Beautiful Polish male and female names and their meanings. Polish first names and surnames (cheat sheet for journalists) Popular male names in Poland

Agnieszka, Marysia, Lech and Marek are all Polish names. Very often we hear them on television or in ordinary life, but we don’t know what they mean and what the history of their origin is. At all, Polish mentality- an incredibly interesting phenomenon, which often influences the choice of name for a newborn baby of this nationality.

According to the letter of the law

Not so long ago in Poland there was a custom to give a child several names at birth at the same time. But today the country's legislation has limited this number to two. A child has the right to choose his second or third name independently at the age of nine or ten. It is at this time that the boy or girl will receive first communion. Basically, the name in this case is the name of the saint whose day falls on this event. Small man he decides which of the saints will be his patron, and whom exactly he wants to imitate. That's how it appears next name citizen of Poland. But it is not official for daily use and indication in documents.

Polish laws state that the chosen name for a child must directly indicate his gender. There are separate Polish names for women and men, and therefore they should be chosen correctly. So, all names belonging to girls mainly have the letter “a” at the end. But an identical ending is also characteristic of male names, for example Barnabas. And both boys and girls can have such a common name as Maria. But for the former, this is the exception, and not the rule.

Choosing a name

When choosing Polish names for boys and girls, parents attach great importance to family and church traditions. It is these criteria that become the main point that mothers and fathers focus on when naming their children. Catholic calendars are considered the main source for selecting a future name. Therefore, among the inhabitants of this country there are often owners of names of Greek, Latin and Hebrew origin.

Also, Poles often resort to names of Slavic origin, which existed before Christian times. These are Polish names (male) such as Wojciech, Wlodzimierz, Boleslaw. Latin names in Poland are considered normal - Olgerd, or German ones - Erwin, Adolf. Specifically, Polish names were formed on the territory of the country only in the Middle Ages, but even later they acquired their modern sound.

Unusual children

Once upon a time, Polish names were given to newborn babies in honor of a favorite literary character, national hero, or ruler of a state. It was also a natural occurrence to name a baby to please one of the saints. But today it has become fashionable to call children by the pseudonyms of famous serial characters. Sometimes, especially if the child has an ordinary surname, such names sound too ridiculous. Favorite artists and sports stars also become idols of parents, whose names they give to their babies.

Thus, babies born within the last two years are often called Adams (Adam Malysh is a famous Polish athlete). Many fathers and mothers choose completely unusual names, but how can a person with a ridiculous name live on? Parents don't think about this. But next to them on a Polish street you will always meet Antos, Marysya, Franek, Zosya or Stas. At the same time, Slavic names disappear, for example, Sedzimir, Bozhidar, Slavoy, Dobrava, Dobroslav and others.

What do they mean?

But there are some Polish female names that are always relevant, for example Helena, which comes from Elena. It is believed that Helena girls are born incredibly weak, often with physical disabilities. They also grow very sickly and have poor appetite.

Jadwiga, translated as “fighting”. Such girls are also painful and restless. Parents always try to force these children to play sports, but all their efforts are in vain. Since childhood, Jadwig has had the desire to become a leader in everything.

Kashima - Polish name Arab origin. Kasims are creative personalities, reckless and fun. They regularly need adjustments, with which Kashima can cope with the most difficult task in life.

Men

And here are some Polish male names: Casimir - the one who preaches peace. As children, the Casimirs have a stubborn and complex disposition. They cause parents a lot of problems.

Vaclav - for the most part, these are romantic, impulsive and dreamy individuals. They love cheerful big companies and love helping other people. Only an incredibly strong woman is capable of creating a strong family with Vaclav.

And here are some other Polish names, a list of which may be useful to future parents: Vali, Varakhy, Boleslav, Benedikt, Alexander, Dominic, Clement, Raslav, Emeric. And female: Asia, Brigida, Dita, Isabella, Clementina, Lucia, Sarah, Olivia, Justina, Yaroslava.

They glorified Poland

Some Polish names are known throughout the world, as their bearers have glorified their country.

• Jerzy Goffman is a director of universal scale. He is considered a classic of the Polish film industry.
• Jozef Pilsudski was two times Polish Prime Minister, the country's first marshal.
• Zbigniew Herbert - poet, author of radio plays.
• Anna German is a famous Polish performer who has captivated more than one generation of listeners with her voice.
• Lech Walesa is a living legend; Poland owes its freedom to him.

