History UsefulNotes / Poland

Poland arose when the West Slavic tribes of the region were united by the Piast dynasty of the Polans around about 1000, to an ongoing debate among historians as nobody is quite sure what was going on before mid-10th Century. In any case, Duke Mieszko and his son Bolesław put Poland on the map, cementing it with the former's baptism in 966 and the latter's crowning in 1025. The Piasts spent the next few centuries having their highs and lows, cleverly alternating between placating [[UsefulNotes/HolyRomanEmpire the German emperors]] and going behind their backs. Perhaps the most globally notable event of first two or three centuries of Poland's existence happened during a period of political fragmentation, when one of Polish regional princes invited UsefulNotes/TheTeutonicKnights to help him against the pagan Prussians. It later became quite a nuisance, so to say. When Poland was finally reunified, it found itself in dire need for allies, and in the process became associated with Lithuania (this historical Lithuania actually consisted of modern-day ''Belarus'' and Lithuania), which at the time was the last pagan country in Europe and therefore also had a problem with the Knights. The kingdom then went through a period of development under the last Piast king, Casimir III ''the Great'', who also set the foundation for later tolerance by providing refuge to Jews and prohibiting, [[GoodIsNotSoft under pain of death]], the forced conversion of Jewish children to Christianity. [[note]]Until the third partition, Poland despite being a devoutly Catholic nation, was known for developing good relationships with Jews and being far less anti-semitic than Western Europe.[[/note]]\\

*** Janusz - a derivate form of Jan, originally probably a dimunitive, but it quickly became a name of its own, noted since the Middle Ages [[note]]Somewhen in the 2010s, this name (often written in lowercase) became a pejorative term for a person displaying negative stereotypical traits of a Pole. A typical Janusz/janusz is depicted as a middle-aged man with a beer belly and reddish face, unattractive, wearing unfashionable clothes, putting on sandals and white socks. He's known for his obnoxious, quarrelsome attitude and has very limited knowledge in a field in which he himself considers to be an expert. The term may also refer to an ignorant person in a broader sense, such as "janusz of business". Michał Łaszczyk, a Polish blogger, criticizing [[Creator/GrahamHancock Graham Hancock's]] scandalous behaviour in Egypt (bribing the guards, climbing on the top of a pyramid, entering an antique sarcophagus when no one's looking around, etc.), called him a ''janusz of archaeology''. And now you've got it. Janusz's wife is usually called Halina or Grażyna and they have a DumbJock son Sebastian (shortened to Seba), but these names alone do not seem to carry such negative connotations. But be careful with Janusz.[[/note]]

* Turek and Tatara[=/=]Tatarski, related with Turkish and Tatar ancestry. Note however there is no such surname as "Turecki". Of the more common names derived from ethnic background, there is also Czech, Czeski and Czechowicz, Litwin (Lithuanian), Rusin (Ruthenian or Rus), Szwed and Szweda (Swede), Niemiec (German) and Prus, Olender (Dutch) and curiously enough, [[ADogNamedDog Polak]].

** However, statistics aren't always an accurate representation of reality. Polls have shown that more and more people are simply getting by without thinking about religion at all. While most ''state'' they're Catholic, they may do it out of force of habit, upbringing, or peer pressure. Mass attendance has been falling down steadily since 1987, to a then record low of 40% in 2011 and currently keeping around that value. This situation is also represented in common statement about one's creed - "wierzący, niepraktykujący", which translates as "believer, non-practitioning" (Anglophones may compare it to "spiritual, but not religious" and "non-denominational Christian").

** If you like sweets, there is a wide variety of traditional pastries in Poland are sold either in bakeries or even in dedicated pastry shops, not to mention regular stores (in fact, if the local grocery-slash-liquor-store isn't selling at least the most regular yeast-dough pastries, something is ''seriously'' off and the owner was probably abducted by aliens). Typically fillings are made out of either fruits, white cheese, poppy seeds, sweet pudding, raisins or nuts (or a mix of at least two of those). Some of the pastries are regional, while others are accessible countrywide.

* ''Płacić jak za zboże'' ("To pay as if for grain") - paying loads of money for something, and in certain contexts,  also overpaying for something. It is usually used when describing a situation when one must buy something, regardless of its high price.

