The most difficult Polish surname. Polish names

We ask you to love and favor: Kowalski, Nowak, Mickiewicz and Lewandowski. We will tell you why exactly these surnames are considered truly Polish.

Each name and each surname has its own history. But the Polish anthroponymic system also has its own past, its own rules and peculiarities, which reflect the complexity of social, ethnic and cultural relations. For starters, most Polish surnames fall into one of three categories (although, as you'll soon see, it's not that simple)

Surnames formed from nouns and adjectives- most often they come from nicknames associated with the profession, features of the appearance or character of a person. For example, Kowalski (from kowal- "blacksmith"), Glovach (from glowa- "head") or Fast (from bystry- "smart").

Surnames derived from toponyms- they are based on the geographical names of the place of residence, birth or historical homeland of the bearers of the surname. For example, Brzezinski.

Surnames-patronyms- they, as a rule, are formed from a personal name with the help of a suffix indicating kinship relations. For example: Petrovich. And yet, a surname is not so simple a thing. Take at least the most popular suffix in Polish surnames: -sky.

Surnames in -sky: the object of dreams Poles

Although these surnames are not that ancient, they have become the most recognizable Polish surnames in the world. In Poland, they are really the most common: surnames in -sky (and also -tsky and -dzky) make up approximately 35% of the 1000 most popular Polish surnames.

What is their history?

Initially, they denoted a specific area where the owner of the surname came from, or his possessions. Among the oldest surnames on -sky, which spread in Poland in the 13th century, for example, Tarnowski (from Tarnow), Chomentowski (from Chomentow), Brzezinski (from Brzezina), etc. At first, such surnames were found only among the Polish nobility. The gentry owned the land and had every right to use their possessions - and their name - as a distinguishing feature (after all, this is what surnames are for, right?). As a result, surnames -sky began to be considered gentry: they testified to the noble origin and high social status of the family. In the classy Polish society, only 10 percent of which was the gentry, surnames on -sky were the object of desire of the Poles. Around the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, surnames in -sky spread among the bourgeoisie and peasants, and this can be considered the beginning of the "-sky epidemic". The suffix lost its original meaning and became the most productive Polish suffix. It was added to traditional Polish surnames formed from nouns. So, Skovron ("lark") became Skovronsky, Kachmarek ("owner of the tavern") - Kachmarsky, and Koval ("blacksmith") - Kovalsky.

Are all surnames ending in -sky - Polish?

Surnames containing a suffix -sky, are known to most Slavic languages. However, it was their popularity in Poland that led to their spread, first in Eastern Europe and then throughout the world. Today's surnames -sky with a high degree of probability testify to the Polish origin of their owners. It is known for certain that some famous Russians, for example, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Vaslav Nijinsky and, alas, Felix Dzerzhinsky have Polish roots.

Surnames formed from nouns

If Polish surnames on -sky are usually associated with the upper strata of Polish society in origin, then surnames formed from ordinary nouns are certainly more democratic. Considering that the majority of Poles come from peasant families, it is these surnames that should be considered the main candidate for the title of “most Polish”. Often they are formed from nicknames associated with the type of activity, features of the appearance or character of their carriers. For example: Novak (“new”, newcomer), Bystron (“smart”), Byala (“white”), Glovach (“with a big head”).

Kovalsky means Kuznetsov: surnames formed from professions

Occupational surnames exist in probably every culture. In Poland, there are a great many of them, largely due to the productivity of various suffixes: -sky, -chik, -ik, -ak etc. For example, from the Polish word kowal(“blacksmith”) originate such surnames as Kovalchik, Kovalik, Kovalsky, Kovalevsky and, of course, Koval - this surname is still very common, just like the Russian “Kuznetsov” or the English “ Smith". Such surnames say a lot about the former importance of certain professions in Poland: Wozniak (watchman), Krawczyk (tailor), Shevchik (shoemaker), Kachmarek (shrinkman), Cheshlyak (carpenter), Kolodzeisky (wheel master), Bednazh (cooper, cooper ), Kukharsky (cook) ... And that's not all.

Peter, Petshak, Petrovsky- surnames derived from Christian names

Thanks to the same productive Slavic suffixes, the Polish nominal system has an incredible number of surnames formed from proper names. First of all, we are talking about Christian names, which in the 16th century almost completely replaced the original Slavic ones (their revival came only in the 19th century). From one name, up to several dozen surnames could turn out. For example, on behalf of Peter, the surnames Petrash, Petrashak, Petrashek, Petrushko, Petruha, Petron, Petshak, Petshik, Petrovyak, Peter, Peterek, Petrichek, Petras, Petras, Petri, Petrino are formed. With the classic patronymic suffix -vich(patronymic suffix) are formed: Petrulevich, Petrashkevich, Petrkevich, Petrovich, Petrusevich. Adjective suffixes are also not far behind: Petrovsky, Petrashevsky, Petrazhitsky, Petratsky, Petrushinsky, Petrikovsky, Petritsky, Petshikovsky and many, many others. The amazing productivity of suffixes affected the unprecedented popularity of such surnames. The statistics confirm this. Surnames like Petrovsky, Szymanski (from Szymon), Jankowski (from Jan), Wojciechowski (from Wojciech), Michalski (from Michal), Pavlovsky (from Pavel), Yakubowski (from Jakub) today account for up to 25 percent of all Polish surnames (from the point view of the meaning of the root). As for class affiliation, most of these surnames used to be considered peasant or bourgeois. Today, when class distinctions are long gone, it may seem strange that traditional Polish society valued some surnames more than others. According to the observations of the ethnographer Jan Stanislav Bystron, the first place in the hierarchy was occupied by the surname Mikhalovsky, followed by Mikhalsky, then Mikhalovich; surnames like Michalik, Michalek, Mikhnyak or Michnik lagged noticeably behind and were considered common people. However, they all come from the name Michal.

