PolishOrigins(TM) Forum

Re: Kuzniak

Richard Kuzniak — Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:35 pm

Author: Richard Kuzniak

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 6:35 pm

Thank you Dave. Great explanation and reference. I will find and bookmark the Słownik. Hope you are well!
Richard

Re: Kuzniak

dnowicki — Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:58 pm

Author: dnowicki

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:58 pm

Richard Kuzniak wrote:

I suggested to my sister in law who is a more recent arrival from Poland to Canada than I am (I came here as a baby in 1949) that Kuzniak could, with some justification, be equated to the English Smith. I base that that on the "k" ending attached to kuznia which, I surmise, means smith shop. A Kuzniak might be one who works in such a shop, i.e. a smith. She rightly says no, that would be a kowal and hence Kowalsky. But...am I way off? What might be the origin of my name?

Hi Richard,

You are correct and your cousin’s answer is partially accurate but incomplete. When looking for 19th Century occupations contemporary usage and dictionaries just don’t cut it. The attached screenshot is of an entry from the so called “Słownik Warszawski” which was published in eight volumes during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Dave

Kuzniak

Richard Kuzniak — Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:11 pm

Author: Richard Kuzniak

Posted: Mon Aug 09, 2021 4:11 pm

I suggested to my sister in law who is a more recent arrival from Poland to Canada than I am (I came here as a baby in 1949) that Kuzniak could, with some justification, be equated to the English Smith. I base that that on the "k" ending attached to kuznia which, I surmise, means smith shop. A Kuzniak might be one who works in such a shop, i.e. a smith. She rightly says no, that would be a kowal and hence Kowalsky. But...am I way off? What might be the origin of my name?