The ending -ski creates an adjective. All ski-names are adjectives. The name of Poland in Polish "Polska" is originally also an adjective (since the 19th century also used as a noun). However, Polish ski-names started to form not earlier than the 13th century and became very popular only in the 16th century. The equivalents of Slavic -ski and -cki in English are -ic and -ish. Celtycki=Celtic; brytyjski=British.

History / Is there a list of those in the Polish Army during WWII? [193]

If he fought at Monte Cassino, he was in the Polish II Corps. If he was in infantry, he had to be in the 3rd Carpathian Rifle Division. The division was 29000 strong. Here's the list of all names, followed by birth date, rank, etc.:

stankiewicz.e.pl/index.php?kat=42&sub=644
I have no idea how to find your father's name there. There are many sites dedicated to the Polish soldiers who fought in the II Corps, at Monte Cassino, etc. (some in English) - with personal stories perhaps worth checking out.

History / Is there a list of those in the Polish Army during WWII? [193]

@vodopad
My mistake. Thanks.


No, the list is not searchable this way. You'd have go name by name. But when I randomly searched few hundred names on the list I noticed that there are very few young soldiers born in 1926, and I found only one born in 1927 (but not Stanisław). So there is a good chance you will find very few Stanisławs born in 1927, and luckily only one. Unforunately, vodopad is right and the 5th Kresowa Infantry Division was also a part of the II Corps and fought at MC. It was a huge division too, and I didn't find a list of its soldiers on the internet. Such lists are in books published long time ago.

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

Bajdo: first recorded in 1789, from Old Polish bajda "blabber, gossipmonger." No apparent meaning in contemporary Polish. Currently, 128 Bajdos live in Poland.
Woloszyn: from Slavic first name Wolimir or from verb woleć "to prefer" or from noun wola "will." Currently, only 4 Woloszyns live in Poland.

If originally spelled Wołoszyn: first recorded in 1359, from Wołoch "a member of pastoral people in Carpathian Mountains of Romanian origin. Wołochs were mistakenly thought to be from Italy, hence the name of Italy and Italians in Polish is Włochy. Currently, 6682 Wołoszyns live in Poland.

Language / -ski/-ska, -scy/ski, -wicz - Polish surnames help [185]


Originally in Polish, "polska" was an adjective always attached explicitly or implicitly to ziemia (land) "ziemia polska" (Polish Land). It still survives as an adjective in the name of the country "Rzeczpospolita Polska." Polska as a noun is a colloquial abbreviation, common since the 19th century. In the Constitution of May 3, 1991, "Polska" is used both as an adjective and a noun.

Genealogy / Is Gajos a Silesian or Polish surname? [12]

Gajos is a popular Polish surname. 4146 people named Gajos live in Poland. Distribution of Gajos name in Poland: The largest concentration of Gajoses is in Miechów and Kielce, suggesting that the origin of the name was not in Silesia.

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

Papka: from papka "gruel" or from verb papkać "to eat" in Old Polish. Currently, 476 Papkas live in Poland. Most Papkas live in Sandomierz and Kielce. The name is not "more eastern." Distribution in Poland: moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/papka.html

Genealogy / Last Name Information - Lewandowski [16]


Currently, 43690 Lewandowskis live in Poland as this map shows: moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/lewandowski.html

Of course, all of them belong to nobility and own peasants who work for them. This is their current Coat of Arms:

Life / Installing a solar panel in Poland [14]

The best place for solar panels is in the basement.

Genealogy / Want to find a person [769]

If you know which school he went to, you can try to find him on Nasza-klasa.pl ("Classmates"): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasza-klasa.pl

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

Szott: since 1671, from Szot in Old Polish "Scot, Scottish person," from szot in Old Polish "trader, herring," from German personal name Schot. Similar names: Szotta, Szottek. Currently, 734 Szotts live in Poland. Sources:

stankiewicz.e.pl/index.php?kat=44&sub=828
moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/szott.html

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

No. Działecki is from działać "to do," not from dzielić "to divide" or działka "a parcel of land." Even names such as Działek, Działko, Działkiewicz, Działkowicz, Działkowski, Działkowiec come from działać "to do."

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

Data: from datek "offering, dole, charity" (from Proto-Slavic dati), from data "date" (from Latin data). Currently, 1691 Datas live in Poland.

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

Białołęcka (female)/Białołęcki (male): toponimic from Białołęka, a village near (now part of) Warsaw founded in 1425, from biały "white" + łąka "meadow." Currently, 45 Białołęckas and 33 Białołęckis live in Poland.

Zahacefski: likely a corrupted form of Zachaczewski, from names beginning with Za- such as Zachariasz, Zacheusz, Zabor, Zasław or toponimic from a village no longer existing in Poland.

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

More likely German or Prussian than Polish as this area was part of Germany before 1945. But you can't deduce someone's nationality from their name alone or from the name of locality they came from.