Polish patronymics

Perhaps, patronymics are one of the most ancient and universal ways to distinguish people. Let's remember the Arabic ibn/bin; Hebrew ben, baht; Scottish poppy; English and Scandinavian -dream. All these formants were used to indicate that someone is someone's son ... Polish patronymics could be formed using suffixes -ik, -chik, -ak, -schak, -chuck(Stach, Staszek, Stakhura, Staszczyk, Stachowiak, Stasiak are all sons of Stanisław), however the most important and most recognizable patronymic suffix is ​​the suffix -vich like in Russian. By the way, the Polish suffix -vich just of East Slavic origin (more ancient Polish forms ended in -vic, which was reflected in the names of Polish poets of the 16th-17th centuries: Szymonowitz, Klenowitz). In the eastern lands of the Commonwealth, patronyms on -vich used for many centuries by the local nobility, and in ethnic Poland such surnames were associated primarily with the bourgeoisie.

Mickiewicz- a typical Polish-Belarusian surname

Among the patronymics -vich a group of patronyms should be singled out separately for -kevich. This suffix can be considered Belarusian, and such surnames tell a lot about the cultural history of the Polish-Lithuanian union state. Homeland of surnames -kevich(for example, the names of famous Poles Mickiewicz, Matskevich, Sienkiewicz, Ivashkevich or Vankovich) should be considered the eastern lands of the former Commonwealth (Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine). In fact, all these patronymics come from proper names, or rather, from their East Slavic variants. - Mickiewicz< сын Митьки (уменьшительная форма имени Дмитрий) - Мацкевич < сын Матьки (уменьшительная форма имени Матвей) - Сенкевич < сын Сеньки (уменьшительная форма имени Семен, польск. Шимон) - Ивашкевич < сын Ивашки (уменьшительная форма имени Иван, польск. Ян) - Ванькович < сын Ваньки (уменьшительная форма имени Иван, польск. Ян) Этимология этих патронимических имен может служить доказательством того, что многие семьи с восточных окраин Речи Посполитой имели восточнославянское происхождение, а поляками стали в процессе культурной полонизации этих земель, который продолжался не одно столетие. Это особенно заметно в случае таких фамилий, как Ивашкевич или Ванькович: обе они образованы от имени Иван, которое не известно в этнической Польше. Фамилия великого польского поэта Адама Мицкевича образована от имени Дмитрий (white Zmicer, Dzmitry), which does not appear in the Polish Christian calendar and Polish national history.

Other surnames

The Commonwealth was a multicultural and multiethnic state, which affected the system of Polish surnames. Many foreign surnames are so rooted in the language that they are no longer perceived as alien.

Armenian: Oganovich (John), Agopsovich (Jacob), Kirkorovich (Grigory), Abgarovich, Aksentovich, Avakovich, Sefarovich, Aivazovsky, Torosovich.

Tatar: Abdulevich, Akhmatovich, Arslanovich, Bogatyrevich (from Bogadar), Safarevich, Shabanevsky, Khalembek, Kotlubai (bey), Melikbashits, Kadyshevich (kadi), Tokhtomyshevich.

Lithuanian Zemaitis, Stanishkis, Pekus, Pekos, Gedroits, Dovgird, Dovkont.

Belarusian Radziwill, Jagello, Sapieha, Mitskevich, Senkevich, Pashkevich, Vashkevich, Kosciuszko, Moniuszko.

Ukrainian Gorodiysky, Golovinsky, Tretyak, Mekhanyuv, Yatsishin, Ometyuk, Smetanyuk, Gavrilyuk, Fedoruk.

Surnames of Polish Jews before 1795

Jews were the last in Poland to receive hereditary surnames. This process coincided with the loss of statehood by Poland at the end of the 18th century. As a result, the Prussian, Russian and Austrian authorities began to deal almost exclusively with the issue of giving surnames to Jews. True, this does not mean that Polish Jews did not have surnames before. At first, there were no strict rules for the formation of Jewish patronymics. According to Jan Bystron, Moizesh ben Yakub, Moizesh Yakubovich or Moizesh Yakub, as well as Moshek Kuba, Moshko Kuba, etc. could address Moses the son of Jacob. (the last three patronyms are formed by adding the father's name in the genitive case). Toponymic surnames could also be formed in different ways - depending on the language. On the one hand, Wulf Bohensky, Aron Drogobytsky, Israel Zlochovsky (in the Polish manner), on the other hand - Shmul Kalisher or Mekhele Raver. As Jan Bysron explains, the same person could have several different variants of the name, depending on whether he was talking to Jews or Poles: himself Poznansky (the same applies to the pair Warsawer / Warsaw, Krakover / Krakowski, Lobzover / Lobzovsky, Patsanover / Patsanovsky). Surnames formed from the names of cities (not only Polish ones) are considered typical surnames of Polish Jews - at least until the period when the authorities of the countries that divided Poland took up the assignment of surnames to Jews.

