Most Popular Polish Last Names

Like most European countries, Polish last names are most often derived from place names, family patriarchs or nicknames that denote a trait. Place names usually end in -ski (as evidenced in the list below), and these were exclusively for the elite and noble. However, it soon became popular and fashionable to have a -ski ending last name, which made it the identifying trait of a Polish surname.

There are usually 3 types of Polish surnames, and can belong to one of the following 3 categories:

Occupational/Descriptive Trait

These names come from a nickname that describes a specific trait of a person. They can also be occupational surnames.

Geographical/Place Names

These names tell you where the individual is from, whether that be their place of birth or family origin.

Patronymic

These names are derived from an individuals given name, and usually end in a suffix that indicates a family relation.

1. Nowak – New
2. Kowalski – Blacksmith
3. Wiśniewski – Cherry
4. Dabrowski – Oak Forest
5. Kaminski – Stone
6. Kowalcyzk – Blacksmith variant
7. Zielinski – Green
8. Symanski – Simon
9. Wozniak – Apparitor
10. Kozlowski – From Kozlow (Town) Goat
11. Wojciechowski – From the first name Wojciech, or Adalber
12. Kwiatkowski  -From a place called Kwiatków or Kwiatkowo
13. Kaczmarek – Innkeeper
14. Piotrowski – Derived from the given name Peter
15. Grabowski  – Hornbeam
16. Nowakowski – One who came from Nowakowo
17. Pawlowski – Derived from the given name Pavel, which is the Slavic form of the name Paul.
18. Michalski – Someone from Michale
19. Nowicki  – From place name such as Nowice
20. Adamczyk – Earth
21. Dudek  – Hoopoe (Bird)
22. Zajac – Hare
23. Wieczorek – Resembling a bat
24. Jablonski – Apple Tree
25. Krol – Curly haired
26. Majewski – From Majewo
27. Olszewski – Dweller at, or near, the alder-wood tree.
28. Jaworski – Maple, Sycamore
29. Pawlak – Variant of Paul
30. Walczak – Healthy and Vigorous
31. Gorski – Mountain, Hill
32. Rutkowski – Dweller at a place where rue grew.
33. Ostrowski – Island, Water Meadow
34. Duda – Street Musician
35. Tomaszewski – From Tomaszew or Tomaszewo
36. Jasinski – Ash Tree
37. Zawadzki – Obstruction, Fortress
38. Chmielewski – One from the place of the hops
39. Borkowski – A person who resided near a physical place such as a hill, stream, church, or tree.
40. Czarnecki – Someone from Czarnca
41. Sawicki – Someone from Sawica
42. Sokolowski – From Sokolka
43. Maciejewski – Gift of The Lord
44. Szczepanski – Someone from Szczepany
45. Kucharski – Cook
46. Kalinowski – From Kalinowa
47. Wysocki – High
48. Adamski – Someone from Adamy/Adamowo
49. Sobczak – Usurp glory
50. Czerwinski – Someone from  Czerwin