Complicated Polish names. Polish names

At the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, after the third partition of Poland, most of the territory of Ukraine, formerly belonging to the Commonwealth, became part of Russian Empire. The main language of documentation has become Russian, although in the first thirds of XIX century, many Catholic metrics and documents of the nobility were still kept in Polish or Latin.

During this transitional period, documents (revision tales of the 1790s, noble deeds) were often accompanied by a translation into Russian. generally accepted rules transliteration of names, apparently, did not exist, so each translator translated them according to his own understanding.

Option one(quite rare) - full transliteration of the name without taking into account the sound in Polish. Example: Małgorzata = Malgorzata, Piotr = Piotr.

Option two- Russian transcription of the sound in Polish. Example: Małgorzata = Małgorzata, Piotr = Piotr, Tomasz = Tomasz, Jan = Jan.

Option three- translation of the name, and sometimes the surname into Russian. Example: Tomasz = Thomas, Jan = Ivan, Strzelbicki = Strelbitsky

All three variants could freely occur even within the same document, which complicates the identification of a person for researchers of their pedigree. Also, sometimes in Polish documents (especially in Greek Catholic confession sheets) there is a transliteration of Ukrainian names in Latin, for example: Semen, Pałaszka, Odarka, which introduces additional confusion.

I wrote out the most common correspondences (translations of names) from revision tales, translations of noble documents, Polish and Russian metrics. The table does not contain names that have the same (or very close) sound in the Polish and Russian versions, for example: Anthony, Vladislav, Felician, or Teressa = Teresa, Zakhariash = Zachary - they can be understood in this way. Presented mainly male names, their female versions will have a similar translation.

View other name matches in different languages Can

Agnieszka, Marysia, Lech and Marek - all this Polish names. Very often we hear them on television or in ordinary life, but we do not know what they mean and what is the history of their occurrence. In general, the Polish mentality is an incredibly interesting phenomenon, which often affects the choice of a 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 the same time at birth. But today the country's legislation has limited this number to two. The child has the right to choose the second or third name independently at the age of nine or ten. Just at this time, the boy or girl will have to take the 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. This is how the next name of a citizen of Poland appears. But it is not official daily use and instructions in documents.

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

Name choice

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 fathers and mothers are guided by when naming their children. Catholic calendars are considered the main source for choosing a future name. Therefore, often among the inhabitants of this country there are owners of names of Greek, Latin and Hebrew origin.

Also, Poles often resort to names of Slavic origin that existed before Christian times. These are such Polish names (male) as Wojciech, Wlodzimierz, Boleslav. Latin names in Poland are considered normal - Olgerd, or German - 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 a newborn child in honor of a favorite character in literature, national hero or ruler of a state. It was also a natural phenomenon to name the baby in favor of one of the saints. But today it has become fashionable to call children 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 the idols of the parents, whose names they give to their babies.

So, babies born over the past two years are often called Adams (Adam Malysh is a famous Polish athlete). Many fathers and mothers choose for their children absolutely unusual names, but how to live on with a person named somehow ridiculous? Parents don't think about it. But next to them, Antos, Marysya, Franek, Zosya or Stas will always meet on the Polish street. Along with this disappear Slavic names, for example, Sedzimir, Bozidar, Glory, Dobrava, Dobroslav and others.

What do they mean

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

Jadwiga, translated as "fighting." Such girls are also painful and restless. Parents always try to force these children to go in for sports, but all their efforts are in vain. From childhood, Jadwig has a desire to become a leader in everything.

Kashima is a Polish given name of Arabic origin. Kashima is creative personalities, reckless and funny. They need regular adjustments so that Kashima can handle life's most difficult task.

Men

And here are some Polish names for men: Casimir is the one who preaches peace. As a child, the Casimirs have a stubborn and complex disposition. They give parents a lot of problems.