Surnames of Jews after the Partitions of Poland

Starting from the end of the 18th century, Polish Jews officially received hereditary surnames. First of all, this happened in the territories that fell under the rule of Austria and Prussia, where special commissions were convened for this purpose, which ensured that surnames were not repeated. This gave rise to a surge of bureaucratic ingenuity, to which most of the Jewish surnames in Poland owe their appearance. Wealthy Jews paid officials for euphonious surnames. Preference was given to compound surnames with elements of Diamond-, Pearl-, Gold-, Zilber-, Rosen-, Blumen- and -berg, -tal, -baum, -band, -shtein. At the same time, some surnames were invented with the aim of ridiculing the Jews: Goldberg, Rosenkranz, Gottlieb. The most offensive names were coined by Austrian officials in Galicia: Wolgeruch ("incense"), Temperaturewechsel ("change in temperature"), Ochzenschwantz ("oxtail"), Kanalgeruch ("ditch stink"). Among them were frankly indecent: Jungfernmilch ("virgin's milk"), Afterduft ("aroma of the anus"). Such antics were unusual for the Polish administration, but similar surnames appeared in the 19th century: Inventazh (“inventory”), Alfavit (“alphabet”), Kopyto, Kalamazh (“ink”) and even Wyodek (“toilet”). Some composites are essentially tracing papers from German: Ruzhanykvyat (Rosenblat), Dobrashklyanka (Gutglas), Ksenzhkadomodelenya (Betenbuch). The Russian authorities have chosen a completely different strategy. In the territories subordinate to the Russian Empire, Slavic suffixes were added to the most common Jewish surnames: -ovich, -evich, -sky, -uk, -in, -ov, -ev, etc. Most of them are patronymics: Abramovich, Berkovich, Davidovich, Dvorkovich, Dynovich, Gutovich, Yozelevich, Yakubovsky. It is noteworthy that Jewish matronymic surnames, that is, surnames formed on behalf of the mother, became widespread on the territory of the Russian Empire: Rivsky, Rivin, etc.

Women's surnames

Today in Polish, as in Russian, surnames-adjectives have a masculine and feminine form. For example, Kovalsky - Kovalskaya. However, earlier the system for the formation of female surnames was more complex: it was possible to determine by suffixes whether a woman was married or not.

Unmarried girl: A girl who never married had her father's surname with the suffix -uvna or -anka/-yanka, depending on the final sound of the masculine version of the surname (-uvna for surnames ending in a consonant, -anka for a vowel). For example, Kordziak (father) - Kordziakuvna (daughter), Morava (father) - Moravianka (daughter).

Wife: A married woman or widow received her husband's surname with the addition of the suffix -ova or -nya/-yn: Novak - Novakova, Koba - Kobina, Pukhala - Pukhalina. This tradition in the twentieth century began to gradually fade away. Today, it is preserved only in the speech of older people.

And wins... So what are the most popular Polish surnames today? Here is a list of 10 leading families:

1. Novak - 277,000
2. Kovalsky - 178,000
3. Vishnevsky - 139,000
4. Vuychik - 126 500
5. Kovalchik - 124 000
6. Kaminsky - 120 500
7. Levandovsky - 118 400
8. Dombrovsky - 117 500
9. Zelinsky - 116 370
10. Shimansky - 114,000

What does the list say? From the point of view of the linguistic structure, this list is surprisingly monotonous: only surnames with Slavic roots got there. This testifies to the homogeneous nature of Polish society after the Second World War. It's funny that the most common surname in Poland was Nowak, which was once a "label" for a newcomer to the region - probably a foreigner or a visitor from another locality. The list contains three surnames formed from professions (Kowalsky, Vuychik, Kovalchik), and five surnames of toponymic origin (Vishnevsky, Kaminsky, Levandovsky, Dombrovsky, Zelinsky). Shimansky is the only surname on the list formed from a personal name. 7 out of 10 surnames presented end in -sky. It turns out that they are really the most Polish.

Origin of Polish surnames begins in the XV-XVII centuries, when the Polish gentry began to take hereditary names for themselves. The first Polish surnames consisted of the name of the military clan (coat of arms) and the name of the land, the property of the gentry. Later, these names began to be written with a hyphen and double surnames arose - Elita-Zamoisky, Bonch-Osmolovsky, Korbut-Zbarazhsky. Over time, surnames began to appear among representatives of other segments of the population. In Russia, few Polish surnames underwent assimilation and retained their national characteristics.

Features of the meaning of Polish surnames

Polish surnames are distinguished by some linguistic features that make them recognizable. The stress in Polish surnames is always placed on the penultimate syllable. Dictionary of Polish surnames shows a large number of surnames in -sky, -sky. They were considered noble and came from the name of family estates. Such surnames have a female version - Vishnevetsky-Vishnevetskaya, Zbarazhsky-Zbarazhskaya. In Russian, they change by cases in both genders. Now almost half of the Poles have these "aristocratic" surnames.