* ''Z uporem godnym lepszej sprawy'' ("With persistence worth a better cause") - when someone stubbornly keeps doing something or going with some initiative, no matter how stupid, wasteful, counter-productive or even outright harmful it is. Also: when they refuse to accept that their actions are bad or ill-conceived.

**  A culinary curio: Poles eat both pasta and rice with or even as sweet dishes. In fact, you are more likely to get pasta served with either sweetened white cheese, strawberry mash, or grated-and-baked apples (and not just when in a bar mleczny) than with a meat or at least a vegetable sauce. This is a regional thing - as a rule of thumb, the farther east you go, the more likely you are to find exotic (to an Anglosaxon) sweet dishes. Rice with cinnamon apples is a comfort food for many Poles, who were served it a lot during their childhood.

*** Janusz - a derivate form of Jan, originally probably a dimunitive, but it quickly became a name of its own, noted since the Middle Ages [[note]]Somewhen in the 2010s, this name (often written in lowercase) became a pejorative term for a person displaying negative stereotypical traits of a Pole. A typical Janusz/janusz is depicted as a middle-aged man with a beer belly and reddish face, unattractive, wearing unfashionable clothes, putting on sandals and white socks. He's known for his obnoxious, quarrelsome attitude and has very limited knowledge in a field in which he himself considers to be an expert. The term may also refer to an ignorant person in a broader sense, such as "janusz of business". Michał Łaszczyk, a Polish blogger, criticizing [[Creator/GrahamHancock Graham Hancock's]] scandalous behaviour in Egypt (bribing the guards, climbing on the top of a pyramid, entering an atique sarcophagus when no one's looking around, etc.), called him a ''janusz of archaeology''. And now you've got it. Janusz's wife is usually called Halina or Grażyna and they have a DumbJock son Sebastian (shortened to Seba), but these names alone do not seem to carry such negative connotations. But be careful with Janusz.[[/note]]

Girls' names usually end with an "a"[[note]]Which meant for quite a while you couldn't ''by law'' name your daughter Theatre/{{Carmen}}, leading to a handful of women in Poland bearing the name of '''K'''armen'''a''' to abide to the legislation and the Polish grammar. Plus ask Poles around - chances are, they have (great)grandmother named Salome'''a'''[[/note]]. Boys' names end with consonants. Some masculine names end with an "y" (eg. Jerzy, [[Creator/MalgorzataMusierowicz Ignacy]], [[Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy Onufry]]) which is not a consonant in Polish (hence "an", not "a" - look above for pronounciation) or some other vowel. Alternative forms of the same name (eg. Anna/Hanna, Bogdan/Bohdan) are mostly treated as different names, but some people will be aware of the connections [[note]]like in Bohdan Smoleń's sketch where he's asked "Bohdan or Bogdan?" and answers, more or less, that [[DoNotCallMePaul both are equally bad]][[/note]] and, eg. call their friend Anna "Hania" (diminutive of Hanna). This is an endearing quirk, unless it's MaliciousMisnaming (using the diminutive someone vocally dislikes ''is'' MaliciousMisnaming)[[note]]Then there is the Olga-Olka duo, being respectively diminutives of Helga and Alexandra. And to make things worse, Olga operates as a separate name from Helga, too, thanks to East Slav influence. Rule of a thumb - when a girl says her name is "Ola" (which is used as a diminutive of all names listed so far), ask her if she's Aleksandra or Olga. She will understand and you will avoid all sort of nasty confusion later on[[/note]] \\

** Jan (''John''): Janek, Jaś, Jasiek, Jasio

** Jakub (''James/Jacob''): Kuba, Kubuś (Polish version of Literature/WinnieThePooh is called "Kubuś Puchatek" - we don't know why[[note]]Apparently, many Poles believe that Winnie the Pooh is ''female'', because of a mistake in first, now quite obscure, Polish translation, and confused as to why he's male in the second, widely-known translation... the truth is, the second translator, Irena Kwiatkowska, just did better research.[[/note]])