State in Central Europe. It borders with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, and Russia. The capital is Warsaw. Population 38,192,000 (2010). 96.74% of the Polish population considers themselves Poles. Other large ethnic groups are Silesian Germans (0.4%), Belarusians (0.1%), Ukrainians (0.1%), Roma, Jews. Official language– Polish. Catholics predominate among believers. Other faiths are also represented: Judaism, Lutheranism and Orthodoxy. The name list of Poles is dominated by traditional Catholic names.

Statistics on first and last names for public use in Poland are offered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration – Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji (MSWiA). In the section of the State Central Register (Centralne Rejestry Państwowe) you can find up-to-date statistics on the 50 most popular baby names in Poland. And only for the current year. Less current data (for the previous year and earlier) is not stored on the site. But they can be found on specialized resources dedicated to Polish names. They all refer to official statistics from the specified ministry website. On one resource I found lists of the most common six names of newborns from 1996 to 2006 (for each year separately). From this we can conclude that the state's publication of a list of the most popular names of the year has a relatively long tradition.

If you look at the top 5 names in Poland over the past 13 years, you get the impression of a fairly strong adherence to tradition in the matter of choosing names. During this time, 10 male and 12 female names visited this group. The long-time leader among boys' names is Jakub(first place since 2000). The second position since 2003 has been held by the name Kacper. Over 13 recent years In the top five all the time there were only two male names - Jakub And Mateusz. The shortest stay in the top 5 is the names Filip(entered the top 10 in 2009) and Bartosz(in 2006–2008). Names are currently gaining popularity Szymon And Filip. The name is Mateusz, on the contrary, it is losing popularity. Leading among girls' names since 2001 Julia Moreover, it entered the top 5 only in 2000. In second place is Maja, which was not in the top 5 until 2006. Perhaps this is the only one from the top 5 about which we can say that its popularity is clearly growing. It has become fashionable Zuzanna, but it dropped one position compared to 2008. Popularity of names Victoria And Olivia is clearly on the decline. Women's names show less stability in use compared to men's names. Thus, not a single female name has remained in the top 5 for the past 13 years. "Long-liver" is the name Alexandra, which was in the top 5 from at least 1996 until about 2007 (I don't have data for that year).

Here I want to show information on the 20 most common names of newborns over three years, so that the trends in the popularity of names can be seen. A more extensive list for 2009 can be found on the MSWiA website (see bottom of page for links). The data for 2008 had already been removed from that site and I found it only on the Polish resource about names.

Boys names

Girls names

Sources:

In Poland they like to adhere to traditions and treat them with respect. The same applies to male names, because they are part cultural heritage. By names you can easily trace the history of the country and changes in trends. In fact, Polish male names very melodic and beautiful.

Choosing a name at the birth of a child is an exciting, but serious process that should be treated with responsibility. After all, names contain hidden magic that will accompany the owner until death. But there are several unspoken rules when choosing a name for a boy:

It is preferable to find out the meaning of the name before naming your son, so as not to be surprised by certain character traits in the future.

If the family follows naming fashions, you should familiarize yourself with the currently popular names

Girls give preference to those men whose names are well-known and also melodiously combine with their surname

In Poland, a newborn receives one or two names, depending on the preferences of the parents. The number of names that are allowed to be given to a child is established by law. Name selection comes from two sources:

Biblical name, that is, the name of one of the saints
Slavic name

The rule is that the name is given to the child at baptism. In the past, during the ceremony itself, the child was given two names, thus he acquired several patron saints at once. Today this process is more of a tribute to tradition, since the second name is not often used in the everyday life of Poles. As soon as the child reaches adolescence, when undergoing the sacrament of confirmation, he is given a third (or second) name, necessarily Christian, which is not used outside the church.

As in many countries with the Catholic faith, name days are celebrated in Poland. This day marks the day of your patron saint. Name days are accompanied by a trip to church, where it is customary to read several prayers for health. But most Poles still stick to celebrating birthdays exclusively.

In Poland, a birthday celebration is a closed celebration. The event is held among family and close friends, since often the date of birth is known only to these people. In contrast, the name day holiday is celebrated in a wide circle of acquaintances, with colleagues or other acquaintances, for example. You can find out the date of your name day both in the calendar itself and on the Internet.