Surnames with the suffix -ovich, -evich were formed from personal male names and were mainly common among the bourgeoisie. These surnames do not have a family affiliation, they are the same for men and women - Adam Mickiewicz-Barbara Mickiewicz, Andrzej Pavlovich-Jadwiga Pavlovich. declination such Polish surnames only available for men. According to morphological features, surnames with suffixes -ik, -nick, -ak, -uk, -chuk, -ko can be added here. Meaning these Polish surnames associated with nicknames. They belong to both men and women, and change in cases only in the masculine gender - Novak, Copernicus, Rachko, Kovalik.

How Polish female surnames are being transformed

Meaning majority Polish surnames does not cause difficulties, it is largely common to all Slavic surnames. As usual, such surnames are transmitted through the male line, and after marriage, a woman takes her husband's surname. In modern Poland, the law allows for the retention of a maiden name or the adoption of a double surname. However, quite recently in the countryside there was an interesting custom - the female surname changed depending on the status of the woman. For example, if a husband had the surname Novak, then his wife was called Navakovna, and his daughter was Novakuvna. Or Zaremba - Zarembina - Zarembyanka.

List of Polish surnames alphabetically helps to appreciate their richness and diversity. BUT top Polish last names shows which surnames are most common.

List of popular Polish surnames

Novak
Kowalski
Vishnevsky
Wuychik
Kowalczyk
Kaminsky
Lewandowski
Zelinsky
Shimansky
Wozniak
Dombrovsky
Kozlovsky
Yankovsky
Masuria
Voitsekhovsky
Kwiatkovsky
Krawchik
Kaczmarek
Petrovsky
Grabovsky
Zaremba
Ozheshko
Schenkevich

1.1. General remarks.
In Russian onomastics of surnames of Polish origin
much less than Ukrainian or Belarusian, and they were subjected to assimilation to a much lesser extent. This is due to several reasons. Firstly, the Polish territory was included in the Russian Empire relatively ...
late - in 1795, and was within its borders for a little more than a century - until the revolution of 1917. Secondly, a highly developed culture, a strong national identity and a different, Roman Catholic, church created serious obstacles to assimilation. And finally, the Latin alphabet of the Polish language greatly complicated the Russification of Polish surnames compared to Ukrainian and Belarusian ones, which were written in Cyrillic. It is known, however, that a significant number of Polish landowners lived on the territory of Ukraine and Belarus, and their surnames could enter Russian onomastics in an earlier period. Some of them were Ukrainianized even before the reunification of Ukraine with Russia. But much more often, Ukrainian and Belarusian surnames were subjected to Polonization due to the fact that familiarization with Polish culture during the period of Polish rule in Ukraine and Belarus was considered prestigious. Between the Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian ethnic groups, there was a constant interchange of surnames, so now it is sometimes difficult and even impossible to clearly distinguish between their origin, especially when we are faced with surnames on -sky and on -ovich.

1.2. typical suffixes.
There are two typical suffixes in surnames of Polish origin: -sky/-sky and -ovich/evich.
Suffix -sky/-sky- The most common. Its Polish non-Russified form is -ski/-cki. Initially, surnames with these suffixes belonged to the nobility and were formed from the name of the property. This origin gave surnames on -skl/-cki social prestige, as a result of which this suffix spread in the lower social strata, eventually establishing itself as a predominantly Polish onomastic suffix. This explains his popularity among other ethnic groups living in Poland - Ukrainians, Belarusians and Jews. It should be noted that Ukrainian, Belarusian and Jewish surnames on -sky/-sky typical Polish stress on the penultimate syllable. The same trend can be noted among Russian surnames, because, as mentioned above, very few of the old Russian aristocratic surnames retain the stress not on the penultimate syllable, for example, Vyazemsky and Trubetskoy.
Another typical Polish surname suffix is -ovich/-evich, in Polish spelling -owicz/-ewicz. It is interesting to note that he is not of Polish, but of Ukrainian-White Russian origin. Originally Polish was the form of this suffix -owic/ -ewic. If the last names -ski/-cki were considered mainly as nobles, then the social sounding of surnames on -owic/-ewic rated below.

In Ukraine and Belarus, on the contrary, the corresponding surnames on -ovich/-evich(pronounced in Ukrainian as [-ovych / -evych]) were considered noble. When, after the Union of Lublin in 1569, the privileges of the Polish nobility also extended to Ukrainian and Belarusian feudal lords, the suffix -owicz/-ewicz, along with the suffix -ski/-cki, began to indicate noble origin and quickly replaced the Polish suffix -owic/-ewic. The latter socially discredited himself by the fact that in many Polish dialects it was pronounced With[ts] instead cz[h], accepted in the literary language, and compared with the suffix -owicz/-ewicz suffix -owic/-ewic began to be assessed as a dialect, "common people" and, therefore, socially low. Started in the 16th century suffix spread -owicz/-ewicz led to the fact that in 1574. in the Polish noble family suffix -owic was recorded for the last time.

Thus, Polish surnames on -owicz/-ewicz are divided into three groups:
a) Assimilated Ukrainian surnames like Doroszewicz, Juchnowicz, Klimowicz, Stepowicz.
b) Assimilated Belarusian surnames like Fedorowicz, Mickiewicz, Sienkiewicz, Stankiewicz.
c) Originally Polish surnames like Antoniewicz, Bartoszewicz, Grzegorzewicz, Jedrzejewicz, Szczesnowicz, Wasowicz.
But in many cases it is impossible to establish where such surnames actually come from. -owicz/-ewicz, such as:
Bobrowicz(bobr "beaver") Pawlowicz(Pawel);
Janowicz(jan) Tomaszewicz(Tomasz);
All these surnames, of course, have the usual Polish accent on the penultimate syllable. Despite the non-Polish origin of the suffix -ovich/-evich, the Polish influence on surnames with this suffix was so strong that now in all, without exception, native Ukrainian and Belarusian surnames on -ovich/-evich Polish accent is presented.

