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Polish names have two main elements: the given name, and the surname. The usage of in Poland is generally governed by civil law, church law, personal taste and family custom.
Polish names are Inflection for gender. Most female names end in the vowel -a, and most male names end in a consonant or a vowel other than a. There are, however, a few male names that end in a, which are often old and uncommon, such as Barnaba, Bonawentura, Jarema, Kosma, Kuba (formerly only a diminutive of Jakub, but nowadays also a given name on its own) and Saba. Maria is a female name that can also be used as a middle name for males.
Since the High Middle Ages, Polish-sounding surnames ending with the masculine -ski suffix, including -cki and -dzki, and the corresponding feminine suffix -ska/-cka/-dzka were associated with the nobility (Polish szlachta), which alone, in the early years, had such suffix distinctions.Zenon Klemensiewicz, Historia języka polskiego (History of Polish), PWN, Warsaw 1985, . (in Polish) They are widely popular today.
Minor regional spelling differences also exist depending on whether the surname originated in Polish language, Czech language or Slovak language ( -sky/-ský).
In the past, there was no restrictions on the number of the given names. In formal situations, multiple given names were presented in the following style: "Zygmunt, Józef, Erazm 3-ga imion Kaczkowski, urodził sie dnia 2 maja 1825 roku..." (Zygmunt, Józef, Erazm of three names Kaczkowski, was born on the day of the 2nd of May, in the year of 1825...)Example from Krechowiecki, Adam, "Zygmunt Kaczkowski i jego czasy : na podstawie źródeł i materyałów rękopiśmiennych", 1918 In the case of two first names the qualifier "of two names" (dwojga imion) was used; four names: "of 4 names" (4-ga imion), etc.
Parents normally choose from a long list of traditional names, which includes:
The names of Slavic saints, such as Wojciech (St Adalbert), Stanisław (St Stanislaus), or Casimir (St Casimir), belong to both of these groups. Slavic names used by historical Polish monarchs, e.g. Boleslaus, Lech, Mieszko, Władysław, are common as well. Additionally, a few names of origin, such as Olgierd (Algirdas), Witold (Vytautas) or Danuta, are quite popular in Poland.
Traditionally, the names are given at a child's baptism. Non-Christian, but traditional, Slavic names are usually accepted, but the priest may encourage parents to pick at least one Christian name. In the past, two Christian names were given to a child so that they had two instead of just one. At confirmation, people usually adopt yet another (second or third) Christian name, however, it is never used outside church documents.
In Eastern Poland, as in many other Catholic countries, people celebrate Namesdays () on the day of their patron saint. On the other hand, in Western Poland, are more popular. Today, in Eastern Poland, birthdays remain relatively intimate celebrations, as often only relatives and close friends know a person's date of birth. Name days, on the other hand, are often celebrated together with co-workers and other less-intimate friends. Information about whose name is associated with a given day can be found in most Polish calendars and on the Internet.
The choice of a given name is largely influenced by fashion. Many parents name their child after a national hero or heroine, or a character from a book, film, or TV show. In spite of this, a great number of popular names have been in use since the Middle Ages.
are popular in everyday usage and are by no means reserved for children. The Polish language allows for a great deal of creativity in this field. Most diminutives are formed by adding a suffix. For male names it may be -ek or the more affectionate -uś; for female names it may be -ka, or -nia / -dzia / -sia / cia respectively. For example, Maria (a name which was once reserved to refer to the Virgin Mary; now the archaic form "Maryja" is used for this), has diminutives Marysia, Maryśka, Marysieńka, Mania, Mańka, Maniusia, etc.
Alternatively, augmentative forms (Polish: zgrubienie) may be colloquially used, often with scornful or disdainful intention. For example, Maria may be called Marycha or Marychna.
As in many other cultures, a person may informally use a nickname ( pseudonim, ksywa) or instead of a given name.
In 2009, the most popular female names in Poland were Anna, Maria and Katarzyna (Katherine). The most popular male names were Piotr (Peter), Krzysztof (Christopher) and Andrzej (Andrew).