There were several notable approaches to independence, differing between regions and political ideologies. First, there were [[SillyRabbitIdealismIsForKids the cynical loyalists]], who believed that nothing will ever change and there's no point in trying. Although such mindset was not uncommon anywhere, as a coherent faction they appeared under Austrian rule, where the law was relatively liberal and ethnic Poles could and did rise to high positions in K.u.K. government. The peasants' opinions ran the full gamut as long as serfdom remained abolished and land was redistributed, but again in the Austrian part the conditions were right for the rise of an organized peasants' movement as a separate entity, up for both land reform and independence. Another important faction were the Nationalists, who advocated ethnic solidarity and building up political and economic power instead of armed action. Adhering to a doctrine of a sort of ethno-political darwinism formulated by their leader, the diplomat and ideologue Roman Dmowski — they believed that stronger cultures inevitably take over the weaker ones, therefore given enough time, [[InsaneTrollLogic Poles will ultimately take over Russia]], while risking the same from [[GermanicEfficiency well-organised Germans]] — they were prominently pro-Russian. Although they are nowadays associated first with Poles in German Empire, where their stance worked well against German legal oppression, they were a pan-Polish faction and Dmowski also notably served as a deputy to post-1905 Russian Duma. And then were [[UsefulNotes/{{Socialism}} the socialists]], who carried on the torch of armed resistance in the era of increasing industrialization but were divided on the relative importance of establishing socialism vs. establishing Poland. The primary figure of the latter camp was Józef Piłsudski, who after a period of revolutionary action went on to the Austrian side to establish [[HiddenInPlainSight totally-not-paramilitary sport shooting clubs]].[[note]]The most prominent figure of the former camp was probably Rosa Luxemburg, better known these days for political activity she undertook once she had moved to Germany proper, where she figured her revolutionary work would be more fruitful. A few others became notable Bolsheviks, foremostly among them the founder of UsefulNotes/MoscowCentre, Feliks Dzierżyński. There's a bit of historical irony in that their stance on Polish independence, which resulted in their leaving Poland for bigger centers of action, led them to become insignificant in Poland but widely recognized figures in global history.[[/note]]

* ''Umierać za Gdańsk'' ("To die for Danzig") - a way of calling an argument overly fallacious, derived from French writer and future Nazi collaborator Marcel Déat's article [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Die_for_Danzig%3F "Why Die for Danzig?"]], which advocated against French intervention in response to UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler's demands for German control over the Free City of Danzig. The article and the eponymous anti-war slogan it created were, understandably, loathed in Poland.

* ''Słoń a sprawa polska'' (''The elephant and the Polish cause'') - a [[{{invoked}} ]] MemeticMutation from ''Przedwiośnie'' novel, but has a longer history. A critique of trying to find connections with Poland or Polish undertones in ''any'' given work, EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory-style. This comes from the late 19th century sentiment, bordering on obsession, where the independence cause completely and utterly dominated the discourse in art (to the point that the period is known as "Young Poland"). Ever since, it has either been used in the original context, particularly against misguided patriotism and national ego, or in a slightly broader one, when someone is trying to bend facts to fit their agenda.

And if you want to write a piece of historical fiction, you need to remember that traditional Slavic names dropeed in use after The Council of Trent (1545-1563), which effectively banned "pagan" names in favor of the Christian ones. So, a character named, let's say, Mścisław would be plausible in a work set in the 13th century, but a bit out of place in the 17th century. Naturally, it was impossible to enforce this rule in 100% of situations ''everywhere'', and there were some notable exceptions, such as names of Slavs who lived before the date and have been beatified or canonized by the Church (for example: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogumilus Bogumił]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Casimir Kazimierz]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague Wojciech]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_of_Szczepanów Stanisław]]). Slavic names have regained their popularity in the 19th century, when Polish people struggled to keep their ethnic identity under foregin domination. Maria (Mary), nowadays one of the most popular girls' names was generally avoided until the 19th century due to strong devotion towards Virgin Mary (Marianna or Maryna were in use instead).