1.3. Distinctive features of Polish surnames.
Despite the strong interconnectedness of Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian surnames, a number of phonetic features indicate an unconditionally Polish origin. The surnames given below are given in the usual Russified form and in Russian spelling, the corresponding Polish form is given in brackets. The latter often comes from the name of the locality (it is not given here), for which the original etymology is given.

Distinctive Polish phonetic features are as follows:
a) Before e, i and in some other positions r as a result of palatalization gives a sound, which in Polish is conveyed by the combination rz. This sound, depending on the preceding consonant, is pronounced as [z] or as [s]. Polish spelling rz in Russified surnames is transmitted as hw, less often rsh or w(after a voiceless consonant, usually to or P). This contrasts with the etymologically related native Russian, Ukrainian, or Belarusian surnames, which show the simple R. Examples:

Wierzbicki Wierzbicki(wierzba "willow"); Ukrainian and white Verbitsky;
Zakrzewski Zakrzewski(za "for" + other Polish kierz, gen. p. krza "bush") there is also a later Russified form Zakrevsky;
Zwierzchowski Zwierzchowski(zwierzch "from above"); Russian, Ukrainian, Bel. top;
Komisarzhevsky (Komisarzewski < komisarz "комиссар"); ср. русскую фамилию Komisarov;
Korzhenevsky(Korzeriewski< korzen "корень"); русск., укр., бел. root;
Orzhehovsky(Orzechowski< orzech "орех"); русск. nut, Ukrainian opix, white arex;
Pestrzhetsky(Piestrzecki< pstry "пестрый"); вставное e after R could be the result of Russification: Russian. Motley;
Petrzhak, Petrzhik(Pietrzak, Pietrzyk, reduce from Piotr "Peter");
Pogorzhelsky(Pogorzelski< pogorzec "погореть"); укр. и бел. Pogorelsky, Russian burnt;
Zgorzhelsky(Zgorzelski< zgorzec "сгореть"); Skrzypkovsky(Skrzypkowski< собир. skrzypki "скрипки"); русск. violin, Ukrainian violin;
Tkhorzhevsky(Tchorzewski< tchorz "хорь"); др.-русск. thor, st.-Russian. ferret;
Tokarzevic(Tokarzewicz< tokarz "токарь"); русск. turner;

All last names starting with Przy- (equivalent to Russian At-), of Polish origin, such as:

Przybylsky(Przybylski) ;
Przybylovsky(Przybylowski) Przybytek(Przybytek);
In surname Dzerzhinsky(Dzierzyfiski) contains non-palatalized R, and the combination R + and(in Polish spelling rz). The root is the same as in Russian to keep. This surname can be of both Polish and Belarusian origin.

In rare cases, Polish rz transmitted not hw, a rsh or simply w. Examples:

Krshiwicki(Krzywicki< krzywy "кривой"); чаще эта фамилия в русской форме передается как Krzhivitsky; Ukrainian, Bel. Krivitsky;
Kshemenetsky(Krzemieniecki< Krzemiemec, название местности); укр. Kremenets;
Kshesinsky(Krzesinski, associated with the root krzes- "carve fire"; there is also a form Krzhesynsky); Russian Cross;
Przybyshevsky(Przybyszewski< przybysz "прибывший"); известна также форма Przybyszewski.

b) Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian oro, olo and here between consonants are parallel to Polish ro, to and rze(< re):

Grodzinsky(Grodzinski< grod "город"); русск., укр., бел. city;
Navrotsky(Nawrocki< nawrocic "возвратиться"); русск., укр., бел. эквивалент этого корня — gate-.

Sometimes ro becomes ro(phonetically en), such as:

Brzezicki, Brzezinski(Brzezicki, Brzezinski< brzez-/brzoz- "береза"); русск. Birch, Ukrainian Birch, white byardza;
Vrubel, Vrublevsky(Wrobel, Wroblewski< wrobel "воробей"); русск. эквива лент имеет другой суффикс: sparrow;
Glovatsky, Glowinsky(Glowacki, Glowinski< glowa "голова"); русск. head;
Drzevetsky(Drzewiecki< drzewo "дерево"); русск., укр., бел. Wood;
Zablotsky(Zablocki< za "за" + bloto "болото"); русск., укр., бел. Zabolotsky;
Klossovsky(Ktossowski< ktos "колос"); русск. ear; about double cc see below;
Mlodzeevsky(Mlodziejewski< mlody "молодой") ; русск. young;

Numerous surnames for Pře- (Russian equivalent Pere- "through, over"):

Przebylsky(Przebylski) Przhevalsky(Przewalski, a surname of Ukrainian origin, subjected to Polonization in the 16th century, according to a family legend) Przhezdziecki(Przezdziecki);

initial syllable Prze- often referred to as Pshe-, which is closer to the Polish pronunciation:

Przebelsky(Przebielski);
Przezhetsky(Przerzecki< przez + rzeka "река") ; русск. river. The bearer of this surname, obviously, tried to preserve the original Polish pronunciation.
Przemyonsky(Przemienski);
Psheradskiy(Przeradzki).

