For people interested in different cultures, it would be useful to learn a little about the life of other countries. This article will give you a piece of Poland, namely you will learn a little from the history of Polish names: their features, distribution and the meaning of some of them.
Polish names: origin
Poles are extremely religious people, they attach great importance in life to family and church traditions. Therefore, it is often precisely religious and family traditions that become the basis when choosing a name for a child. So, in a Polish family you can meet several generations of Stanislavs (with an emphasis on "and") or Malgozhat. Of course, in Russia one can also observe such continuity, especially in rural areas, but for Poland at the time this phenomenon was very common.
In addition, one of the main sources from which parents take names for their children remains Catholic clergy. That is why Polish names abound with nicknames of Greek, Hebrew, and Latin origin. It would seem that Poland is also a Slavic country that is close in spirit to us, and therefore in terms of its nominal fund, but the difference in religions has made tangible differences between our usual and Polish names. However, nicknames of Slavic origin and spread even before the introduction of Christianity undoubtedly remain in Poland. Some Polish names can be assigned to both categories. This is due to the fact that many saints with Slavic nicknames were canonized (for example, Stanislav, Wlodzimierz). Names of Lithuanian origin are used (one of the most popular is Olgerd), German (Ferdinand, Adolf). Actually, Polish names arose during the Middle Ages.
Features of the name in Poland
Until recently, a child born in a Polish family could have several names at once. Now, their number is limited by two (maximum - three) by law. A girl or boy chooses a middle name for themselves at the age of nine to ten years, when the time for the first communion comes. This is usually the name of one of the saints whom the child wants to see as his patron saint. However, the second name is practically not used in everyday life (unless a person likes it more than the first).
Popular Polish names and their meanings
At different times, different names were popular. So, most recently, among the Poles' favorite nicknames were:
- Mateus - God's gift;
- Shimon - heard by God;
- David is a beloved;
- Casper is a treasure keeper;
- Jerzy is a farmer;
- Lech is an intercessor.
Popular and beautiful Polish names for girls are also interesting . Not so long ago in this list were in the lead:
- Julia is furry;
- Zuzanna is a lily;
- Olivia is an olive tree;
- Nikola is the winner of the nations;
- Natalya is blessed.
Now the Poles gravitate to nicknames of actually Polish origin (or largely adapted), so you can meet more and more men named Bogumil, Bartosh, Dymitriush, Kazimierz and girls with the names of Malgozhat, Dagmar, Magdalena, Agnieszka.