And if you want to write a piece of historical fiction, you need to remember that traditional Slavic names dropeed in use after The Council of Trent (1545-1563), which effectively banned "pagan" names in favor of the Christian ones. So, a character named, let's say, Mścisław would be plausible in a work set in the 13th century, but a bit out of place in the 17th century. Naturally, it was impossible to enforce this rule in 100% of situations ''everywhere'', and there were some notable exceptions, such as names of Slavs who lived before the date and already have been beatified or canonized by the Church (for example: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogumilus Bogumił]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Casimir Kazimierz]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague Wojciech]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_of_Szczepanów Stanisław]]). Slavic names have regained their popularity in the 19th century, when Polish people struggled to keep their ethnic identity under foregin domination. Maria (Mary), nowadays one of the most popular girls' names was generally avoided until the 19th century due to strong devotion towards Virgin Mary (Marianna or Maryna were in use instead).

And if you want to write a piece of historical fiction, you need to remember that traditional Slavic names dropeed in use after The Council of Trent (1545-1563), which effectively banned "pagan" names in favor of the Christian ones. So, a character named, let's say, Miścisław would be plausible in a work set in the 13th century, but a bit out of place in the 17th century. Naturally, it was impossible to enforce this rule in 100% of situations ''everywhere'', and there were some notable exceptions, such as names of Slavs who lived before the date and already have been beatified or canonized by the Church (for example: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogumilus Bogumił]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Casimir Kazimierz]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague Wojciech]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_of_Szczepanów Stanisław]]). Slavic names have regained their popularity in the 19th century, when Polish people struggled to keep their ethnic identity under foregin domination. Maria (Mary), nowadays one of the most popular girls' names was generally avoided until the 19th century due to strong devotion towards Virgin Mary (Marianna or Maryna were in use instead).

And if you want to write a piece of historical fiction, you need to remember that traditional Slavic names dropeed in use after The Council of Trent (1545-1563), which effectively banned "pagan" names in favor of the Christian ones. So, a character named, let's say, Miścisław would be plausible in a work set in the 13th century, but a bit out of place in the 17th century. Naturally, it was impossible to enforce this rule in 100% of situations ''everywhere'', and there were some notable exceptions, such as names of Slavs who lived before the date and already have been beatified or canonized by the Church (for example: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogumilus Bogumił]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Casimir Kazimierz]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague Wojciech]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_of_Szczepanów Stanisław]]). Slavis names have regained their popularity in the 19th century, when Polish people struggled to keep their ethnic identity under foregin domination. Maria (Mary), nowadays one of the most popular girls' names was generally avoided until the 19th century due to strong devotion towards Virgin Mary (Marianna or Maryna were in use instead).

And if you want to write a piece of historical fiction, you need to remember that traditional Slavic names dropeed in use after Council of Trent (1545-1563), which effectively banned "pagan" names in favor of the Christian ones. So, a character named, let's say, Miścisław would be plausible in a work set in the 13th century, but a bit out of place in the 17th century. Naturally, it was impossible to enforce this rule in 100% of situations ''everywhere'', and there were some notable exceptions, such as names of Slavs who lived before and already have been beatified or canonized by the Church (for example: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogumilus Bogumił]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Casimir Kazimierz]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague Wojciech]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_of_Szczepanów Stanisław]]). Slavis names have regained their popularity in the 19th century, when Polish people struggled to keep their ethnic identity under foregin domination. Maria (Mary), nowadays one of the most popular girls' names was generally avoided until the 19th century due to strong devotion towards Virgin Mary (Marianna or Maryna were in use instead).

And if you want to write a piece of historical fiction, you need to remember that traditional Slavic names dropeed in use after Council of Trent (1545-1563), which effectively banned "pagan" names in favor of the Christian ones. So, a character named, let's say, Miścisław would be plausible in a work set in the 13th century, but a bit out of place in the 17th century. Naturally, it was impossible to enforce this rule in 100% of situations ''everywhere'', and there were some notable exceptions, such as names of Slavs who already have been beatified or canonized by the Church long before that (for example: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogumilus Bogumił]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Casimir Kazimierz]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague Wojciech]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_of_Szczepanów Stanisław]]). Slavis names have regained their popularity in the 19th century, when Polish people struggled to keep their ethnic identity under foregin domination. Maria (Mary), nowadays one of the most popular girls' name was generally avoided until the 19th century due to strong devotion towards Virgin Mary (Marianna or Maryna were in use instead).

