The obligation to have a surname was introduced in Poland only at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. This obligation was imposed by the partitioning powers and to persons without names, they were officially assigned.
The first records of names are found in medieval chronicles describing the activities of the rules. These were colloquial terms for the characteristics of rules. These adjectives were often assigned after the death of the described person. They were descriptions of physical or emotional traits. (Boleslaw Krzyowusty “curves-mouth”, because he didn’t keep his word). Wealthy nobility were named after the mansions given to them by the king (Mazowiecki from Mazovia).
In the lower and poorer social strata, surnames were customarily formed from the activities performed (miller – Mlynarczyk) or after the name of the fathers (father Jakub – son Jakubczyk).
Polish surnames have endings:
-ski, 25% Polish surnames
-ak,
-ek,
-ec,
-ik,
-yk,
-ewicz,
-owicz,
During the partitions of Poland and the subsequent German occupation, the practitioners’ administration practiced transforming Polish surnames into surnames similar to those of the practitioners. Polish letters were removed from names and the endings were shorted or they were direct translations. This is why some Poles have foreign names without foreign affinity.
There were also spelling errors in documents filled out by the occupiers’ administration. Misspelled names in documents remained formal. Today they are a big problem for people who write them.
Half of Polish surnames are irregular and are changed by people. Female names take the ending -a.
10 most common surnames:
- Nowak
- Kowalski (a)
- Wiśniewski (a)
- Wójcik
- Kowalczyk
- Kamiński (a)
- Lewandowski (a)
- Zieliński (a)
- Szymański (a)
- Woźniak
In Poland, you can change your name only in exceptional cases of threat to the security of a person who must hide his identity. (Brux)
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