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

And here are some more Polish names, the list of which may be useful to future parents: Vali, Varakhiy, Boleslav, Benedict, Alexander, Dominik, Clement, Raslav, Emerik. And female: Asia, Brigida, Dita, Isabella, Clementine, Lucia, Sarah, Olivia, Justina, Yaroslav.

They glorified Poland

Some Polish names are known all over the world, as their carriers have glorified their country.

• Jerzy Hoffman is a world-class director. He is considered a classic of the Polish film industry.
• Jozef Pilsudski - twice was the Polish prime minister, the country's first marshal.
• Zbigniew Herbert - poet, author of radio plays.
• Anna Herman is a well-known Polish performer who captivated more than one generation of listeners with her voice.
• Lech Walesa - living legend Poland owes its freedom to him.

Polish names can be roughly divided into pagan, pre-Christian and Catholic. The latter are of ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Aramaic origin. Variants borrowed from the languages ​​of neighboring countries are common.

Features of Polish names

Polish law prohibits giving children more than two names. Thirdly, the child can take at will, during the first communion at 9-10 years old. But it will not appear in official documents. It is a common tradition to name a newborn in honor of a saint from the church menologion.

Until 1.03. 2015 the law did not allow the citizens of the country to name the child foreign name. Until now, there are a number of requirements that limit the choice. The Polish Language Council is compiling a list of names that are not recommended for parents to use. The final decision when registering a newborn is made by an employee of the Civil Registry Office.

Almost all female Polish names end in -a. Mary, as in other Catholic countries, is worn by both sexes. For example, from 2010 to 2015 Bronislav Maria Komorowski was the President of the country.

Poles love to add diminutive suffixes. For male names, -ek and -us are used, for female ones: -ka, -cia, -sia, -usia, -unia, -dzia. Some variants in the original form have the endings -ek: Marek, Jacek, Franciszek.
Sometimes words are transformed beyond recognition. For example, Wojciech is affectionately called Cheshchek, and Caesar is called Charek. Karol eventually turned into Karolek, then into Lelik. Baseya turns out to be Barbara, and Aga could be Agatha or Agnieszka. The owners of names with the root -slav are called: Slavek (boys, men), Slavka (girls, women).

Beautiful old names in Poland

Old Polish names are most often formed by combining the stems of two words. Many variants of Slavic origin have the second part "slav". For example:

Kazimesh or Casimir ("announcing peace") - the name of the representatives of the Polish princely dynasties of the Jagiellons, Piasts. It was worn:

1. violinist Ney;
2. artist Malevich;
3. "father of the American cavalry", member civil war in the USA, Pulavius;
4. Russian military leader Levitsky.

Most of the above names are paired, they are transformed into feminine ones by adding the ending -a. Often there is a component of “fierce” (spring) and “peace”, in various combinations: Yaromir, Yarognev (“spring anger”), Yaropelk (“spring of peoples”), Yarek, Radzhimir (the first root means “joy”), Lubomir , Nemir, Dragomir.

A similar principle of creation has options:

• Bratomite - good for brother;
• Bogumil, Boguhval;
• Bozidar, Bogdan;
• Vlodek - rule by the rules;
• Vlodzimierz - a peaceful ruler;
• Vitold - forest ruler;
• Dobrogost, Milogost - a kind guest;
• Zbigniew - get rid of anger;
• Lyudmil - benefit to the people;
• Radovit - the second part of the word comes from the Old Slavonic vit "life" or Russian "knight";
• Radzimish - happy world;
• Radomil.

Two-part names were formed not only with the help of Old Slavonic words, but also Old Germanic, Late Latin. For example:

• Wilhelm from willo and helm- "will" and "helmet";
• Herald from ger and wald - "spear" + "power, strength";
• Gerard from ger and hard - "spear" + "steadfast, hard";
• Zygmunt from zigu and munt - "victory" + "protection";
• Clotilde from hlud and hild - "loud, glorious" and "battle";
• Matilda from maht hild - "strength, power" and "battle";
• Raimund from ragin munt - "law" + "protection";
• Norbert nord, berth - "north" and "bright";
• Friederik (Friederika) from fridu and riki - "peace" + "rich, powerful";
• Yadviga from hadu and wig - "discord" and "war".

