Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 8:28 pm
Post subject: Zaremba vs. Zarebianka (or Zarembianka)
I've come across a distant relative of mine with two distinct spellings of her maiden name. In the Prussian civil marriage document of her daughter, Michael translates her name as Zaremba. (I concur but Michael said it appeared the registrar was confused about the name, as was he.) In her own Latin marriage document, Dave translates her name as Zarebianka. (I concur with that as well, but I have seen a name spelled as Zarembianka for other individuals.) Allowing for a typo or two, and considering the plethora of suffixes in Polish names, are Zaremba and Zarebianka variations of the same name? Thank you. wuness
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dnowickiPO Top Contributor
Joined: 28 Dec 2011
Replies: 2782
Location: Michigan City, IndianaBack to top |
Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 9:41 pm
Post subject: Re: Zaremba vs. Zarebianka (or Zarembianka)
| wuness wrote: | | I've come across a distant relative of mine with two distinct spellings of her maiden name. In the Prussian civil marriage document of her daughter, Michael translates her name as Zaremba. (I concur but Michael said it appeared the registrar was confused about the name, as was he.) In her own Latin marriage document, Dave translates her name as Zarebianka. (I concur with that as well, but I have seen a name spelled as Zarembianka for other individuals.) Allowing for a typo or two, and considering the plethora of suffixes in Polish names, are Zaremba and Zarebianka variations of the same name? Thank you. wuness |
Hi wuness,
The suffix -ianka was an old feminine suffix used to denote a female as “the daughter of…”.
In Polish “em” and “ę” are so similar in sound that when spoken it can be difficult to tell them apart. I took another look at the marriage record and I would say that the letter is “ę” rather than “e”. The diacritical mark under the letter blends in with the upper case “E” in the word “Ecclesia” in the following line but I would have to say that it appears to be there, although well hidden. Bottom line is that Zarembianka and Zarębianka are the same name and both mean that she was the daughter of Zaremba/Zaręba. The suffix -ianka is there for euphonic reasons. If the suffix were to have been written as ‘ka” the result would have been Zarembaka/Zarębaka which sounds way off in Polish. The -ianka suffix makes it all sound good and pleasing in Polish.
In contemporary usage both Zarembianka and Zarębianka would simply be Zaremba/Zaręba.
The German civil record would not have used Polish grammatical forms. The Latin record record, composed by a Polish speaking priest, however, would have done so. There was no conflict with the rules of Latin grammar since surnames, unlike given names, were always in the vernacular which allowed the priests to follow Polish usage.
I hope this explanation answers your question.
Dave
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Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2022 11:57 pm
Post subject:
Thank you, Dave. I have also seen her name spelled as Porimba. Could that be attributed to either poor penmanship or poor translation? wuness
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