When communities in Poland were small, people used only . As the population grew and people needed to be better identified, surnames began to be adopted in the late Middle Ages. Initially, it was a practice among the nobility, who created surnames by adding the still popular and used endings “-cki” or “-ski”, referring to their possessions, profession or origin. Over time, townspeople and peasants also began to adopt surnames, often based on nicknames. Currently, over 363,000 male surnames and almost 390,000 female surnames have been registered in Poland.
The shortest surnames in Poland have only two letters. What do they sound like?
In record terms, the longest surname in Poland has as many as 51 characters, while the shortest consists of only two letters. In the case of the latter, there is often no division by gender. According to the information available on the website, two-letter surnames are as follows:
- Ax
- BC
- Oh
- Eo
- In
- Yes
- Ka
- Oe
- Are
What are some rare surnames? What are some rare surnames? Photo Radosław Jóźwiak / Agencja Wyborcza.pl
An interesting fact is that each of the previously mentioned surnames occurs in Poland only in two people. They are really rare. However, there are more two-letter surnames that are slightly more popular, including: Le, Oś, Ji, Fu, Ek, Sy, Du, Mu, Iż, Bu, Bi, Ky, Co, Dy, El, Lv , Om.
What are the most popular surnames in Poland? The podium has remained unchanged for years
In Poland, as in most European countries, there is a group of surnames that occur extremely frequently. Probably each of us knows a Nowak (289.8 thousand people) or a Kowalski (187.4 thousand people). It’s no wonder that these names constantly occupy the first two places on the podium. The most popular surnames in Poland also include (according to data from January 2024):
- Wiśniewski (147.9 thousand people)
- Wójcik (133.3 thousand people)
- Kowalczyk (130.9 thousand people)
- Kamiński (127 thousand people)
- Lewandowski (125.6 thousand people)
- Zieliński (122.7 thousand people)
- Szymański (119.8 thousand people)
- Woźniak (118.9 thousand people)
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