Polish law stipulates that the personal (first) name must clearly reflect the gender of the owner. Most female names in Poland, along with Russian names, have the ending -a, -ya. Despite Russian traditions, in Poland a name of this kind can also be given to a male person. Among the list of male name choices, there are also several names with this ending, such as Elijah, meaning “Lord my God,” or Mary, meaning “desired.” However, such names are rare among men and are more related to the latter. But don’t be surprised if you meet a man with this name.

It is important to add that previously in Poland the name Mary was not used out of respect for the Blessed Virgin, and also because of the halo of holiness with which the Mother of God is surrounded. For the same reasons, many similar diminutive names appeared, but, nevertheless, different from the name Maria.

Fashion is one of the factors when choosing a name for a boy. Some parents like to name their children after famous people famous personalities, heroes of films and books, or in honor of national heroes of Poland. Roger, Vinicius or Emanuel certainly sounds unusual. According to statistics, the most popular male names are: Jan, Petr, Filip, Michal, Antoni, Eustachi and Miezhko.

In the canon of Polish names there are many whose meanings are of a light nature:

Defense (Alexey, Andrzej, Boris, Victor, Vincent, Gustav, Zigmund, Kondrat).
Son of God (Amadeus, Boguslav, Gabriz, Dominic, Rafal, Simon, Timotheus, Urias).
Health (Ambrosius, Valentin, Valery, Ivan, Cornelius).
Victorious (Aron, Boniface, Bronislav, Witold, Karol, Lyudmil, Mikolay, Ferdinand).

It is interesting to note that Poles call each other by diminutive names. This can be applied not only to a child or an elderly person, but also to a middle-aged man. By the way, it is also allowed to address unfamiliar people in a diminutive form. Jakub may be called Kubus, Maria may be called Manka, and Karol may be called Lelek. However, for citizens of other countries this is not surprising; such treatment also occurs there.

You can view the list of names available for selection in church books or in various Internet sources. But it’s still worth considering the choice of a name for a boy without ardent fanaticism, since he will have to wear it all his life.

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Polish names- what are they? Why did original Slavic names almost fall out of use? And what names are popular in modern Poland?

Polish names - what are they?

The fashion for names, like state borders, has changed in Poland throughout its history. Modern Poles are descendants of West Slavic tribes, and the original Polish names were Slavic. Most often these were two-part names: with the root -slav (-sław) or -mir (-mir), for example, Sławomir. It was believed that fame and power awaited the owner of such a name.

After the Council of Trent (1545-1563) banned pagan names, most of the ancient Slavic names have disappeared or become very rare. Only a few original Slavic names have survived to this day, primarily Kazimierz, Stanisław and Wojciech, i.e. names of Slavic saints.

Some lost Slavic names returned in the 19th century, after Poland was erased from the map of Europe and divided among its more powerful neighbors. Patriotic Poles decided to give a second life to ancient names and even came up with several new ones (see Lechosław below).

Culture.pl has prepared a brief excursion into the history of Polish traditional names, presented an overview of foreign names that are firmly entrenched in Polish culture, and also found out what modern Poles call their children.

Etymology of Slavic names

Some Slavic names that are still in use today - Sławomir, Mirosław, Bronisław and Kazimierz - reflect the heroic ideals of the ancient Slavs: they combine the roots -sław ('glory'), - mir ("peace"), -bron ('to protect') and -kazi ('to destroy').

Other popular Slavic names - Bogumil and Bogdan - contain the root 'God' and are considered theophoric. Similar traditions found in almost every language.

And yet, many Slavic names disappeared with the advent of Christianity in Polish lands. Names such as Mściwoj, Świętobor, Racimir, Chwalimir and Trzebiesław remained only in literature and history books.