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

Wilkanowski: since 1640, toponimic from Wilkanowo, a village in Płock County, Masovian Voivodeship. Wilkanowo = wilk "wolf" + nowo "new." Currently, 135 Wilkanowskis and 152 Wilkanowskas live in Poland. No info on Wilganowski or Wilkinowski.

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

Jaroch: since 1444, from names such as Jarogniew, also from jary "springlike, young, strong." Currently, 1147 Jarochs live in Poland - most in Bydgoszcz.

moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/jaroch.html

Other names are not in use in today's Poland. Most are orthographically impossible in Polish. Names beginning with Szach- are common. Szach comes from Persian Shah and the game of chess.

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

The ending -czyk is typical in Polish names. But Powelczyk is incorrect.
Pawełczyk: first recorded in 1605, from Paweł "Paul," "son of Paul" or "Paulson;" Paweł from Latin Paulus "small" since the 12th century. Currently, 3611 Pawełczyks live in Poland, most in Będzin:

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

Szczekot: from szczekać "to bark" (like a dog or fox). Currently, 69 Szczekots live in Poland, most in Leżajsk.

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

It's not implausible, but I have no knowledge how heralds were nicknamed 500 or 700 years ago. Equally possible is that your ancestor was an owner of a bunch of noisy dogs in the 12th century and his neighbours called him szczekot. It's also possible your ancestor was from the city of Szczekociny "Barktown." One thing we know for sure - that the root-word szczekać was popular in Poland for generating nicknames and later names, as currently there are two dozen names with the same etymology: Szczek, Szczeka, Szczekala, Szczekalik, Szczekalski, Szczekała, Szczekało, Szczekan, Szczekarewicz, Szczekla, Szczeklik, Szczekna (since 1402), Szczekocin (since 1215), Szczekociński, Szczekocki (since 1362), etc.

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

Zierwen/Dzierwinski: Currently, no one in Poland uses these names. 10 people in Poland and 690 people in Germany use the name Zier. Closest to Dzierwiński are Dzierwicki and Dzierwanowski - both from Proto-Slavic drviti "to run fast."

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


Mieścier: also Mieścior, from nestor "the oldest in the family," also from personal name of Greek origin Nestor. Currently, 13 Mieściers live in Poland.

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

In contemporary colloquial Polish a "man about town" can be called Mieścior but not Mieścier. But this is not the etymology of both names, according to academic sources I use.

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


This is a map of (almost) all names currently in use in Poland: moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/mie%25C5%259Bcier.html
This site combines etymologies of almost all Polish names based on 6 academic sources (in Polish): stankiewicz.e.pl/index.php?kat=44&sub=530

Radziłowski: first recorded in 1492, toponimic from either Radziłowice or Radziłów, in the group of names derived from personal names such as Radosław, Radomir, also from rady "glad, pleased, happy, contented" or from radzić "to advise." Currently, 8 Radziłowskis and 11 Radziłowskas live in Poland.

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

Ochałek: from verb ochać "to say oh! ah!" Many similar names: Ochał (first recorded in 1388), Ochalski, Ochalik, Ochała, Ochałka, Ochaj, Ochajski, etc. Currently, 595 Ochałeks live in Poland, most in the south-east in Krosno and Jasło.

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

Wreczycki: toponimic from villages Wręczyca or Wręczyca Wielka. Similar name Wręcki with the same origin. Currently, 2 Wreczyckis and 4 Wreczyckas (females) live in Poland.

Jedrzejewski: from first name Andrzej "Andrew" of Greek origin, first recorded in the 12th century. Currently, 22 Jedrzejewskis and 23 Jedrzejewskas live in Poland. More common spelling: Jędrzejewski (15000).

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

Chudyba: root word chudy "thin," from chudoba "thinness, leanness, poverty." Currently, 321 Chudybas live in Poland, many in Brzesko.
Gajda: first recorded in 1536, from gajda "bagpipes," bagpipes player, also a clumsy, unshapely person in Old Polish. Currently, 20168 Gajdas live in Poland.
Strzelec: first recorded in 1397, from strzelec "archer" and strzała "arrow." Currently, 4109 Strzelecs live in Poland.
Pawlak: first recorded in 1640, from Paweł "Paul," Paweł from Latin Paulus "small," "son of Paul."
Gajzler: from German personal names Geisler, Geislar, these from gisler, gideler "guarantor, hostage" or from name Gieselheri. Currently, 1057 Gajzlers live in Poland.
Jarentowski: toponimic "a person from Jarantowice, Jarantów (Greater Poland)."

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

Miesik: from mieszać "to mix, knead." Currently, 10 Miesiks live in Poland.
Czajak: from Proto-Slavic èajati "to wait, expect, lurk." Currently, 90 Czajaks live in Poland.