Polish names of Latin origin

Popular names of the Roman Empire: personal (pranomen), family (nomen), nicknames (cognomen) became the basis for Polish counterparts. Thus, Flavian is derived from Flavianus, "belonging to the Flavian genus." Polish names were formed from cognomens:

• Anthony - according to one version, came from the epithet Greek god Dionysus "to engage in battle";
• Beatrice, Beata - from Viatrix "traveler, traveler", later transformed into Beatrix under the influence of the Latin word beata "blessed";
• Benedict - from Benedictus, "blessed";
• Blazhey - from Blasius, "lisping";
• Vincent - from Vincentius, "victorious";
• Vit - from Vitus, "life";
• Felicia, Felix, Felitsyan, Felitsyan - felix "happy";
• Karina - from Carinus "dear, dear";
• Clara, Clarysa - from Clarus, "light";
• Clemens, Clementine, Clementia - from Clemens "merciful";
• Maximilian, Maxim - from mavimus, "greatest";
• Marian, Marianna - from Marianus, from the family Mariev;
• Marek, Marcellinus, Marcellina - from Marcus, possibly in honor of the god of war;
• Modest, Modesta, Modestina - from modestus "modest";
• Sylvester - from silvestris "forest";
• Julia, Julian, Juliana, Juliusz, Julita - from Julius, the founder of the family is Yul, the son of Aeneas;
• Justin, Justina, Justinian - from Justus or justinus, "fair".

For newborn girls, parents came up with names that are consonant with beautiful in Latin words. So there are options:

• grace ("grace");
• Gloria ("glory");
• Yolanta, Viola, Violetta (from viola "violet");
• Olivia (olive "olive tree");
• Stella (stella star);
• Monica (moneo "inspire, call").

According to one version, Maya was called daughters in honor of the last spring month. Sylvanas came from the forest deity of the same name from ancient mythology. Franciszek (feminine Francischka) is a variation of the Late Latin Franciscus "Frankish, French".

Popular names in Poland with Hebrew roots

The names of biblical heroes are difficult to recognize in some Polish counterparts. For example, Gabriel - was formed from Gabriel, Bartosz and Bartholomew from Bartholomew, and Mateusz, Maciej - from Matthew. Popular Polish names that came from Biblical Hebrew are shown in the table.

Polish variants of names of ancient Greek origin

A significant part of the Catholic chronology consists of the names of ancient Greek origin. They have been modified in accordance with the phonetics of the Polish language. Examples are shown in the table.

The history of the origin of some traditional Polish names

Popular Polish names are borrowed from the Lithuanian language: Olgerd, translated as “glorious”, Keistut “to endure, endure”, Witold “to see the people”, Danuta. Interesting story at the name of Grazhina (from the Lithuanian grażus "beautiful"). It was invented in 1822 by Adam Mickiewicz while on vacation in Vilnius. The poem "Grazhina" became the author's first notable work. The name became fashionable in Poland, then in Lithuania.

Malvin's name was also coined by the poet. In 1765, the Scotsman James MacPherson created it from the Gaelic phrase Mala Mhin, "smooth-browed." Malvina he called the heroine of the work "Ossian's Poems".

Names-antonyms are popular in Poland. They originally indicated the origin, place of birth or residence of the owner. For example:

• Caetan, Caetan - a man from Gaeta (Italy);
• Lukaz - from Lutsania;
• Magdalena - from the ancient Greek "from Magdala", a village on the shores of Lake Galilee;
• Adrian - from Adria or the Adriatic;
• Leocadia - arrived from the island of the same name;
• Lydia - from the region of Asia Minor;
• Judita is Jewish, a woman from Judea.