And if you want to write a piece of historical fiction, you need to remember that traditional Slavic names dropeed in use after Council of Trent (1545-1563), which effectively banned "pagan" names in favor of the Christian ones. So, a character named, let's say, Miścisław would be plausible in a work set in the 13th century, but a bit out of place in the 17th century. Naturally, it was impossible to enforce this rule in 100% of situations ''everywhere'', and there were some notable exceptions, such as names of Slavs who already have been beatified or canonized long before that (for example: [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogumilus Bogumił]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Casimir Kazimierz]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adalbert_of_Prague Wojciech]], [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_of_Szczepan%C3%B3w Stanisław]]). Slavis names have regained their popularity in the 19th century, when Polish people struggled to keep their ethnic identity under foregin domination. Maria (Mary), nowadays one of the most popular girls' name was generally avoided until the 19th century due to strong devotion towards Virgin Mary (Marianna or Maryna were in use instead).

There are also a few names like "Marek"[[labelnote:translation]] Mark[[/labelnote]] and "Jacek"[[labelnote:translation]]Sometimes incorrectly translated as "Jack", but actually came a long way through Old Polish "Jacenty" from Greek "Hyacinth"[[/labelnote]] that may look like diminutives due to the misleading -ek ending, but actually they are formal given names in modern Polish. Of course, said names can also have diminuitive forms ("Mareczek" for "Marek" and "Jacuś" for "Jacek" are common, for example).\\

By law, you are not allowed to name your kid a common noun or [[LocationThemeNaming locations of any kind]] (so it will break suspension of disbelief in fiction), although there are traditional exceptions: Róża (''Rose''), Kalina (''guelder rose'', even if the first and usually only person an average Pole will think of in association with this name is actress Kalina Jędrusik, the [[OxymoronicBeing sexbomb of PRL]]), Nadzieja (''Hope''). Jagoda (''blueberry'') and Malina (''raspberry'') sound like common nouns, but are actually forms of Jadwiga and Magdalena, respectively. In general, Polish law does its best to prevent UnfortunateNames, not that it stops some people. On the flip side, it requires the parents to strictly abide to rules of Polish language, even if they are first-generation immigrants, requiring often bizarre Polonised forms of established names, creating all sorts of problems both internally ''and'' abroad. Then there are [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} traditional Romani names]], which weren't even legally ''recognised as names'' until 1991 and are still stigmatised against[[note]]Modern ones meanwhile fall under standard regulations against foreign, unfortunate and ungrammatical names, as they are the Polish equivalent of a GhettoName[[/note]]. You can query the Rada Języka Polskiego about whether a name is acceptable and some of [[https://rjp.pan.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=76&Itemid=209 the propositions]]... wow.

We have middle names in Poland but they're entirely optional and picked by the parents[[note]]In theory you can pick it yourself if your parents decided not to so (or do the reverse, get rid of it), but as the next paragraph will show, it's harder to do than it seems[[/note]]. The middle name will be there in all your documents: [=ID=], registrations, deeds, diplomas and so on, even if it might be otherwise absent from your life. And if you happen to be Catholic (as most Poles are), you will be choosing your own second or third name (of a patron saint you'd like to keep watch over you) during your confirmation, but that name only exists in Church documents. A common practical joke: address mail with [[OverlyLongName all three names and surname, since it usually barely fits on the envelope]]. Oh, and keep in mind when creating fictional Poles that MysteriousMiddleInitial doesn't work in Polish nor has any established precedence - people either skip their middle name entirely (usually) or display it fully, making the custom of using initial completely alien. If you want to use initials, you will have to apply it to the first name, too[[note]]Which, in turn, often pops-up in real life in form of "parafka" - initials used for a quick-and-dirty hand signature, often requiring later to decipher who even signed it[[/note]]. \\