Under certain conditions rze can also act as rzo:

Brzhozdvskiy(Brzozowski< brzoza "береза"); русск. Birch;
Vrzhos, Vrzosek(Wrzos, Wrzosek< wrzos "вереск"); русск. heather

in) In some cases, Polish - ar- corresponds to Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian - ep/-op and Polish - lu- Russian - ol-, Ukrainian - oh- (pronounced as - OU-) and Belarusian - OU-. Examples:

Dluzhevsky, Dlugoborsky, Dlugolentsky(Dhizewski, Diugoborski, Dlugolecki< dlugi "долгий"); русск. long, Ukrainian long-term, white Dougy;
Tvardovsky(Twardowski< twardy "твердый"); русск. solid, Ukrainian hard, white flowers;
Tlustovsky(Tlustowski< tlusty "толстый"); русск. thick, Ukrainian tovsty;
Czarniecki(Czarnecki< czarny "черный") ; русск. the black, Ukrainian black, white blacks;
Czartoryski, Czartoryski(Czartoryski< Czartorysk, топоним); русский эквивалент первой части -Crap-

G) Russian and Ukrainian t and d in Polish, as a result of palatalization, appear respectively as With and dz. Since the same palatalization takes place in Belarusian, it is difficult to determine the origin of surnames containing this feature. The following surnames can be defined as both Polish and Belarusian:
Grudzinsky(Polish Grudzinski, white Grudzinsky< польск. gruda, бел. heap"heap");
Kwiecinsky(Polish Kwiecinski, white Kvyatsinsky Polish kwiat-/kwiet-, white quest"flower"); Russian color;
Martsinkovsky(Polish Marcinkowski, white Marcikowski< Martin"Martin");
Matsejovsky(Polish Maciejewski, white Macieuski< польск. Maciej, white Maciej"Matthew"); Russian Matvey;
Radzinsky(Polish Radzinsky, white Radzinsky< польск. radzic"advise"); Ukrainian please;
Yagodzinsky(Polish Jagodzinski, white Yagadzinski Polish jagoda, white Yagada"berry");

It is necessary to find additional, clearly Polish signs in order to prove Polish origin With or dz in names such as:
Niedzwiedzky, Niedzwiecki(Polish Niedzwiedzki< niedzwiedz "медведь"). В белоусском медведь — meadstar and the corresponding last name will be Miadzwiedzki, Russified in Medzvyodzky and further into Medvedsky(Russian bear);
Tsemnolonsky(Polish Ciemnolaski< ciemny "темный"+ "laka" "луг"). Белорусский эквивалент не содержит носового звука и будет выглядеть как Tsemnalutsky or Cömnaluski;

e) Polish retains old nasal vowels about and e transmitted in writing as a and e. In Russified surnames, nasal vowels are usually transmitted by a combination of a mid-rise vowel ( a, oh, yo) and nasal consonant ( n or m).
Etymologically related Russian, Ukrainian or Belarusian surnames in place of Polish nasal vowels show at or I/a. Examples:

Genserskiy(Gesiorski< gesior "гусак") русск. goose;
Zayonchkdvsky, Zayanchkovsky, Zayunchkdvsky(Zajaczkowski< zajac "заяц") русск. hare;
Zaremba(zare.ba "notch") Russian Nick;
Kendzyorsky(Kedzierski< kedzior "кудри") русск. curls;
Menzhinsky(Menzynski, prod. from maz, genus meza "husband" Russian. husband;
Piontkovsky(Piatkowski< piatka "пятерка" или piatek "пятница") ;укр., бел. русифицированный эквивалент — Pyatkovsky;

e) In some positions, the original e gave in Polish about(on a letter io or about). Such a development was not characteristic of the West Slavic languages, which retained in the same positions e. Russified Polish surnames usually have io/o. Russian spelling and about, representing two vowels - and and about- distorts the original Polish pronunciation, according to which i in io was not pronounced, but served solely to indicate the softness of the preceding consonant. Examples:

Kliondvsky(Ktonowski< kton "клен"; после i Polish orthography allows only about, but not io. Therefore, writing Kliondvsky- a curious hybrid of Russification and hyperpolonization).
Miodushevsky(Mioduszewski< miod "мед"); русск. honey;
Piorkovsky(Piorkowski< pioro, piorko"feather" ; Russian feather;
Piotrovich, Piotrovsky(Piotrowicz, Piotrowski< Piotr "Петр") ; русск. Peter;
piotuh, Piotukhovich(Piotuch, Piotuchowicz). This is a curious example of a surname built on an artificially Polonized Russian word rooster. The Polish word for rooster is kogut; Ukrainian - piven; white Russian - peven. Also, if this word existed in Polish, it would be written as piatuch, but not piotuch.
Tsiolkovsky(Ciotkowski< ciotek "теленок"); русск. upskirt;

and) In some cases, Polish about(pronounced like u) corresponds to Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian about, such as:

