Polish culture has always been fed by many sources. On the one hand, these were Slavic beliefs, customs and traditions, on the other, the influence of Western European countries and eastern neighbors (Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia), and on the third, Christianity in the Roman Catholic tradition (and, as a consequence, the influence of the Latin language). That is why female Polish names represent a special
interest for a language researcher.
Slavic roots are found in Bozhena and Miroslava, Casimir, Wislava, Cheslava. But such female Polish names as Beata, Lucina, Felicia, Sylvia or Marcelina are of Latin origin. Many popular anthroponyms (Anna, Maria, Natalia) sound the same in almost all languages. From other cultures came such names as Olga (Russian of Scandinavian origin), Ilona (from Hungarian), Aneta, Bernadette (from French). By the way, it is worth paying attention (this is especially important when translating) that very often writing double or single consonants does not coincide with the rules of our spelling - for example, Isabela.
Female Polish names of Greek and Jewish origin are very interesting. Their amusement is that, having correspondences in the Russian language, they sound completely different. For example, the Greek name Agnieszka coincides in meaning with Agniya. And Katarzyna is Catherine. Even more unusual for the Russian ear sounds Malgozhata (Margarita in our opinion) or Elzbieta (that is, Elizabeth). Diminutive female Polish names, unlike the norms of our language and etiquette, have the suffix -k- in their composition. Lidka, Elka, Olka - for Polish speakers this is not neglect, but, on the contrary, goodwill. Or the suffix "-us-" (-uΕ): Anus, Galy, Agus. By the way, another interesting feature: Polish female names, which are homonymous (sound exactly the same) to Russian, can have a completely different origin. For example, Lena is a diminutive not from Elena, but from Magdalena. Or Olya - not from Olga, as in Russian, but from Alexandra. Asya - from John, and not from Anastasia.
In our country, such Polish women's names as
Irena, Agnieszka, Wislaw. But our Western neighbors themselves have different preferences. Now, names like Zofya, Julia, Maya, Lena (as a full one), Alexander and Zuzanne have become very popular. A few years ago, Alicia and Victoria were among the five most frequently selected for newborns. But among the older generation (20-30-year-olds) Katarzyna, John, Anna are popular.
It is also interesting how the names of the Poles changed in Russia. On the one hand, after all, there were several centuries of exile to Siberia back in tsarist times. On the other hand, forced relocations under Stalin. And now Jozef became Lyusya (more familiar to the Russian ear), Albert - Oleg, Jan - Ivan ... Most often, not only the "everyday" name of a person changed, but also the official one. And only later, after returning to their historical homeland, the name was restored. Although the documents do it was not always easy. It is worth noting that in Poland it is customary to give double names that are written not through a hyphen (Bogdan Michal, Julia Patricia), but next. In everyday life, a person uses, as a rule, only one and most often the first. However, he may well be called a second, or even a completely different name, if he does not like the one that his parents awarded.