Girls' names usually end with an "a". Boys' names end with consonants. Some masculine names end with an "y" (eg. Jerzy, [[Creator/MalgorzataMusierowicz Ignacy]], [[Literature/SienkiewiczTrilogy Onufry]]) which is not a consonant in Polish (hence "an", not "a" - look above for pronounciation) or some other vowel. Alternative forms of the same name (eg. Anna/Hanna, Bogdan/Bohdan) are mostly treated as different names, but some people will be aware of the connections [[note]]like in Bohdan Smoleń's sketch where he's asked "Bohdan or Bogdan?" and answers, more or less, that [[DoNotCallMePaul both are equally bad]][[/note]] and, eg. call their friend Anna "Hania" (diminutive of Hanna). This is an endearing quirk, unless it's MaliciousMisnaming (using the diminutive someone vocally dislikes ''is'' MaliciousMisnaming)[[note]]Then there is the Olga-Olka duo, being respectively diminutives of Helga and Alexandra. And to make things worse, Olga operates as a separate name from Helga, too, thanks to East Slav influence. Rule of a thumb - when a girl says her name is "Ola" (which is used as a diminutive of all names listed so far), ask her if she's Aleksandra or Olga. She will understand and you will avoid all sort of nasty confusion later on[[/note]] \\

** Wanda (origins unknown[[note]]There is a good chance the name was originally made up for the sake of a Polish legend and then [[{{invoked}} ]] [[MemeticMutation simply sticked around]]. There's an equally good chance that it wasn't.[[/note]], often mistranslated as ''Wendy'') - Wandzia, Wandula, Wandunia, Wandusia and even Wandziusia (increasingly cute, to the point of annoyance - and also increasingly less feasible to pronounce by non-Poles)

Fun fact - foreign names (or regular names in their Anglicised forms) are considered the height of cheapest snobbery. For example, while English names like Kevin, Jessica or Brian and their Polonised forms are in use, they are also punchline of jokes about the lowest of low and [[GhettoName carry a hefty social stigma]].[[note]]PlayedForLaughs in the urban fantasy novel ''Podatek'', where being named "Pamela" drove a girl [[TheSociopath mad]] enough that she is now the chief enforcer of the magical mafia, whose mood has two settings: EmotionlessGirl and the [[AxCrazy one that magicks you into next Tuesday]]. And even the boss of said mafia is careful to call her by her chosen nickname, "Czarna Kasieńka" (Black Katie).[[/note]] \\

* Wiśniewski, Lewandowski, Zieliński, Dąbrowski, Grabowski, Malinowski, Jabłoński, Leszczyński, Lipiński and Olszewski are some of the most popular examples of surnames derived from placenames that were in turn derived from [[PlantThemeNaming names of plants]].
* Wróbel, Czyż, Sikora, Sokół, Wrona and their inflected forms: Wróblewski, Czyżewski, Sikorski, Sokołowski and [[WronskiFeint Wroński]]. There are also [[Series/CzterejPancerniIPies Kos]], Kruk, Dudek, Szczygieł and (inflected) Orłowski and Orliński[[note]]Orzeł as a surname is relatively rare, especially when compared with the inflected forms[[/note]]. All those names come from common bird species.

* Szymański

* Krawczyk, Szewczyk, Tkaczyk[=/=]Tkacz[=/=]Tkocz, Tokarz[=/=]Tokarski (also Toczek) and Cieślak[=/=]Cieślik are common, trade-derived surnames (respectively: Tailor, Cobbler, Weaver, Turner and Carpenter)

* Jankowski, Janowski, Janik, Janicki, Iwanicki[[note]]All of which come from Jan - John[[/note]], Andrzejewski (and Jędrzejewski), Stasiak, Antczak, Adamski, Florek, Lech, Tomasik, Tomaszek, Tomaszewski, Urbański, Pawłowski and Pawlak are some of the most common surnames derived from... given names.

* Raczyński - see dr. Raczyńska in ''Series/AllCreaturesGreatAndSmall''

* Wiśniewski, Lewandowski, Zieliński, Dąbrowski, Grabowski, Malinowski, Jabłoński, Lipiński and Olszewski are some of the most popular examples of surnames derived from placenames that were in turn derived from [[PlantThemeNaming names of plants]].

* Krawczyk, Szewczyk and Cieślak[=/=]Cieślik are common, trade-derived surnames (respectively: Tailor, Cobbler and Carpenter)

* Jankowski, Janowski, Janik, Janicki, Iwanicki[[note]]All of which come from Jan - John[[/note]], Andrzejewski (and Jędrzejewski), Stasiak, Antczak, Adamski, Florek, Urbański, Pawłowski and Pawlak are some of the most common surnames derived from... given names.

