Every name – and surname in particular – has a story of its own. However, the naming system as a whole has its history, rules and particularities, which in the case of Polish surnames makes it a fascinating story of social, ethnic and cultural intricacy.
Most Polish surnames were originally formed as one of these three categories (however, as you will you see, with surnames nothing is simple):
Cognominal – created from a nickname, usually based on occupation (so-called occupational surnames), a physical description, or character trait. Compare Kowalski, Głowacz or Bystroń.
Toponymic – these names are derived from place of residence, birth or family origin. Like: Brzeziński.
Patronymic – usually derived from a person's given name and usually ends in a suffix suggesting a family relation. Think of: Piotrowicz or Staszczyk.
The -ski names: the ultimate Polish surname
The -ski names are by no means the oldest, but they've become by far the most recognizable type of Polish last name worldwide. It's also the most popular type of surname in the country today: structure-wise, surnames with the -ski suffix (and the cognate -cki and -dzki) comprise some 35% of the 1000 most popular Polish names. Where did this kind of name come from and what does it tell us about Poland?
The Polish -ski suffix was originally used to denote topographic location or possessive relation. Thus, the oldest of these names, which started to spread in Poland around the 13th century, signify that their bearers harked from a certain locale: Tarnowski is from Tarnów, Chomętowski from Chomątów, Brzeziński from Brzezie, etc.
Importantly, these were originally names used by Polish nobility – noblemen were obviously landowners and as such had all the right to use their land (and its name) as a way of distinguishing themselves from others (that's what surnames are all about, right?). As a result, -ski names very soon came to be considered a noble name par excellence, signifying the noble origins and high status of a family.
Around the turn of 16th century, the -ski names strayed to be adopted by the bourgeoisie along with the peasants. That's when the suffix loses its original toponymic or possessive sense, and becomes the most productive Polish name suffix (and pretty much neutral in meaning). That's when the traditional Polish (sur)names of cognominal kind (see below), very popular with the people, start to morph with the noble -ski ending. Thus, Skowron (lark) changes to Skowroński, Ryba (fish) is now Rybiński, Kaczmarek (=innkeeper) is now Kaczmarski and Kowal (blacksmith) becomes Kowalski.
While the -ski suffix was once an all-Slavic grammatical feature which resulted in this kind of name being formed in many Slavic lands, the popularity of the Polish -ski name in Poland may have contributed to the overall popularity of the name: first in Eastern Europe and then globally. Today, the -ski in the name may still – with high probability – serve as an indication of someone's Polish origins. Remember that when you consider people with the -ski names in Russia, like Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Vaslav Nijinsky or Felix Dzerzhinsky – you can be sure that many of them have some Polish background.
Cognominal Names
The cognominal names were formed from nicknames, usually based on occupation, a physical description, or character trait of a person. You'll find here: Nowak (someone 'new' in the area), Bystroń (someone 'quick-witted'), Białas (someone 'white'), and Głowacz (someone with a big 'head'). See also: Szyszka (pine cone), Gwiazda (star), Noga (leg).
One of the most interesting sub-categories of cognominal names are the so-called occupational surnames. These are names based on the occupation of an ancestor. Found in probably every culture, the occupational names in Poland come in a great variety, part of it owed to a great productivity of different suffixes which are added to the original name, like -ski, -czyk, -ik, -ak, etc. For example, the word for the profession kowal (meaning blacksmith, compare English last name Smith) in Polish gives Kowalczyk, Kowalik, Kowalski, Kowalewski, among others and along the original Kowal, which is also a popular last name.
A list of such occupational names can work as a hint as to the hierarchy of the most important professions in Poland in the past, like: Kowalski (blacksmith), Woźniak (custodian), Krawczyk (tailor), Szewczyk (shoemaker), Kaczmarek (innkeeper), Cieślak (carpenter), Kołodziejski (wheelwright), Bednarz (cooper), Kucharski (cook) to name only a few.
Piotr, Pietrzak, Piotrowski... surnames formed from Christian first names
The tremendous variety and productivity of Slavic suffixes in the Polish naming system stands behind the great variety of surnames created from first names, most often Christian given names, which by the 16th century had almost entirely replaced the more indigenous Slavic first names (before they were reintroduced in the 19th century).
These are not necessarily classical patronymic names – a term reserved for the name suffixes that carry the sense of 'son of'' [see below] (but these obviously fit in here too).
One such first name could have in extreme cases produced as many as several dozens of surnames. Like Piotr and its derivatives which would include: Pietrasz, Pietraszak, Pietraszek, Pietruszko, Pietrucha, Pietroń, Pietrus, Pietrzak, Pietrzyk, Piestrzak, Pietrowiak, Peter, Peterek, Petryczek, Petras, Petraś, Petri, Petrino. The classic patronymic suffix -wicz could produce: Petrulewicz, Pietraszkiewicz, Pietrkiewicz, Pietrowicz, Piotrowicz, Pietrusiewicz. The adjectival suffixes would add another handful: Piotrowski, Piotraszewski, Petrażycki, Piestrzyński, Pietracki, Pietruszyński, Pietrykowski, Pietrycki, Pietrzykowski ... and many more.
This mind-boggling productivity of suffixes resulted in the huge popularity of such names, confirmed by the statistics. In fact, surnames like Piotrowski, Szymański (from Szymon), Jankowski (Jan), Wojciechowski, Michalski, Pawłowski, Jakubowski, make up today over 25% of all Polish surnames (in regard to the meaning of the root).
In terms of their class origins most of these names were once considered peasant or bourgeois surnames. While today these differences are no longer visible or important, the traditional Polish society would value certain names more than others. As ethnographer Jan Stanisław Bystroń observed, this kind of hierarchy would establish the name Michałowski on top, with Michalski behind it, and Michałowicz third; while surnames like Michalik, Michałek, Michniak or Michnik would lag behind, and be considered common names. Nevertheless they all come from one Polish first name: Michał.
Polish patronyms
While Polish patronyms may come in a variety of forms (like the suffixes -yk, -czyk, -ak, -szczak, -czak, Stach, Staszek, Stachura, Staszczyk, Stachowiak, Stasiak – are all sons Stanisław) the most important and recognizable is the one formed by the -wicz suffix – a one that can also be met in the Russian patronymic suffix. In fact, the Polish suffix -wicz is of Ruthenian origin (the more ancient Polish form terminates in -wic; you can find it in early modern names of Polish poets: Szymonowic, Klonowic), where it was used for many centuries by the local nobility. All are used in names as indication that someone is somebody’s son.
Feminine forms
One of the particularities of the Polish surname system is that the surname of a woman often differs from that of her husband or father. Today this is most noticeable in the adjectival names like Kowalski – the wife's name is Kowalska. However, in the past the system of feminine surname suffixes was much more elaborate, reflecting not only the sex but also the marital status of a woman. This basically means that one could tell whether a woman was married or maiden just upon hearing her last name. Here's how you could tell:
Maiden:
A woman who was never married used her father's surname with the suffix -ówna or -anka - the form depending on the final sound of the masculine surname (-ówna for consonant-ending, -anka for vowel-ending). Examples: Kordziak (father) – Kordziakówna (daughter), Morawa – Morawianka. Compare: Anna Świderkówna, Zuzanna Ginczanka, Anna Skarżanka.
Wife:
A married woman or a widow used her husband's surname with the suffix -owa or -'na / -yna: Examples: Nowak – Nowakowa, Koba – Kobina; Puchała – Puchalina. This tradition is embedded in an older folk usage that disappeared over the course of the 20th century and is seen today as a relic of a time forever gone – but it's still a part of culture.