A Polish marriage certificate lists three fields, the surnames for the husband, wife, and children. The partners may choose to retain their surnames, or both adopt the surname of either partner, or a combination of both; the children must receive either the joint surname or the surname of one of the partners. However, a married woman usually adopts her husband's name, and the children usually bear the surname of the father. The wife may keep her maiden name ( nazwisko panieńskie) or add her husband's surname to hers, thus creating a double-barrelled name ( nazwisko złożone). However, if she already has a double-barrelled name, she must leave one of the parts out—it is illegal to use a triple- or more-barrelled name. An exception is when one of the surnames is composed of a surname proper plus agnomen ( przydomek), e.g., Maria Gąsienica Daniel-Szatkowska, where "Gąsienica Daniel" is her husband's surname. It is also possible, though rare, for the husband to adopt his wife's surname or to add his wife's surname to his family name (an example is businessman Zygmunt Solorz-Żak, who did both, taking his wife's name on his first marriage, and later appending his second wife's name to it). Forbes Zygmunt Solorz-Żak Polish triple-barreled surnames are known to exist; an example is the one borne by , a university professor and writer, living in Canada.
The most widespread Polish surnames are Nowak, Kowalski, Wiśniewski and Wójcik.
In the 19th century, a wave of seemingly noble sounding surnames began to appear among the Commoner, where a significant number of the bourgeoisie class, and even the peasantry, began to adopt or bear the noble -ski suffix. The -ski suffix was thus attached to surnames derived from a person's occupation, characteristics, patronymic surnames, or toponymic surnames (from a person's place of residence, birth or family origin). This caused a blur between the -ski bearing territorial toponymic surnames once a characteristic only borne by the nobility. As such, and contrary to a popular modern-day misconception, the fact of a person simply bearing the -ski suffix in their family surname or merely sharing the same toponymic surname as members of Poland's nobility, does not in itself denote that person too is a member of the nobility, of noble origin, or indeed connected to that particular family.
When referring to two or more members of the same family and surname, the suffix -ski (or -cki, -dzki) is replaced with the plural -skich, -scy, -ccy, or -dzcy (plural masculine or both masculine and feminine) as well as -skie, -ckie or -dzkie (plural feminine).
The -ski ending and similar adjectival endings ( -cki, -dzki, -ny, -ty) are the only ones in Polish that have feminine forms, where women have the feminine version ending in -ska ( -cka, -dzka, -na, -ta) instead. Historically, female versions of surnames were more complex, often formed by adding the suffix -owa for married women and -ówna or -wianka for unmarried women. In most cases, this practice is now considered archaic or rustic.
Other common surname suffixes are -czyk, -czek, -czak, -czuk, and -wicz.
To explain the formation of a particular Polish nobleman's name, e.g. Jakub Dąbrowski, Radwan coat of arms, the process might be the following. In Polish dąb means "oak",William F. Hoffman, "Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings" (Chicago, Cook county, ILLINOIS, U.S.A.: POLISH GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA, 1993) dąbrowa means "oak forest" and dąbrówka means "oak grove". Then, by analogy with German surnames associated with noble provenance using von, the equivalent Polish preposition is z, which means "from", followed by the name of the Family patrimony or estate. In Polish the expressions, z Dąbrówki and Dąbrowski mean the same thing: hailing "from Dąbrówka". More precisely, z Dąbrówki actually means owner of the estate, Dąbrówka, but not necessarily originating from there. Thus Jakub z Dąbrówki herbu Radwan translates as "Jacob from Dąbrówka, with the Radwan coat of arms". But with the later addition of his cognomen or nickname, Żądło, he would become known as, Jakub z Dąbrówki, Żądło, herbu Radwan - or he could be called just plain, Jakub Żądło.
The most striking concept of the Polish heraldic system is that a coat of arms may originate from a single family, but come to be carried by several non-related families of the Polish szlachta (nobility). Unrelated families who have joined the nobility by heraldic adoption can share the same coat of arms, even though that coat of arms bears the surname of the family who created it. Thus the total number of coats of arms in this system was relatively low — about 200 in the late Middle Ages. One side-effect of this unique arrangement was that it became customary to refer to noblemen by both their family name and their coat of arms/clan name. For example: Jan Zamoyski herbu Jelita means Jan Zamoyski of the clan Jelita.
