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

I was aware of the Torz portion you explained, but the Mendelak is new information for me. Thank you for the reply Polonius.

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

My great grandfather was born Stanislaw Torzyk in Ksiaz Wielkopolskie. His dad is registered with the surname Torz and Torzyk. I have noted that Torz and seeming

variants are distributed throughout Europe in Hungary, Poland, Austria, Italy, and Germany. What is confusing me at the moment is I recently got back DNA tests showing

Italian lineage along the Torzyk/Torz genealogical line and seems to indicate that either my great great grandfather or his father was Italian. My great grandfather was born

1878. I have no additional data on his father, but the timelines do seem to correlate with Italy's alliance with Prussia against Austria.

My great great grandmother's surname is Mendelak.