Forum | PolishOrigins :: View topic - Help with misspelled Surname 'Swinda'

Author

Message

Lizo128

Joined: 04 Oct 2016
Replies: 19
Location: Seattle, WA
Back to top

Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 11:43 pm Post subject: Help with misspelled Surname 'Swinda'

I discovered my gg grandfathers brother in law which will lead me to my unknown gg grandmother, unfortunately none of his records indicate his original surname spelling. He came from Solinka Poland. Attached are the different versions of his surname on records and none of them are right. Any ideas?

[/img]

Screen Shot 2016-10-27 at 5.59.22 PM.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

33.02 KB

Viewed:

4673 Time(s)

Screen Shot 2016-10-27 at 5.59.22 PM.jpg

Sophia
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1028

Back to top

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 9:06 am Post subject:

Hi Liz,

I looked at his 1904 manifest on the ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse and the handwriting is clearly Szwynda. Also an index from 1908 of NY arrivals again clearly Szwynda. I want to say, I do not totally distrust this spelling. It may be an extremely rare surname - - certainly it is not popping up on moikrewni or herby sites. Still, if you do a google search for Alicja Szwynda-Dyrda you will find she used the Szwynda spelling at least once, and there are other entries for her using Alicja Szwinta-Dyrda (although note that when it is showing as Szwint_ followed by "a-with-a-hook" or "e-with-a-hook" this is Szwinta). I do not know who she is, I just found her name in a google search.

Hope this helps,
Sophia

Lizo128

Joined: 04 Oct 2016
Replies: 19
Location: Seattle, WA
Back to top

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:53 am Post subject:

Sophia wrote:

Thanks Sophia-
It seems to be pretty rare and I haven't really found any possible family members outside of this one family in the US or Poland.

mcdonald0517
PO Top Contributor & Patron

Joined: 27 May 2012
Replies: 961

Back to top

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 1:09 pm Post subject:

I looked at the name in Geneteka database and did not find any Szwynda. However, there were many Szwed and the feminine form - Szweda. If the e has a diacritical mark, then perhaps when spoken it could sound like and could have been written as Szwynda. But this is all guessing on my part.... Hopefully, the experts will have some clues...

Cynthia

Sophia
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 05 Oct 2014
Replies: 1028

Back to top

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 7:54 am Post subject:

Liz,

I would recommend against Szwed. (It means Swede, by the way, but you probably knew that). Keep in mind that Geneteka does not have every church in Woj. Podkarpackie. If you are looking for a rare name, you simply may not find it there.

Sophia

sirdan
PO Top Contributor

Joined: 07 Mar 2012
Replies: 304
Location: ** Southeast Pole**
Back to top

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 10:29 am Post subject:

Hi Liz
Swinda/Szwynda were Ruthenians (Ukrainian/Łemkos). I found two records, Wasyl Szwynda coming in 1904 and later Swinda Wasyl coming with his wife in 1905. I believe both surnames are same but with different spelling. It looks like ukrainian names (just like in your other thread) were very hard. Your ancestors may even not speaking polish.
Ukrainians do not use "sz" compound, until its of polish origin. Additionaly, Sz is sometimes misspelled with ś. Many times "y" is exchanged with "i". Anyway, surname is hard to deal with because Łemko accent. Szwinda and Swynda are so close in pronounciation, i would left jugding which is right until finding original names in parish records.

Clipboard-3.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

22.41 KB

Viewed:

4673 Time(s)

Clipboard-2.jpg

Description:

Filesize:

16.91 KB

Viewed:

4673 Time(s)

PolishOrigins Forum