Here are some Polish names that can still be heard today:

• Bogdan - popular name not only in Poland, but also in Ukraine. This is the only Polish name with the suffix -dan, which gives some linguists reason to see in this name a borrowing from the language of the Scythians, who had the name Bagadata with the same meaning (“given by God”).
• Bożydar - “God’s gift”, a rare name, but still found; it is a translation of the Greek and Latin names Theodor and Theodatus.
• Bozena (Bożena) is another name that goes back to the word “God”; this old Slavic name has been known in the Czech Kingdom since the 12th century, and in Poland it gained popularity only in the 19th century.
• Bogumił - “one who is dear to God”, some consider this name to be a copy of the Greek Theophilos.
• Bogusław is a theophoric name, probably meaning "glorifying God". The name Boguslav was known to everyone Slavic languages, and gained popularity during the Middle Ages. In Poland, the peak of popularity of this name occurred in 1950-1960, but, of course, this name was called before. (For example, the Polish composer Boguslav Sheffer, b. 1929)
• Bolesław - the root bole- comes from bolye and means “many” or “more”; thus the name Boleslav can be translated as “the one who will have more glory.” This name was often borne by princes from the Piast dynasty. The name's popularity has been declining since the 1920s. See 19th century writer Boleslav Prus and the poet of the twentieth century Boleslav Lesmyan.
• Bronisław - another name with the root -sław; the first part bronić means ‘to protect’, therefore the whole name can be translated as “one who will defend his glory.”

• Czesław - the formant che- (cze-) in the name Czesław goes back to the verb czcić‘to honor, to worship’. The name can be translated as, “one who will honor, respect the glory (of the house).” The name was popular until the 1950s, but is much less common today. One of the most famous owners of this name is a Polish poet Czeslaw Milosz.
• Jarosław - the adjective jary means 'fierce, energetic' and 'strong', so Jarosław is 'one who has great fame'. The name gained popularity in Poland in the 19th century, in the wake of the revival of Slavic names. It was very popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Among other Slavic (but not Polish) names with the root jar is Jaromir. (See writer Yaroslav Ivashkevich).
• Kazimierz/Kazimir (Kazimierz) - the name consists of the roots mir ‘world’ and kazić ‘destroy’: “one who destroys the world.” This was the name of many kings and princes from the Piast and Jagiellon dynasties, for example, Casimir I the Restorer and Casimir III the Great. Saint Casimir (1458-1484), a representative of the Jagiellonian dynasty, became the patron saint of Lithuania and Poland. Casimir is one of the few Polish names that have become popular outside of Poland. At the end of the 18th century, it was “exported” to America by Casimir Puławski. Other famous foreign Casimirs are the French violinist of the 19th century Casimir Ney and the Russian artist of the 20th century, a Pole by nationality, Kazimir Malevich. (See director Kazimierz Kutz).

• Lech is one of the few single-root Slavic names in the Polish language. According to legend, three brothers - Lech, Czech and Rus - founded the Polish, Czech and Russian nations, respectively. Lech is a typically Polish name, still popular today. Its etymology is not entirely clear. According to most hypotheses, it goes back to the verb lścić ‘to trick’; perhaps Lech is a diminutive form of the name Lścisław. See: Why does a Pole have one name in his passport, but in life his name is completely different?
• Lechosław - a name that appeared in the 19th century during the era of the revival of Slavic names
• Lesław - most likely this name was invented by the romantic poet Roman Zmorski (1824-1867). The name was very popular in the 1950s.
• Leszek - apparently this is a hyper-correct form of the name Lestek, which in turn is derived from the name Lech
• Ludomir - “one who provides peace for people”, from the root lud- ‘people’.
• Marzanna - today you don’t see this name often; its roots go back to ancient times. Mazhanna is a Slavic deity. Until now, the effigy of Mazhanna, symbolizing winter, is burned on the first day of spring.
• Mieczysław - probably an older form of Miecisław, from the verb mietać "to throw" and the root sław-.

• Mieszko - the name of the first historical ruler of Poland; extremely rare, but does occur; most likely this is a diminutive form of the name Mieczysław (see above)
• Miroslav (Mirosław) - as in the name Slavomir, there are two of the most productive formants for Slavic name formation. The meaning of the name can be interpreted as "one who praises peace" or "one who achieves glory by establishing peace." Considered one of the oldest Polish names.
• Przemysław would seem to be another name with the root sław-, but this is not so. In fact, the name Przemysł goes back to Przemysł, the root is mysł “thought”, and the formant -aw most likely appeared by analogy; prze- probably means 'through' (przez). Przemyslaw must be a thoughtful person.
• Radosław - the first element is rado- ‘happy, contented’, and the second is ‘sław- ‘glory-’.
• Radzimir - the root radzi- comes from raci- ‘struggle’, i.e. Radzimir is “one who is ready to fight.” Not the most popular name, but still found. (Cm. rising star Radzimir Dembski, also known as Jimek)