Gursky, Nagurskiy, Podgursky(Gorski, Nagorski, Podgorski< gora "гора"); русск. mountain, Ukrainian mountain, white gara;

and) The prestige of aristocratic noble families in Poland caused not only a massive desire of representatives of the social lower classes to adopt suffixes -ski/-cki and -owicz/-ewicz. Another curious device consisted in doubling the consonant in order to give the ordinary surname an unusual form and sound. consonants were usually doubled s, L, p and t. In most cases, this phenomenon is observed in Polonized Ukrainian and Belarusian surnames. Examples:

Klossovsky(Klossowski< klos "колос") ; русск., укр. ear, white colas;
Kossinsky, Kossovich, Kossovsky(Kosinski, Kossowicz, Kossowski< kosy "косой"); Krassovsky(Krassowski< krasa "краса, красота"); Ossovsky(Ossowski< топоним Osowiec); Ussakovsky(Ussakowski< укр. ус); Cosell(Koziell< koziel "козел"); Конечно, русифицированные фамилии, в которых прослеживаются характерные польские фонетические особенности, — это не только фамилии польского происхождения. В русской ономастике встречаются также многие другие фамилии, которые по лексическим или историческим признакам должны считаться польскими. Можно привести некоторые хорошо известные примеры: Vinyarsky(Winiarski< winiarz "винодел"); Dragomirov: this is a completely Russified surname, which was probably formed in the 18th century. from Polish. Dragomirecki, may not be originally Polish in origin;
Leshchinsky(Leszczynski< leszczyna "ореховое дерево") Polonsky(Potonski, apparently derived from the Latin adjective polo-nus "Polish")
Yablonsky, Yablonovsky(Jablonski, Jablonowski< jabfon "яблоня").
(kirillius.blogspot.ru)

The Polish surname (nazwisko) first appeared and took root in the circles of the wealthy Polish nobility - the gentry. The origin of Polish surnames is attributed to the period of the XV-XVII centuries, which was the heyday of this noble military class.

In order to understand the prerequisites for the emergence of such a distinctive feature as a surname in Poland, it is important to know the peculiarities of the way of life of the Polish people of that time. Poland of that era did not have its own troops, and the need to protect their property existed. In order to realize it, the nobility came up with the idea of ​​organizing the gentry itself - a special military stratum designed to represent the interests of the rich in power disputes and conflicts.

A distinctive feature of the gentry was an honest and noble attitude towards each other, regardless of the degree of wealth - equality. The structure of the Polish gentry was formed as follows: a titled noble representative of the nobility was chosen in a certain territorial area. The prerequisite was that he had land. The gentry had a statute, their own laws and privileges, approved by the royal court.

The first Polish surnames of the gentry were determined by two branches: by the name assigned to the military clan, and the name of the area where the land of the noble representative was. For example, Vasily Zbarazhsky of the coat of arms of Korbut, Prince Stanislav Alexandrovich of the coat of arms of Vitold, etc.

Depending on the name of the coats of arms, a dictionary of Polish surnames of that time was formed.

Family forms could contain such names as Elita, Zlotovonzh, Abdank, Bellina, Boncha, Bozhezlarzh, Brokhvich, Holeva, Doliva, Drogomir, Yanina, Yasenchik, Vulture, Drzhevitsa, Godzemba, Geralt. Later, the design of two parts on the letter began to be made with a hyphen: Korbut-Zbarazhsky, Vitold-Alexandrovich, Brodzits-Bunin, and subsequently one part began to be discarded: Zbarazhsky, Alexandrovich.

Distinctive features of Polish surnames

Since the 17th century, surnames have become widespread, first among the townspeople, and by the end of the 19th century, among the rural population of Poland. Of course, the simple, unpretentious Polish people did not get noble Polish surnames such as Wisniewiecki, Voitsekhovsky, Boguslavsky. For peasants and hard workers, simpler family forms were selected, like those of other Slavic peoples. These were derivatives either from the name or from the profession, less often from the place of residence or the names of objects and living creatures: Mazur, Konopka, Plow, Hook, Kovalchik, Kravchik, Zinkevich, Zareba, Cherry.

But the creative vein did not allow Poles with such simple surnames to sleep peacefully, and in the 19th century there was a short time fragment when especially creative representatives of the people began to add nicknames to their surnames. This is how unusual surnames were formed: Bur-Kowalsky, Bonch-Bruevich, Rydz-Smigly, Yungvald-Khilkevich.

Traditionally, surnames in Poland are passed down through the line of males - the successors of the clan. Each letter of the alphabet can be the first in a Polish surname, from Avinsky to Yakubovsky.

Polish surnames, like most Slavic ones, have two forms: female (-skaya, -tskaya) and male (-sky, -tsky). Brylska - Brylsky, Vyhovska - Vyhovsky, Stanishevskaya - Stanishevsky, Donovska - Donovsky. Such surnames have the meaning of adjectives, are declined and changed in the same way as adjectives.

Surnames coinciding in forms on a generic basis are also quite common in use: Ozheshko, Gurevich, Wojtek, Tadeusz, Khilkevich, Nemirovich. These family forms change only in the male version, for women they are unchanged.

The Linguistic Dictionary of Polish Surnames notes the differences in their transmission between the official style and the literary artistic style. So, adjective surnames in the first case are recorded with the use of a soft sign (Kaminsky, Zaremsky), and in the literary genre, the soft sign can be omitted (Kaminsky, Zaremsky). In addition, male surnames with the form ending in -ov, -ev are transmitted in two ways: Koval - Kovalev - Kovalyuv.