From the 15th to the 17th century, the formula seems to copy the ancient Roman naming convention with the classic tria nomina used by the Patricians: praenomen (or given name), nomen gentile (or gens/Clan name) and cognomen (surname), following the Renaissance fashion. Thus, Jan Jelita Zamoyski, forming a double-barrelled name (nazwisko złożone). Later, the double-barrelled name would be joined with a hyphen: Jan Jelita-Zamoyski.
| +Jakub: Radwan Żądło-Dąbrowski (sometimes Jakub: Radwan Dąbrowski-Żądło) !Part ! !Comment | ||
| Praenomen | Jakub | |
| Nomen | RadwanJanusz Bieniak, "Knight Clans in Medieval Poland," in Antoni Gąsiorowski (ed.), The Polish Nobility in the Middle Ages: Anthologies, Ossolineum; Wrocław, POLAND, EU; 1984, page 154. | nomen gentile—name of the gens/ród or knights' clan |
| Cognomen | Dąbrowski | name of the family branch/sept within the Radwan gens Other examples: Braniecki, Czcikowski, Dostojewski, Górski, Nicki, Zebrzydowski, etc. |
| Agnomen | Żądło | nickname, Polish (prior to the 17th century, was a cognomen) |
After the First and Second World Wars some resistance fighters added their wartime noms de guerre to their original family names. This was yet another reason for creating double-barrelled names. Examples include Edward Rydz-Śmigły, Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, and Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski. Some artists, such as Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, also added their noms de plume to their surnames.
The request is not always successful. Certain types of request are certain to be refused: for example, the surname of a famous historical figure (where the applicant cannot demonstrate a close family connection to the surname), or where there is concern that the applicant is applying with the aim of evading criminal or civil responsibility. Every application must give a motivation for the change of name; for example, the existing name being offensive or funny, the desire to revert to a previous name, a close attachment to family members (e.g. parent, step-parent) bearing a different surname, or being commonly known in unofficial contexts by a different name. Dziennik Ustaw Ustawa z dnia 17 pazdziernika 2008 r. o zmianie imienia i nazwiska
Another typical change is the loss of the gender distinction in adjectival surnames, especially visible for those ending in -ski (fem.: -ska), -cki (fem.: -cka) and -dzki (fem.: -dzka). Western languages do not distinguish between male and female surnames, even if the language has gender-specific adjectives (like German, French or Spanish). As the surname is, in most cases, inherited from the father (or accepted from the husband), the Western registries of birth and marriage ascribe the masculine form (the one ending in -i) to the female members of the family. Slavic countries, in contrast, would use the feminine form of the surname (the one ending in -a). The form Anna Kowalski would never be met within Poland, whereas it is commonly found in the US, Germany and Argentina.
However, as an exception, feminine endings like -ska apply even to some women from non-Slavic countries, not just outside Poland or English-speaking ones, who have Polish parentage or are half-Polish, namely Britain's Ella Balinska, whose father has the masculine Balinski(-Jundzill), and Australians Mia Wasikowska and her sister, Jess, who have the same ending as their mother's.
Another modification is changing the final vowel -i of the endings -ski, -cki and -dzki into -y. Those endings are common in Czech, Slovak and Ukrainian, as well as in English, but they never occur in Polish.
When transliterated into languages that use the Cyrillic script alphabet, such as Russian or Ukrainian, alterations are usually much less drastic, as the languages involved are Slavic and less difficult for the natives, and feminine forms are preserved although the -ski/-ska ending is altered slightly to the corresponding ending in Russian (-ский/-ская) or Ukrainian (-ський/-ська). Similar alterations occur to Polish names in Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia.
Adjectival names very often end in the suffixes, -ski, -cki and -dzki (feminine -ska, -cka and -dzka), and are considered to be either typically Polish or typical for the Polish nobility. In the case of '-ski', it holds true if the surname contains the name of a city, town, village or other geographical location.
Based on origin, Polish family names may be generally divided into three groups: cognominal, toponymic and patronymic.
Examples of cognominal surnames:
Examples of toponymic surnames:
Examples of patronymic surnames:
The feminine form is not just a common usage form, it is also the form of the surname that appears in all official records, such as birth, death and marriage certificates, identity cards, and passports. A female first name coupled with a male surname or vice versa sounds incongruous and wrong to the Polish ear.
