Polish Surname Meanings and Origins

Is my last name Polish? Where did it come from? What does it mean? As with most European surnames, Polish surnames can typically be divided into one of three groups:

Toponymic Surnames (Geographical, Topographical)

These Polish last names typically derived from the location of the homestead from which the first bearer and his family lived, and are the most common type of Polish surname. In the case of nobility, the surnames were often taken from the names of their estates.

Other place names which were adapted into surnames include towns, countries, and even geographical features. While you might think that such surnames could lead you to your ancestral village, that isn't often the case with Polish surnames because so many places in Poland had the same name, changed names, disappeared in the centuries since the surnames developed, or were subdivisions of a local village or estate too small to be found on a gazetteer or map. Surnames ending in -owski usually derive from place names ending in -y, -ow, -owo, -owa, and so on. 
Example: Cyrek Gryzbowski - Cyrek from the town of Gryzbow

Patronymic & Matronymic Surnames

​Based on an ancestor's first name, this category of surnames is usually derived from a father's first name, although occasionally from the first name of a wealthy or well-respected female ancestor. Such surnames can often be identified through the use certain suffixes (endings) including -icz,
-wicz, -owicz, -ewicz, and -ycz which usually mean "son of." As a rule, Polish surnames which include a suffix with -k- (-czak, -czyk, -iak, -ak, -ik, and -yk) also mean something like "little" or "son of." More commonly found in eastern Poland, the suffixes -yc and -ic also mean "son of." There are also cases of patronymic surnames where the ending has been dropped and only the original root
word remains.

Example: Pawel Adamicz - Paul son of Adam

Cognominal Surnames (Occupational, Descriptive)

Cognominal surnames were typically derived from a person's nickname, usually based on his occupation, or sometimes a physical or character trait. 

• Occupational Surnames - these Polish last names are based on the person's job or trade. Some of the most common occupational surnames derive from what were the most important professions in Poland through history, such as blacksmith (Kowalski), tailor (Krawczyk), innkeeper (Kaczmarek), carpenter (Cieślak), wheelwright (Kołodziejski) and cooper (Bednarz).
  Example: Michał Krawiec - Michael the tailor
   

• Descriptive Surnames - Based on a unique quality or physical feature of the individual, these surnames often developed from nicknames or pet names
  Example: Jan Wysocki - John the tall

​Interestingly, surnames with the -ski suffix (and the cognate -cki and -dzki) make up almost 35% of the 1000 most popular Polish names, and the presence of that suffix at the end of a name may indicate Polish origin.

Origins of 50 Common Polish Last Names

1. NOWAK	26. MAJEWSKI
2. KOWALSKI	27. OLSZEWSKI
3. WIŚNIEWSKI	28. JAWORSKI
4. DĄBROWSKI	29. PAWLAK
5. KAMIŃSKI	30. WALCZAK
6. KOWALCZYK	31. GORSKI
7. ZIELINSKI	32. RUTKOWSKI
8. SYMANSKI	33. OSTROWSKI
9. WOŹNIAK	34. DUDA
10. KOZŁOWSKI	35. TOMASZEWSKI
11. WOJCIECHOWSKI	36. JASIŃSKI
12. KWIATKOWSKI	37. ZAWADZKI
13. KACZMAREK	38. CHMIELEWSKI
14. PIOTROWSKI	39. BORKOWSKI
15. GRABOWSKI	40. CZARNECKI
16. NOWAKOWSKI	41. SAWICKI
17. PAWŁOWSKI	42. SOKOŁOWSKI
18. MICHALSKI	43. MACIEJEWSKI
19. NOWICKI	44. SZCZEPAŃSKI
20. ADAMCZYK	45. KUCHARSKI
21. DUDEK	46. KALINOWSKI
22. ZAJĄC	47. WYSOCKI
23. WIECZOREK	48. ADAMSKI
24. JABŁOŃSKI	49. SOBCZAK
25. KRÓL	50. CZERWINSKI