Wanda was probably originally called a representative of the tribe of the Vandals or the Wends (groups Western Slavs). According to another version, this name, popular even outside the country, was invented by Vincent Kaldubek, a medieval chronicler.
Tenderness, harmonious sounding distinguishes female Polish names of Slavic origin:

• Milena "dear";
• Viburnum from the name of the tree, or from the Old Slavonic "heat, glow" or from the ancient Greek kale "beautiful";
• Faith;
• Lyuba;
• Nadzheya (Hope, Russian equivalent);
• Berry.

Tadeusz, according to one version, comes from the Aramaic word Taddai, translated as "chest, heart." The patron saint Thaddeus is listed in the calendar. The popularity of this name was promoted by Adam Mickiewicz. The hero of his poem "Pan Tadeusz" was named after Kosciuszko, leader of the 1794 independence uprising.

From Scandinavian language borrowed names: Inga (goddess of fertility), Oscar (from Ásgeirr "divine spear"), Eric ("rich, powerful"). Ancient Germanic roots have:

• Karl - "man, husband";
• Erwin - "warrior friend";
• Adela (Adela, Adelaide, Adeline) - "noble";
• Odo - "wealth";
• Irma, Emma - "comprehensive";
• Berta - "bright"
• Jadwiga - "struggle, discord."

The name Karolina means "belonging to Charles". Later, a paired male version was created - Caroline. Yvona, Coleta, Nikola (from Nicole), Alicia - Polish analogues of French names.

The most popular names in modern Poland

Polish male names Jan, Jakub, Piotr, Mateusz, Anthony, Shimon, Philip are consistently in the top of the most popular. fashionable in last years becomes a variant of Katsper (Casper, Gaspar). The name probably comes from the Chaldean "gizbar", which means "keeper of treasures".

The rating of female names is headed by Zofia, Lena (Magdalena's variant), Julia, Zuzanna. Hannah, Maria, Maya, Olivia, Amelia, Alicia are on the list of popular ones. Remain common traditional names: Agnieszka, Malgorzata, Jadwiga, Barbara, John.

Most male names in Poland have two possible options origin:

1. Original Slavic, that is, names that appeared in the pre-Christian period.
2. Names from the Catholic Church Calendar.

However, along with it there are also those who are equally Slavic and Christian. In addition, names of Lithuanian origin are quite common in Poland, such as Witold or Olgerd.

The history of the emergence of Slavic Polish names has a long history, their origin is lost in the mists of time, and possibly millennia. Many of the Slavic names come from nicknames of people, which can be either positive or negative.

Positive names are a kind of amulet and a wish for a child to become brave, strong or, for example, beautiful. A negative name designed to protect the baby from evil spirits, which, by old beliefs only dreams of harming a child, is an exhibition of his imaginary weaknesses and shortcomings, including physical ones.

As for the names from the church Catholic calendars, they, as a rule, are of Latin, Greek, or Jewish origin.

Many of the Polish male names have a diminutive form, which later became an independent name, as, for example, happened with the names Lech and Leshek.

The diminutive form of names in Poland can differ so much from the original Catholic name that it is sometimes difficult for a foreigner to determine its original source. So, one of the diminutive variants of the name Karol is Lolek. But some of the names ending in -ek are not a diminutive, although they sound similar to it. Such, for example, are the names Marek and Pshemek.

Somewhat less frequently than the suffix -ek, another suffix is ​​also used in the formation of a diminutive name: -(y)s. With its help, such pet names, like Piotrus, derived from the full name of Piotr.

How is a boy chosen and named?

In the old days in Poland, children could be given several names., but by now their number has been legally reduced to two. A person can take a third name on their own, but it will no longer be recorded in any of the official documents. Most often, the second or third name, the Poles choose before the first communion, which occurs at the age of nine or ten.

When choosing a name, parents are guided, first of all, by the traditions adopted in the family and religious considerations, since the inhabitants of Poland are believing Catholics. And only after that, the Poles pay attention to such characteristics of the name as its euphony, fashion or meaning.