• Sławomir - a variant of the name Mirosław; the name disappeared in the 16th century and returned in the 19th. (See Polish writer Slawomir Mrozek)
• Stanisław - the root stan- means ‘to stand’ or ‘to become’, perhaps this is a kind of wish for glory; one of the most popular Polish names; was first mentioned at the beginning of the century in the form of Stanislaus - in this form the name penetrated into Western Europe. In France, there was a variant of Stanislas, which most likely owes its origin to the Polish king Stanislav Leszczynski (who lived in Nancy). The name of the Polish saint Stanislaus is also known in other Catholic countries: in the 19th century, the leader of the American Indian tribe of Yokuts in Northern California was called Estanislao. In the same 19th century, Stanislaus, along with some other Polish names, gained popularity in Ireland. Both Catholic countries found themselves in a difficult political situation. The Polish name was a sign of support for the Polish people who suffered under imperial oppression. In addition, the strong Jesuit tradition in some Irish Catholic families may have had an effect. James Joyce's brother was named Stanislaus. Cm. Stanislav Lem.

• Tomislav (Tomisław) is a Slavic name, more popular in the Balkans (Tomislav) than in Poland; etymologists associate the root tomi- in the name Tomislav with the Old Church Slavonic verb tomiti ‘to torment, to plague’; the entire name can be translated as “one who is tormented by a thirst for glory”
• Wanda - most likely, this name was invented by the medieval chronicler Vincent Kadlubek; a rare Polish name that is also found outside of Poland.
• Wenceslas (Wacław) - according to linguists, the name Wenceslas goes back to Wenceslaw (Więcław), which in turn is a diminutive form of Wenceslav (Więcesław, the Russian equivalent of Vyacheslav). Więce- means ‘more’, so in fact it is another semantic variant of the name Boleslav; in the first half of the 20th century the name was very popular, but after the 1920s its popularity began to decline.
• Wenchislaw (Wieńczysław) - the name seems to be old, but in fact Wenchislaw first appeared in early XVIII century; wieńczyć - means ‘to crown’, that is, it is ‘the one who will be crowned with glory’.
• Wiesław - the name has been known since the 14th century; possibly a diminutive form of Wielisław (wieli- meaning 'many'), another name meaning "one who should be more famous" (cf. Bolesław and Wacław)

• Wisława - Wisława probably comes from the 12th century name Witosław. This name is not so popular these days, but Wislawa Szymborska managed to glorify him throughout the world.
• Wladislav (Władysław) - this name came into the Polish language from Czech (in the Polish vowel it should have sounded like Włodzisław); The root wład- / władz- means ‘power, to rule’. For this reason, this was the name of many kings in Central Europe: the Hungarian king Laszlo (Ladislaus) I the Saint, Vladislav II Jagiello, Vladislav IV Vasa. This name was extremely popular at the beginning of the 19th century. See Polish avant-garde artist Vladislav Strzheminsky
• Włodzimierz - the Polish version of the Russian name Vladimir (Lenin in Polish is Włodzimierz, but Putin is already Władimir) was popular in eastern Poland in the 19th century, and in the 20th century it gradually spread throughout the country.
• Wojciech - in this ancient name the root woj- ‘warrior’ is isolated, and ciech- from cieszyć się ‘to rejoice, enjoy’; "one who enjoys battle." This was the name of the martyr, the first saint and patron of the Polish Catholic Church. St. Wojciech is also known as St. Adalbert of Prague. Wojciech is one of the oldest and most popular Polish names of all time. (See Polish director Wojciech Jerzy Has).
• Zbigniew - in this name one can distinguish the root zby- ‘to get rid of’ and -gniew ‘anger, rage’. Its meaning can be interpreted as “one who gets rid of anger” (although in this understanding this name would be more suitable for a Buddhist rather than a Slav). The first mentions of this name in written sources date back to the 11th century (in the form Zbygniew); there are other names with the same formants, for example, Zbysław, Zbylut, Zbywoj, but they are not at all popular today. (See Zbigniew Cybulski)
• Zdzisław - zdzie- in the name Zdzisław probably comes from the verb "działać" (to act). The owner of such a name must act in such a way as to, again, gain fame. The name was already known in the 12th century, but then it was forgotten until the 19th century. (Cm. Zdzislaw Beksiński).
• Ziemowit is a distorted version of the name Siemowit from the roots siemo- (Proto-Slavic *sěmьja ‘family, house’) and -wit (‘lord’). The meaning can be restored as "lord of the house". The name Semovit was often found among rulers from the Piast dynasty. Today this name is associated with the famous Polish Slavist Zemovit Fedetsky (1923-2009), a translator of Russian (translated Kuprin, Yesenin, Babel, Tsvetaeva , Bulgakov, Zabolotsky, Pasternak , Tynyanova, Trifonova, Vysotsky ...), Belarusian and French literature; as well as with the Polish journalist and writer Siemowit Szczerek, who is called the Polish Hunter S. Thompson.

