{"id":1187,"date":"2010-09-23T18:44:52","date_gmt":"2010-09-23T18:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/?p=1187"},"modified":"2010-09-24T01:04:21","modified_gmt":"2010-09-24T01:04:21","slug":"polish-slavic-names","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/polish-slavic-names\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s in a Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There are many things we are born with that we don’t have a choice in. We can’t select if we’re going to be a male or female, short or tall, blond or brunette (well, this one many do change in every color in the spectrum, but whatever). Another thing we are given at birth is our name. Now, as a parent, I know I struggled with finding names for my children. You want something that won’t embarrass them, something that sounds good with the surname and, often times, it has to have some sort of meaning. My Polish name is Katarzyna<\/strong>, but my given name here, being born in the US, is Catherine. I am named after my paternal grandmother, and my middle name is Anna, after my mother. Now, given that Catherine can be spelled with a K as well, I asked my mother, why spell it with a C? I thought it would be something profound, something with so much meaning I might be overwhelmed. Her answer – I just wanted something different than the Polish. All right then.<\/p>\n

There may not be significance in picking a C, but there is the family value of my name being passed down to me. Now Katarzyna<\/strong> is taken from the Greek as well, and its meaning is Pure. So this got me thinking. There are SEVERAL truly Polish names and it got me wondering, what’s behind the name?<\/p>\n

I began my name research with my family. Since my parents names were of German and Hebrew origin, I decided to go into my uncles, aunts and cousins names to start finding some Slavic-origin names and break them down for their meanings. So, a name common to both sides of my family, and I would argue most Polish people know or have an uncle named so, is Stanis\u0142aw<\/strong>. Or the short form is Sta\u015b<\/strong>. Well, this name translates into one that stands or achieves fame or glory. Translated into English, Stanis\u0142aw<\/strong> is Stanley.<\/p>\n

There are a lot of Polish names that end with –s\u0142aw<\/strong>. Add an -a ending on some of them, and they are the feminine form. Here are some examples and their meanings:<\/p>\n