Important! According to Polish law, the name should be a kind of indicator of the gender of a person. This circumstance also has to be taken into account by parents choosing a name for their baby.

As in all other countries, the fashion for names in Poland changes from time to time. Modern parents are increasingly giving their sons the names of characters from films, books, and even computer games. It is not uncommon for a child to be given a name in honor of a national hero or a historical figure: the names of prominent rulers such as Stanisław, Bolesław, Lech or Mieszko never went out of fashion in Poland.

List of beautiful names in Russian and their meaning

Polish male names are characterized by their peculiar beauty: strict and majestic. Below is a list of the most beautiful of them:

• Ales- Protecting humanity. Restrained, balanced and knowing his own worth.
• Aloyza- famous warrior
• Amadeus, Amadeus, Amadeus- "who loves God"
• Ambrosius- "the one who is immortal."
• Anesthesia- "coming back to life" Purposeful and stubborn, but at the same time prudent and prudent.
• Andrzej- "warrior". Active, pragmatic and prudent, distinguished by the ability to correctly assess the situation.
• Antonin- “one who has no price”, “priceless”. People with this name are characterized by charm, courage, diplomacy and hard work.
• Arcadius- "blessed". He grows up as a reasonable and calm child, who from childhood is used to keeping his word.
• Augustine- "honored". Punctual, obligatory and modest.
• Aurelius- Brilliant like gold.
• Bagumil- useful to God.
• Bartoz- “son of Talmei”.
• Benedict- "the one who is blessed."
• Boguslav“God who gives glory.”
• Bozidar- "Given by God"
• Boleslav, Bolek- "great glory".
• Boniface- "he who has a good fate."
• Boris- "fighting". Differs in stubbornness but at the same time obedient and hardworking.
• Bronislav- Illustrious Defender. Straightforward, stubborn and principled, possessing an analytical mind and good intuition.
• Vaclav, Velislav, Veslav- "Great Glory"
• Witold- "ruler of the forest."
• Vladislav- "the one who owns the glory." Hardworking, artistic, has innate leadership qualities.
• Wlodzimierz – « ruling the world". Growing up smart, hardworking and purposeful, but may be too susceptible to the opinions of others.
• Vladzislav- "honestly deserved glory." Responsive and hardworking person with innate business qualities.
• Wojtek, Wojciech- "comforting warrior."
• Gabriel, Gabriz, Gabris- "Man of God" A leader by nature, proud, but kind and considerate.
• Gervasius- "slave-spearman".
• Dariush- "one who owns wealth."
• Dobromil- "distinguished by kindness and courtesy."
• Dobroslav- "one who is famous for good deeds."
• Dorota- "Given by God"
• Druji, Erjey- "warrior". It has such qualities as sociability, benevolent character, as well as purposefulness.
• Jeronym“one who has a holy name.”
• hedgehogs- "peasant".
• Zbigniew- "one who delivers from anger."
• Zdzislaw- "famous here."
• Zibor- fair fight.
• Zimovit“God is in the family.”
• Ivo- "yew tree".
• Ignatius- "one who knows little." Wayward, with an analytical mindset and organizational skills.
• Casimir- "glorifying the world." Optimistic and cheerful, but not without prudence and pragmatism.
• Karol- "sovereign". He is characterized by the gift of persuasion and excellent intuition.
• Klimek- "distinguished by mercy."
• Kondrat- "bravely defending." He grows up confident and calm, but at the same time kind and responsive.
• Konstantin- "Hardness". He is distinguished by courage, determination, he knows how to find a way out of any situation.
• Christian, Christine- "professing Christianity." Enterprising, diligent and hardworking, but prone to committing rash acts.
• Krzys, Krzysztof- "Glorifying Christ". Independent, smart and persistent in achieving the goal.
• Xavier- new home.
• Leslav, Lekhoslav, Leshek- "illustrious intercessor."
• Leh- "Standing up for others"
• a lion- "brave and strong as a lion." Differs in sociability and the ability to get along well with people.
• Lucian, Lucy- "bright, like light."
• Lubomirz- "loving greatness."
• Lubomir- "one who loves the world."
• Lyudmil- "beneficial to the people."
• Ludwik- famous warrior Differs in courage, perseverance and purposefulness.