Surnames ending with consonants usually have no additional feminine form. In the past, when the masculine form ended in a consonant, the feminine surname could have been derived by adding the suffix (possessive form) for married women and the suffix (patronymic form) for maiden surname. Practical Handbook of the Polish Language, 1935, p. 106 For example, Cezaria Baudouin de Courtenay, after her marriage to Janusz Jędrzejewicz, was named Cezaria Baudouin de Courtenay Ehrenkreutz Jędrzejewiczowa. The unmarried daughter of Jędrzejewicz would have the official surname Jędrzejewiczówna. In modern times, Jędrzejewicz may be both a masculine and a feminine surname.
Another pair of archaic feminine forms are these derived from the masculine surname based on a nickname ending in vowel: "-ina" for married (Puchała –> Puchalina) and "-anka/-ianka" for unmarried (Przybyła –> Przybylanka).
Still another archaic feminine forms are for surnames ending in -g or syllables starting with '-g': in this case the unmarried feminine form would use the suffix -żanka: Fertig -> Fertiżanka, Szeliga -> Szeliżanka.
Nominal surnames may or may not change with gender. Like other Slavic languages, Polish has special feminine suffixes which were added to a woman's surname. A woman who was never married used her father's surname with the suffix -ówna or -'anka. A married woman or a widow used her husband's surname with the suffix -owa or -'ina / -'yna (the apostrophe means that the last consonant in the base form of the surname is softened). Although these suffixes are still used by some people, mostly the elderly and in rural areas, they are now becoming outdated and there is a tendency to use the same form of a nominal surname for both a man and a woman. Furthermore, the forms "-anka" and "-ina/-yna" are going out of fashion and being replaced by "-ówna" and "-owa" respectively.
Examples of old feminine forms:
"Państwo" is widely used when referring to a married couple (instead of using Pan and Pani) or even a whole family.
Examples:
Examples:
but:
Examples:
On the other hand, it is not common to refer to public figures, while not addressing them, with "Pan" or "Pani". This is true for politicians, artists, and athletes.
In such circumstances, preceding a name with "Pan" or "Pani" would usually be seen as being ironical.
If two people do not have the same status, such as an employer and employee, a subordinate person is addressed by his or her given name by their superior, but the subordinate never uses the given name of the superior but instead uses the title.
This style is to a certain degree similar to the Vietnamese name, Japanese name or Icelandic name usage.
If a superior wants to behave more politely or show a friendly attitude towards the subordinate, a diminutive form of the given name may be used: "Panie Włodku!", "Pani Jadziu!". That, however, is usually not practised when the subordinate is much older than the superior, as it may be felt by the subordinate as being overly patronised by the superior.
It is rude to call a person by a surname in the presence of unknown people. In a random crowd, for example, a person calling another person should use a form of "Proszę Pana/Pani" ("I'm asking you, Sir/Madam") or use the semi-formal form with first name, like "Panie Włodzimierzu" ("Mr. Włodzimierz"). That comes from a general rule that one has the right to be anonymous in a crowd of unknown people, and the rule is observed in most Western countries. To disclose one's given name does not fall under that rule, as many people are "Włodzimierz", for instance.
Using the honorific style with a surname only, if used to refer to a given person directly, is generally perceived as rude. In such case, it is more polite to use just the form "Pan", without given or family name.
It is very rude to address someone whom one does not know well without using "Pan" or "Pani", and with the second person singular instead of the polite third person singular pronouns and verb forms. Traditionally, the act of moving from this form to a friendly "you" must be acknowledged by both parties and it is usually a mark of a close friendly relationship between the two people. The change can only be proposed by the older or more respected person; a similar suggestion initiated by the younger or less respected person will usually be perceived as presumptuous and arrogant.
Neuter form
The neuter form ("rodzaj nijaki") may be used in reference to neuter nouns such as dziecko, "child." For example, when talking about a child of the neighbours one may say "To małe Kowalskie jest bardzo spokojnym dzieckiem" ("That Kowalski little one is a very quiet child"), or in plural: "Wasilewskie wyjechały do babci" ("The Wasilewskis children went away to see their grandma"). Unlike the feminine form, this form is never used in official documents; it is an informal form used mostly in spoken language.