Foreign names in Polish guise

Polish versions of Christian names (eg Piotr-Piotr, Łukasz-Łukasz, Andrzej-Andrzej, Grzegorz-Grzegorz, Agnieszka-Agnieszka, Małgorzata-Małgorzata and Katarzyna Katarzyna, respectively Peter, Luke, Andrew, Gregory, Agnes, Margaret and Catherine) are easy find out, but it's still better to test your knowledge of the Polish alphabet and make sure you pronounce them correctly. Many of them have their own story:

• Jacek - This popular Polish name has nothing to do with Jack, Jake or Jacob (Jacob is Jakub in Polish). This is a form of the name Hyacinthus.
• Jerzy is a fancy Polish equivalent of the name George.
• Maciej - some Christian names in Polish have two variants. For example, the pair Mateusz and Maciej - both forms come from the name Matthew (Mathaeus, English Matthew); the same applies to Bartholomew and Bartosh, who go back to the name Bartholomaeus, English Bartholemew. The second option in both pairs is considered the common form.
• Mikolaj (Mikołaj) - the Polish version of the name Nikolai is interesting because it begins with the letter M. This makes the Polish language similar to Czech (Mikoláš), Slovak (Mikuláš), Belarusian (Mikalai), Ukrainian (Mikola - Mykola), as well as Hungarian (Miklós ). Russian and most other languages ​​retain the initial N (Nikolay), as in the original Greek name Nikolaos.
• Tadeusz - one of the most popular (and, perhaps, even archetypal) Polish names, is not Slavic in origin. The name Tadeusz came to Polish directly from Latin (Thadaeus), but its roots are in Aramaic (תדי, Taddai / Aday can be translated as “brave heart”) and Greek (Θαδδαῖος). In Poland, until the 19th century, this name was quite rare, with the exception of the northeastern regions of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, where the religious cult of St. Jude the Apostle (Judas Thaddeus) arose somewhat earlier. The name gained popularity with the advent of such historical figures, like Tadeusz Kosciuszko and Tadeusz Reitan. They were both born in the east of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (modern-day Belarus) and both became Polish national heroes during the partitions of Poland. Adam Mickiewicz named Tadeusz (in memory of Kosciuszko) the main character of his epic poem “Pan Tadeusz”, which certainly affected the popularity of this name in Poland. By the end of the 18th century, the name “Tadeusz” moved to America. Thaddeus Stevens, a famous American politician of the time, was named after Kosciuszko. Civil War and the Reconstruction era, known for its uncompromising attitude towards slavery. The name Tadeusz can be found in Thomas Mann's short story "Death in Venice", the plot of which is built around the charming boy Tadzio (a diminutive form of the name Tadeusz). In 2009, this name was on the front pages of the world's newspapers, after the famous Irish actor Colin Farrell and Polish actress Alicja Bachleda named their son Henry Tadeusz. Cm. Tadeusz Ruzewicz and Tadeusz Borowski.
• Wawrzyniec translation Latin name Laurentius (in English Lawrence).