• Macarius- "one who has been blessed." Sociable and active, but a little self-centered.
• Maksim- "great", "large". Since childhood, he loves to learn from his own experience, is friendly and hardworking.
• Maximilian"great rival" Thoughtful and diligent, but rather shy.
• Marcel, Marek, Marik- "one who protects the sea."
• marsin. Martin - "like the god of war Mars."
• Mateusz, Maciej- "Given by God" He grows up as an honest, diligent, selfless and modest child.
• Mauricius- "coming from Mauritania."
• Michal, Meshko“one who is like God.” Friendly, honest and communicative.
• Mieczysław- "glorious sword."
• Mikolaj- "conqueror of the nations." Grows charming, kind, calm and hardworking.
• Milogost- dear guest.
• Miloslav- "sweet and illustrious."
• Milos- good reputation.
• Miroslav- "glorifying the world." Calm, patient and balanced, but rather sensitive.
• Mstsislav- "coming from glorious places." Diplomatic, but proud and a little arrogant, with good intuition and innate acting skills.
• Nikifor- "bringing victory."
• Nicodemus“a victory won by the people.”
• Paul- "not tall." He is distinguished by kindness, calm disposition, you can always rely on him.
• Patrick- "a person of noble birth."
• Piotr- "carved out of stone." Straightforward, adamant and ambitious: he always wants to be in the first roles.
• Pshemek, Pshemko, Prshemislav- "reasoning smartly."
• Przemysl- "distinguished by cunning."
• Radomil- "happy because it benefits."
• Radoslav, Raslav- "happy with fame."
• Radzimisch- The happiest person in the world.
• Raimund- "a patron distinguished by wisdom."
• Rafal- "Healed by God"
• Richard- strong ruler Logical and prudent, distinguished by great foresight and perseverance.
• Rostsislav, Rostek- "increasing glory." He has a heightened sense of justice, is kind and noble, but loves to teach others.
• Svyatomirz- "blessing the world."
• Svyatopelk- "leader of the holy army."
• Svyatoslav- "glorious for his holiness." It is distinguished by a calm character, goodwill and breadth of soul.
• Sebastian- "sacred". Purposeful and persistent, but can be a little out of his mind.
• Celestine- "descended from heaven."
• Serafin- "bright like a flame."
• Sergiush- "the one who is honored by people." Kind and sympathetic, but laconic and somewhat secretive.
• Severin- "one who is strict."
• Sibor- "fighting for honor."
• Sylvester- "coming from the forest."
• Simon- "the one whom God heard." Grows kind and sympathetic, but susceptible to other people's influence.
• Slavomir- Peaceful Glory.
• Sobislav- "fighting for glory."
• Stanislav- "one who has become famous." Kind, patient and diligent, but a little secretive.
• Stefan, Scepan- crowned. Sociable and sociable, from childhood he knows how to adapt to any situation.
• Sulislav- promising to be famous.
• Cheosni, Chesni- "the one who is happy."
• Tadeusz, Tadzio- "famous for courage."
• Theophilus"Divine Friend"
• Timon- "one who is honest."
• Timoteus- "to the glory of God." He grows up active and independent, but at the same time calm, it is not easy to piss him off.
• Urlik- power and prosperity.
• Felician- "the one who is always lucky."
• Felix- "happy". Ambitious and proud, has an analytical mindset.
• Ferdinand- "fighting for the sake of peace."
• Friedrich, Friedrik, Friedrich- "ruling peacefully."
• Heinrich, Heinrich, Henrich, Henio- "one who is rich and powerful."
• Caesar- "one who divides."
• Cheslav- "honoured".
• Eugeniush- "well born" Efficient, hardworking and persistent in achieving goals.
• Eustachi- "characterized by fruitfulness."
• józef- "one who multiplies." Grows up as a docile and kind child.
• Yulek, Juliusz- "curly". Proud and bold, but at the same time kind and sympathetic.
• Yurek- "farmers". Grows silent and restrained, but at the same time kind and generous.
• Janusz – « merciful God". Friendly, open to the world and unobtrusive, but sometimes can be stubborn.
• Jarek- "born in the spring."
• Yarognev- "strong and angry."
• Jaromir- "strong in the world."
• Yaropelk- "mighty army".
• Yaroslav- "glorious in rage." By nature, he is kind and non-confrontational, but can be adamant when it comes to achieving his goals.
• Jacek, Yacenti- "beautiful, like a hyacinth flower."