It was customary for the villagers to modify some surnames for women (on the basis of a married lady or a single girl, marriageable). For example, if a man's last name is Koval, then his wife may be Kovaleva, and his daughter may be Kovalevna. More examples: Plow - Pluzhina (deputy) - Pluzhanka; Madey - Madeeva (deputy) - Madeyuvna.

Below is a list of ten Polish surnames, the most common in the statistics of surnames of Polish origin:

• Novak - more than 200 thousand bearers of the surname.
• Kovalsky - about 135 thousand happy owners.
• Wuytsik - about 100 thousand people.
• Vishnevsky - about the same, 100 thousand people.
• Kovalchuk - a little more than 95 thousand Polish residents.
• Lewandowski - about 91 thousand owners.
• Zelinsky - about 90 thousand Poles.
• Kaminsky - about 90 thousand people.
• Shimansky - about 85 thousand people.
• Wozniak - almost 80 thousand citizens.

The data is taken from the statistics of 2004, so slight discrepancies are possible.
Common Polish surnames are a little behind: Kozlovsky, Grabovsky, Dombrovsky, Kaczmarek, Petrovsky, Yankovsky.

Foreign roots of Polish surnames

The history of the Polish Principality is closely intertwined with the stories of neighboring and not only powers: Ukraine, Hungary, Lithuania, Russia, Germany. Over the centuries, there has been a coexistence of peoples, sometimes peaceful, sometimes warlike, thanks to which more than one culture has changed and improved.

Each people borrowed from others some particles of traditions, cultures, language, giving their own in return, and the formation of surnames also underwent changes under the influence of foreign cultures.

Here is some of them:

• Shervinsky - from German: Shirvindt (a town in Prussia);
• Kokhovsky - from Czech: Kochna (name);
• Sudovsky - from Old Russian: "court" (dishes);
• Berezovsky - from Russian: birch;
• Grzhibovsky - from Hebrew: "grzhib" (mushroom);
• Zholondzevsky - from Hebrew: "zholondz" (acorn).

Taken from Ukrainian everyday life:

• Bachinsky - “bachiti” (to see);
• Dovgalevsky - "dovgy" (long);
• Poplavsky - "float" (flooded meadow);
• Vishnevsky - "cherry";
• Remigovsky - "remiga" (cautious);
• Shvidkovsky - "Shvidky" (fast);
• Kotlyarsky - "kotlyar" (manufacturer of boilers).

There are surnames borrowed from the Lithuanian foreign language. They came into use without any morphological changes: Vaganas (“hawk”), Korsak (“steppe fox”), Ruksha (“smoky”), Bryl (“hat”), Miksha (“sleepy”), etc.

The history of the formation of Polish surnames should be considered in the context of the histories of the surnames of all Slavic peoples in general. Only in this version will it be correctly interpreted and conveyed to posterity.

The first lines among Polish female names are also occupied by Zuzanna, Julia, Maya, Zofia, Hanna, Alexandra, Amelia (Zuzanna, Julia, Maja, Zofia, Hanna, Aleksandra, Amelia). And the boys were often called - Kacper, Antony, Philip, Jan, Shimon, Franciszek, Michal (Kacper, Antoni, Filip, Jan, Szymon, Franciszek, Michał).
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Poland analyzed the statistics of 2014, as well as the last 10 years in all provinces of the country. And they came to the conclusion that little has changed over the past decade. The only change affected the name of Lena: it took the lead, displacing the name Yulia since 2013. But Yakub has been a favorite among male names since 2004.
The popularity of names differs depending on the provinces. So, most girls with the name Lena were born in 2014 in the voivodeships of Kuyavia-Pomerania, Lubusz, Lodz, Mazowiecki, Opole, Podkarpackie, Silesia, Swietokrzyski, Warmia-Mazury, Wielkopolska. And girls with the name Zuzanna - in the provinces of Lublin, Lesser Poland, Pomerania. In Lower Silesia and in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship, parents most often called their daughters Hanna.
With boys, the situation is more homogeneous: almost everywhere Yakub is in the lead. With the exception of only the Mazowieckie Voivodeship, where Janov was the most registered in 2014.
But the least often children were called old Polish names - such as Boguslav, Miroslava, Lubomir, Jurand (Bogusława, Mirosława, Lubomir, Jurand).

Popular Polish surnames

The most popular surnames include Nowak, Kowalski and Wisniewski (Nowak, Kowalski, Wiśniewski). Now 277,000 Novaks, 178,000 Kowalskis, and 139,000 Wisniewskis are registered in Poland.
Also in the top ten most common Polish surnames are Wujcik, Kowalczyk, Kaminsky, Lewandowski, Dombrovsky, Zelinsky, Shimansky. (Wójcik, Kowalczyk, Kamiński, Lewandowski, Dąbrowski, Zieliński, Szymański).

In Poland, it will now be possible to call children foreign names

From March 1, 2015, children can be given names of foreign origin. Previously, there was a prescription according to which all names had to be “maximally Polish”: Jan, not John or Johann, Katarzyna, not Catherine, etc.
However, it will still be possible to give a child no more than two names. In addition, parents should choose names that are not offensive or degrading to the person.
In this case, the final decision whether the chosen name meets all the requirements is made by the civil registry officer.