* Turek and Tatara[=/=]Tatarski, related with Turkish and Tatar ancestry. Note however there is no such surname as "Turecki". Of the more common names derived from ethnic background, there is also Czech, Czeski and Czechowicz, and curiously enough, [[ADogNamedDog Polak]].

* Krawczyk, Szewczyk and Cieślak are common, trade-derived surnames (respectively: Tailor, Cobbler and Carpenter)

Important note: New given names are rarely created in Polish (they might be borrowed from other languages, often through popular foreign media, but this seems a bit awkward). If you'd rather not name your character something ridiculous, check if the name is used in Poland (eg. look it up in Polish version of The Other Wiki). Some names are less common than others, but you should be able to figure which are fine, as long as you bear in mind that Polish naming customs seem to evolve significantly over relatively short periods of time. And so, while seeing that two Polish presidents elected in 1990 and 2005 respectively bore the name Lech might tempt you to think it might be an awfully popular name, you'd have a pretty hard time finding anyone called Lech among people born in the 1970s or later. Generally speaking, Polish society seems to be moving away from the traditional Slavic naming fashion faster than her Slavic neighbors; names like these are all but extinct among women[[note]]''Especially'' those that are female forms of established male names, like Czesława, Mirosława, Władysława or Zdzisława - cut the "-a" suffix and you have a stereotypical name fitting for your annoying, elderly ''uncle'' with a big mustache[[/note]] and lose their popularity with men with each passing year - althrough there seems to be a rebound since the 2010s. For a statistic of popularity of names, see [[http://imiona.nazwiska-polskie.pl/ this page]] (column left is boys, column right - girls), but remember to account for a generation the character belongs to.\\

By law, you are not allowed to name your kid a common noun or [[LocationThemeNaming locations of any kind]] (so it will break suspension of disbelief in fiction), although there are traditional exceptions: Róża (''Rose''), Kalina (''guelder rose'', even if the first and usually only person an average Pole will think of in association with this name is actress Kalina Jędrusik, the [[OxymoronicBeing sexbomb of PRL]]), Nadzieja (''Hope''). Jagoda (''blueberry'') and Malina (''raspberry'') sound like common nouns, but are actually forms of Jadwiga and Magdalena, respectively. In general, Polish law does its best to prevent UnfortunateNames, not that it stops some people. On the flip side, it requires from parents to strictly abide to rules of Polish language, even if they are first-generation immigrants, requiring often bizarre Polonised forms of established names, creating all sorts of problems both internally ''and'' abroad. Then there are [[UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} traditional Romani names]], which weren't even legally ''recognised as names'' until 1991 and are still stigmatised against[[note]]Modern ones meanwhile fall under standard regulations against foreign, unfortunate and ungrammatical names, as they are the Polish equivalent of a GhettoName[[/note]]. You can query the Rada Języka Polskiego about whether a name is acceptable and some of [[https://rjp.pan.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&id=76&Itemid=209 the propositions]]... wow.

For the curious - Christmas Eve is the nameday for... Eve (Ewa). And Adam. The biblical ones. (And yes, [[Literature/PanTadeusz Adam Mickiewicz]] was indeed born on December 24th and was named appropriately to the nameday.)\\

Anna, though - if you're feeling modern, call her Anna Kowalik. No problem. If she were the wife of Piotr Kowalski, she'd be called Anna Kowalsk'''a''' - adjective-like names inflect by gender (like adjectives). For more old fashioned speakers, though, Anna Kowalik is Anna Kowalik'''owa''' (compare the [[AncientRome Roman convention]] of ''Terentia Ciceronis'' - same thing), and if her husband's surname ended with a vowel, she might be called Zarembina (that's the wife or mr. Zaremba). Some female writers from 19th and early 20th century were known under their married names, like Eliza Orzeszkowa (mr. Orzeszko obviously existed, but he died before his wife was famous and we don't tend to remember him otherwise). Others used their [[ProfessionalMaidenName maiden names]] (see below), or witty {{Nom De Plume}}s. All three options are open for female writers nowadays, but patronymic maiden names go virtually unused.\\