Polish male names are distinguished by their peculiar beauty and sonority of pronunciation. Previously, in Poland it was legally allowed to give children as many names as you like, but not so long ago their number was limited to two, which does not prevent Poles from taking a second or third, but already unofficial name during their first communion.

Polish names include names that are used on the territory of Poland. Usually these include names of Slavic, Roman and Greek origin. The peculiarity of these names is that they are similar to many common names for other countries. For example, in the Polish dictionary there is the name Agnieszka, which is consonant with the Russian name Agnia, Katarzyna - Katerina.

Male names in Poland began to appear long before the creation of the country itself. The first Old Slavonic male names: Bozhidar, Yaroslav, Slavomir, Zdimir. After the advent of Christianity, it became popular to name children in honor of Christian saints, which is why there were so many Old Slavonic, Latin and Hebrew names (Lukash, Tomas, Miroslav and many others).

After the arrival of Catholicism, respectively, children were called by classical Catholic names: Paul, Adam, Bernard. After the medieval period christian names out of use. But some remained, having changed and received a slightly different sound. Thus, Fedor became Theodore, John - Jan, etc.

Options for boys and men

Some male names came to Poland from other nearby countries: from Germany - Gustav, and Witold and Olgerd are of Lithuanian origin from Vytautas and Algerdas. It is very popular in Poland to use the diminutive form not only in relation to children, but also to adults. This is considered absolutely everyday and usual. For example, Vladislav will be affectionately called Vladek, Yakub - Kubus, Kuba or Yakubek.

Among these forms, there are those that are radically different from the full name, but the Poles know exactly who they are addressing. Lolek, for example, is a diminutive form of Karol, and Caesar is called Charek. And nothing surprising. But there are also classical, understandable even for a Russian person, Polish names for men:

Polish names are popular not only in Poland, but also far beyond its borders. Some believe that these are one of the most beautiful and sonorous names. Polish men immediately attract attention with their names.

Names for girls and women

In order for a Polish name to take on a diminutive form, Poles add the suffix -to-, for example, Lidka, Olka, Anka. Unlike the Russian language, this does not mean neglect or dissatisfaction with a person, but gives tenderness in the voice. Or the suffix -us- (-us-) also means a friendly attitude towards a person, for example, Anus, Galus, Lidus. Modern Polish names for girls began to form thanks to these suffixes, and now many new ones are appearing.

Polish female names have another feature: names that sound the same as Russian ones (homonyms) have completely different meanings. For example, Lena - in Russian it was formed from Elena, and in Polish from Magdalena. Or Asya is not from Anastasia, but from Joanna. And Olya is not Olga at all, but the Poles believe that she is Alexandra.

It is customary to choose beautiful Polish names for girls, including referring to the list of saints. church names, chosen at the time of baptism, guard and protect the child. They are used when visiting church and during prayers. The saints, after whom the girl is named, will protect them from the evil eye and adversity. Exists ancient tradition Poles, when the child himself can choose a name for himself, at the age of 10, after the sacrament itself.

More than three names are prohibited by the authorities. The secret name that the child has chosen for himself is not entered into any documents, but remains with the child, like a talisman. Popular Polish names are female, as men are often called non-traditional, but foreign.