Germanic and German names

Among the most popular Polish names of Germanic origin are the following:

• Jadwiga is the Polish version of the German name Hedwig.
• Kinga is a short form of the Old German name Kunegunda.
• Olga is an early Slavic variant of the Germanic name Helga.
• Waldemar is a name of Germanic origin (waltan ‘power, strength’, mar ‘great, famous’) associated with the Slavic name Vladimir (Polish Włodzimierz). Both names are similar in meaning and structure. The name Waldemar appeared in Poland only in the 19th century. That this name is associated with Poland is evidenced by Edgar Allan Poe's story "The Truth of What Happened to Mr. Waldemar" main character whom he translates Rabelais and Schiller into Polish (although in the story Waldemar is his last name).
• Zygmunt - Germanic in origin, the name Zygmund or Sigismund comes from the words sigu ‘victory’ + munt ‘hand, protection’. It can be translated as “he whose protection grants victory.” The Polish version of Zygmunt became very popular in Poland, as it was the name of several Polish kings, for example, Sigismund I the Old, Sigismund II Augustus and Sigismund III Vasa. The name Zygmunt still remains popular (much more so than its German counterparts). The famous psychiatrist Freud was named Sigmund by his father Jacob, known for his sympathy for Poland. Freud's ancestors lived for centuries in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth before the family moved to Galicia and then to Vienna. Jacob named his son in honor of the Polish kings, famous for their tolerance and patronage of Jews.

Lithuanian names

Some Polish names have Lithuanian origins. The reason for this is the centuries-old cultural ties in the Polish-Lithuanian state.

• Witold - from Lithuanian Vytautas. The name can be translated as “one who leads people”; in Poland the name Witold appears only in the 19th century. (Cm. Witold Gombrowicz And Witold Lutoslawski).
• Grażyna, a name still quite common in Poland, was coined by Adam Mickiewicz in 1823. Name main character poem of the same name is derived from the Lithuanian adjective gražus ‘beautiful’. (See Polish violinist and composer Grazyna Bacewicz)
• It has not been fully proven, but most likely the names Olgierd (lit. Algierdas) and Danuta have Lithuanian roots.

Why does a Pole have one name in his passport, but in life his name is completely different?

The Polish language is replete with deminitives. IN Everyday life Poles use numerous diminutive forms of the names you just read about. Abbreviations are used everywhere, except perhaps in school and outside of official situations. For example, a woman named Katarzyna will most often be addressed as “Kasia.”

Using the suffixes -ek (-ek) and -ус (-uś) you can form a great variety of diminutive names. A man named Stanislav will be called Stakh, Stas, Stasek or Stashek or even Stahu by his family, friends and colleagues. (And if Stanislav has children, they will call him tata - dad, or affectionately tatuś - daddy).

This applies to most Polish names.

• Jan ‒ Janek, Jasiek, Jaś, Jasiu;
• Józef ‒ Józek, Józio or Ziutek.
• Bolesław ‒ Bolek
• Mirosław ‒ Mirek
• Radosław is Radek, and Jarosław, as you might guess, is Jarek.
• Krzysztof ‒ Krzysiek or Krzyś.
• Wojciech in everyday life usually Wojtek
• Eugeniusz/Eugenia ‒ Genek/Gienia;
• Grzegorz ‒ Grzesiek or Grześ;
• Jakub - Kuba, and sometimes Kubuś.

The same with female names:

• Barbara ‒ Basia or Baska,
• Katarzyna ‒ Kasia/Kaśka,
• Joanna ‒ Aska (Aśka), Asya (Asia) or Joaska (Joaśka)
• Alicja ‒ Ala,
• Elżbieta ‒ Ela, Elka
• Urszula ‒ Ula, Ulka,
• Jadwiga may be Iga or Jadzia,
• Małgorzata may be called Małgośka or Gośka, Gosia or Małgosia.
• Antonina - Tonka, Tonia, Toncia, and sometimes Nina.

All this can be confusing for foreigners. Olya is a shortened version of Alexandra, and Aga can be either Agnieszka or Agata. But the abbreviation Lolek (from Karol), no matter how funny it may seem, is no shorter than the original name.

Attention: some names cannot be abbreviated. For example, if you have an acquaintance Pawel (Paweł), Szymon (Szymon), Mikołaj (Mikołaj) or Marta (Marta), you can safely address them that way without fear of sounding too dry and official.

