Polish names

A Polish personal name, as in most European cultures, consists of two main elements: imię, or the given name, followed by nazwisko, or the family name. Most Poles being Roman Catholic, the usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed (in addition to personal taste or family custom) by three major factors: civil law, Church law, and tradition.

A child in Poland is usually given one or two given names. Parents normally chose a name or names for their child from a long list of traditional names which may be:

• a Christian name, i.e. a Biblical name or a saint's name;
• or a Slavic name of pre-Christian origin.

Note that names of Slavic saints, such as Wojciech (St Adalbert), Stanisław (St Stanislaus) or Kazimierz (St Casimir) belong to both groups. Additionally, a few names of Lithuanian origin, such as Olgierd (Algirdas), Witold (Vytautas) or Grażyna are also quite popular in Poland

Traditionally, the names are given at the baptism of a child. Non-Christian but traditional Slavic names are usually accepted, but the priest may encourage the parents to pick at least one Christian name. In the past two Christian names were given to a child so that he or she had two patron saints instead of just one. Nowadays, this is more because of tradition, and the second given name is rarely used in everyday situations, the use of a middle name being considered pretentious. At confirmation people usually adopt yet another (second or third) Christian name; however, it is never used outside Church documents.

Like in many other Catholic countries, Poles celebrate name days (imieniny) on the day of their patron saint. While birthdays are becoming increasingly popular in Polish culture, they remain relatively intimate celebrations (as often only relatives and close friends know a person's date of birth). Name days, on the other hand, are often celebrated together with co-workers, etc. Information about what name day it is, can be found in most Polish calendars, web portals, etc.

Almost all Polish female names end in the vowel a. Maria is an exceptional name as it can be used both as a female and as a male name; the latter, however, is very uncommon and practically restricted to the second (middle) name.

Diminutives are very popular in everyday usage, and the Polish language allows for a great deal of creativity in this field. Most diminutives are formed by adding a suffix. For male names it may be -ek or the more affectionate -uś; for female names it may be -ka, or -nia / -dzia / -sia respectively. Also, as in many other cultures, a person may informally use a nickname (imionisko, przezwisko, ksywa) in addtion to or instead of a given name.

The table below lists some of the most popular Polish given names together with their most common diminutives and English equivalents. Note that an English equivalent usually exists only for a Christian name.

Polish surnames, like in most of Europe, are hereditary and generally patrilineal, i.e. passed from the father on to his children.

A married woman usually adopts her husband's name. However, other combinations are legally possible. The wife may keep her maiden name (nazwisko panieńskie)or add her husband's surname to hers, thus creating a double-barrelled name (nazwisko złożone). However, if she already has a double-barrelled name, she must leave one of the parts out – it is illegal to use a triple- or more-barrelled name. It is also possible, though rare, for the husband to adopt his wife's surname or to add his wife's surname to his family name.