Re: [cybalist] Deciphering surnames

Piotr Gasiorowski wrote:

> Walukiewicz (as it would be spelt in Polish) is a typical
> name from the Polish-Belarusian border. The
> suffix -ewicz/-owicz (as in Russian patronymics: Andrei
> Pavlovich 'Andrew, son of Paul') may form surnames when
> added to a personal first name. In this case the name is
> Waluk, a diminutive of Walenty 'Valentine'. I know several
> surnames analogous to Walukiewicz, e.g. Jasiukiewicz
> (roughly = 'Jackson'). The formation is characteristically
> eastern, Belarusian rather than Polish; in central Poland
> the corresponding surname would be Walkowicz.

Yes, your spelling Walukiewicz is correct. Mine was a typo. But this
is the name on the wedding certificate from the Polish church. The name
on the tomb stone is Walukevich. So, I need to return to the Lithuanian
and Vilnius to find the historical thread.

> Your father evidently wanted to choose something which would
> retain an echo of the original family name, but which would
> be easily pronounceable and would not classify you
> immediately in ethnic terms. I'm sure he wasn't thinking of
> salt cellars.

Gerry: Yes, he certainly didn't want anything ethnic sounding, did he
:-)
By the way, are you familiar with the Geneology Museum in Salt Lake
City? Supposedly it's online and I'm headed there shortly.

> Wasel(eski) could have several interpretations in Polish. If
> the longer form is original, I think it may be Wasilewski or
> Wasylewski, etymologically = Wasil-ew-ski. Vasili (Wasyl in
> Polish orthography) is the East Slavic counterpart of
> Basil; -ew is a possessive suffix often forming village
> names, and -ski means 'coming from'. Like Walukiewicz, it
> was originally a type of surname associated with the
> ethnically mixed border regions of Poland, Belarus or
> Ukraine.
>
> Your ancestors' pronunciation of Walukiewicz was
> [vah-loo-KYEV-ich] (I'll spare you the IPA version).

Thanks Piotr. Your info is always informative.

Gerry