Examples of feminine and neuter forms
Malinowski Malinowska Malinowskie Malinowscy Malinowskie Zawadzki Zawadzka Zawadzkie Zawadzcy Zawadzkie Podgórny Podgórna Podgórne Podgórni Podgórne Biały Biała Białe Biali Białe ending in a consonant (except g) -ówna -owa ending in a vowel or in -g -'anka -'ina or -'yna Nowak Nowakówna Nowakowa Madej Madejówna Madejowa Konopka Konopczanka, new: Konopkówna Konopczyna, new: Konopkowa Zaręba Zarębianka, new: Zarębówna Zarębina, new: Zarębowa
Plural forms
Plural forms of surnames follow the pattern of the masculine and feminine forms, respectively, if such exist. For a married couple or a family where there is a mix of males and females, the masculine plural is used. Plural forms of names rarely follow the patterns of regular declension, even if the name is identical with a common name.
Kowalski Kowalscy Kowalska Kowalskie --- Wilk ('wolf') Wilkowie - (Wilkówna, Wilkowa) - (Wilkówne, Wilkowe) wilki, wilcy Zięba ('finch') Ziębowie - (Ziębianka, Ziębina, new: Ziębówna, Ziębowa) - (Ziębianki, Ziębiny, new: Ziębówny, Ziębowe) zięby
Declension of adjectival surnames
The table below shows the full declension of adjectival surnames ending in -ki (-ski, -cki, -dzki), using the surname "Kowalski" as an example.
Formal and informal use
Poles pay great attention to the correct way of referring to, or addressing other people, depending on the level of social distance, familiarity and politeness. The differences between formal and informal language include:
Formal language
Pan / Pani / Państwo
Pan and Pani are the basic honorific styles used in Polish to refer to a man or woman, respectively. In the past, these styles were reserved for hereditary nobles, and played more or less the same role as "Lord" or "Sir" and "Lady" or "Madame" in English. Since the 19th century, they have come to be used in all strata of society and may be considered equivalent to the English "Mr." and "Ms." or the Japanese "san" suffix, while nobles would be addressed "Jego/Jej Miłość Pan/Pani" (His/Her Grace Lord/Lady). There used to be a separate style, Panna ("Miss"), applied to unmarried women, but this is now outdated and mostly replaced by Pani.
Titles
When addressing people, scientific and other titles are always used together with "Pan" and "Pani" and the name itself is dropped. However, when a person is spoken of but not addressed directly, then both the title and the name are used and the words "Pan"/"Pani" are often omitted.
Given name / surname order
The given name(s) normally comes before the surname. However, in a list of people sorted alphabetically by surname, the surname usually comes first. Hence some people may also use this order in spoken language (e.g. introducing themselves as Kowalski Jan instead of Jan Kowalski), but this is generally considered incorrect or a throwback to the Communist era when this order was sometimes heard in official situations. In many formal situations, the given name is omitted altogether.
Semi-formal levels of address
In situations of frequent contact, like at work, people who do not change their status from formal to familiar levels may remain for years at a semi-formal level, using the formal "Pan"/"Pani" form followed by the given name. That way of calling people is used not only to address them but also to refer to them to a third person with whom one remains at the same level of semi-formal contact.
Semi-informal and informal forms of address
Informal forms of address are normally used only by relatives, close friends and co-workers. In such situations diminutives are generally preferred to the standard forms of given names. At an intermediate level of familiarity (for example, among co-workers) a diminutive given name may be preceded by formal the Pan or Pani (semi-informal form of address):
Multiple surnames of married women
Although a remarried woman who takes the new husband's surname does not formally retain the surname(s) from the previous marriages, on biographical occasions all her surnames may be listed as follows: "Maria Piłsudska, de domo Koplewska, primo voto Juszkiewicz, secundo voto Piłsudska", where "de domo" literally meaning "of house" is basically the same as née, "primo voto" marks the surname by the first marriage, "secundo voto" marks the surname by the second marriage, etc.
See also
External links
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