| Bak
horsefly Bala tells tales or Bal (Hungarian) Baran ram Barnas family of Barney Bednarz cooper , barrel maker Bidus needy, lament, Biedka Bieniasz family of Benny Bonarek related to Boniface Drobot walks quickly with small steps Dydo grandfather, old man Ferens Francis/Ferenc (Hungarian) Gardula Gardomir, proud, haughty Gawle Gallus (Latin first name) Jablonowski apple tree Kaczor drake Kania kite, bird Konopka hemp Koza goat Krupa groat, 4-cent piece Krzemien flint Kubek mug, tumbler Kurtyka bobtail Lach rag, clothes Lada goddess of love, harmony Lakomy greedy, gluttonous Lenczowski flax or lazy-bones or Leonard |
| Surname: Origin: |
| SURNAMES Some Origins and Meanings |
| Sources: William F. Hoffman, Grace Skowron, and me |
| Dennis Benarz, Chicagoland USA 2002-2005 |
| Straszecin Parish in Debica County |
| Straszecin
Parish had hundreds of families as parishioners. Forgive me for only
presenting the meaning of a handful of surnames. Surnames in Poland became necessary when the population of an area grew in size to warrant them. In our area of Malopolskie, they probably came into popular use by 1600-1650. Galician surnames generally are unembellished by such suffixes as -ski and -wicz that characterize northern and eastern Polish surnames. Ours tend to be simple and to the point, much like our ancestors were. Surnames across Europe might be categoried into groups of who, what, where, or when. The who group identifies a name or nickname of an ancestor. It might also include idiocyncrasies and prominent personal features. The what group uses an occupation, possession, or object used by an ancestor. The where group indicates a place or natural feature. The when group uses a day, month, or season. It might also include such timely events as zodiac signs and stellar constellations. If you enjoy this topic, I highly recommend "Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings" by William F. Hoffman. It is available at the reference section of many public libraries or can be purchased online from several sources. |
| Notes on Surnames |
| Village Name: Origin: |
| Bobrowa
Beaver Borowa Place of forest-dwellers Chotowa Campground, crude bed Czarna Black Dabie Oaks Debica Place of oaks (or today "Oak City") Glowaczowa People with big heads, chiefs Golemki Large (place) Gora Motyczna Hoe Hill (or "High Hoe, High Hoe" ) Grabiny Place of hornbeam trees Latoszyn Summer place Lipiny Place of linden trees Pilzno Felt cloth Roza Rose Straszecin Frightening place, Creepy Hollow Wiewiorka Squirrel Wola Mala Small colony Wola Wielka Large colony Wola Zyrakowska Colony of Zyrakow Zasow Beyond the pines Zawada Obstacle, fortress Zdzary Thicket, overgrown, shaggy Zyrakow Zyromir's place (ancient pagan name) |
| Micek
Mikolaj /
Nicholas Milas dear one, Miloslaw / Milobor Niemiec mute, a German Piatek Friday Pekala short and stout Pienieczek wealthy Piekos pretty, nice Piwowarczek brewer Pluta spitter Rak Cancer (zodiac), crab Rej dance, reins Sak fishing net, sack Sliwa plum, sloe Sliwka plum, sloe Skowron skylark Sujdak worry or fuss Swierczek cricket Szalwa shawl Szot lean, wizened (Hungarian) Szymaszek Simon/Szymon Wieloch important person Wisniewski cherry tree Zaborowski beyond the woods or Zabor Zawislak beyond the Wisla River Zima winter Zmuda Zmudz a Lithuanian region Zurawski crane Zurek a Lenten soup Zurowski town of Zurow or Zurowice |
| Surname: Origin: |
| Last Update: 7 March 2005 |
 |
 |