The most popular Polish names

We told you about the etymology of some names that you almost never hear today. What do modern Poles call their children? Here are the 10 most popular names in 2014 (the number refers to the number of children who were named by one name or another that year):

Girls:

1. Lena ‒ 9642
2. Zuzanna ‒ 8856
3. Julia ‒ 8572
4. Maya - 8055
5. Zofia ‒ 6733
6. Hannah ‒ 6407
7. Alexandra ‒ 5935
8. Amelia - 5586
9. Natalia ‒ 5205
10. Victoria ‒ 5149

Boys:

1. Jakub ‒ 9382
2. Kacper ‒ 7232
3. Antoni ‒ 7143
4. Philip ‒ 6903
5. Jan ‒ 6817
6. Szymon ‒ 6112
7. Franciszek ‒ 5139
8. Michal ‒ 5004
9. Wojciech ‒ 4959
10. Alexander (Aleksander) ‒ 4896

As you can see, typical Slavic names have lost their popularity, and only Wojciech managed to get into the top ten. The list is dominated by Christian names (of Latin, Greek, Hebrew or Aramaic origin), and all have equivalents in English.

In the list of female names, the first original name is in 31st place - Jagoda; Kinga, the name, although not Slavic, is typically Polish, is on the 35th, Olga is on the 56th, and Kalina is on the 57th.

In the list of male names, in addition to Wojciech, who took 9th place, there are: Stanisław in 20th place, Miłosz in 21st place, Przemysław in 62nd place and Radosław in 64th place. Apparently, Slavic names are not in fashion now, but fashion is so changeable...

Only 5-6 centuries ago Polish surnames appeared. A lot of people around the world have beautiful and resonant data in their passports. The origin of the surnames stretched over many years. It remains to figure out how they arose. Onomastics studies these facts.

Polish names and surnames

The roots of Polish names and surnames begin from the 15th-17th centuries, when people received names - mostly from the names of estates and lands. The very first consisted of the name of the military coat of arms, the property of the person and the name of his possession. This is where the common variations that can be heard today come from. They are mostly written with a hyphen. For example, Bonch-Osmolovsky, Korbut-Zbarazhsky, Vishnevsky.

Over time, for many heirs, this data was modified, changed, and some was lost altogether. Thus, the same variations, previously characteristic of the gentry (noble) families, began to appear among other peoples. However, the loss of roots, family estates, and coats of arms is not the reason for the disappearance of memory. To this day, Polish characteristics exist and are becoming more common.

Men's

All Polish male surnames differ from female ones in that they have different endings and suffixes. The rule is that the stress is placed on the penultimate syllable, which is unique to Poland. A common ending is -sky-, -tsky-. These endings belonged noble family, they sound aristocratic and beautiful. The famous suffixes -ovich-, -evich- are very common. A number of familiar names that can be heard on every corner:

• Mickiewicz;
• Pavlovich;
• Ivashkevich;
• Globolevich.

Women's

Often Polish female surnames sound no less beautiful. They differ from male ones only in the endings - due to the form of the gender. Previously, this was not the case, since it was necessary to distinguish data solely by suffixes. This was the only way to understand whether the girl was married or not. So, for example, those who had never been married had -anka/-yanka-, -uvna- in the endings, which could mean their position. Married ladies could be identified by these endings: -ova-, -nya/-yna-.

Gradually, the history of traditions began to fade away; it is extremely rare to encounter such features. Here are the most common female data - a list of Polish surnames:

• Kovalskaya;
• Novak;
• Moravian;
• Shimanskaya.

Polish Jews - surnames

Many local Jews also had similar Polish surnames, where the endings and suffixes remained the same. Many of them were formed from the name of the Pole's father or mother, from the names of common cities in Poland and from populated regions. There are also special Polish words from which these meanings could be derived. Here are the most common and more common endings: -skiy- and -ivich-. For example, there are still Polish Jews with surnames such as Krivich, Kovsky, Leskivich, Kovalevsky.

Beautiful Polish surnames

Beautiful Polish surnames of the nobility are diverse and aesthetically pleasing, and are easy to find. The name of a Pole for men and women has a pleasant sound and historical origin. They are often perfect for every middle and last name. The list of the most beautiful European ones in alphabetical order is small, but very varied:

• Brylska;
• Kinski;
• Raksa;
• Mantsevich;
• Meltsazh;
• Gaios;
• DeLong;
• Damentsky.