Have you been curious to learn Polish names? Maybe you’re living in Poland and you’ve been wanting to ask people about their names, but you don’t know how to ask or you’re too shy. Or, maybe you don’t want to seem rude. Either way, don’t worry because we’ll be talking about the most common names in Polish and their unique meanings!
Isn’t it interesting how each country has its own commonly used names? So, you might have a common name in one country, but an unusual name when you travel to a different country. Amazingly, this is the beauty of language and culture. We’ve also discussed country names and nationalities in Polish, so do check out that one, too. No two languages and cultures are the same, which is what makes learning about them so fascinating.
Before we dive right into common names in Polish, we want to give you a brief background of Polish names. After that, we’ll take a quick look at the most common name in other countries!
Origin Of Polish Names
In general, you’ll find that Polish names have religious meanings. This is, in a large part, due to Poland’s vast religious population (93% of the country are considered to be practicing Roman Catholics). That being said, Polish people tend to have Christian names, Biblical names, saint’s names, Slavic names of pre-Christian origin, or Slavic names of past Polish monarchs.
Polish law also requires names to indicate the person’s gender. For example, almost all female Polish names end in “-a” while most male Polish names end in a consonant or a vowel other than “-a“. However, there are a few male names that end in “-a“, but these are quite uncommon these days.
Polish Surnames
Since the High Middle Ages, 1000 – 1300s AD, Polish surnames ending in the suffix “-ski“, “-cki“, “-dzki“, “-ska“, “-cka“, “-dzka” were commonly associated with nobility.
Keep in mind that these suffixes are still in circulation today, so if you ever see a surname with these suffixes, that person could be from a royal lineage!
Common Names In Polish
To make things easier for you, we’ve divided the most common names into the following categories:
- Polish baby names
- Popular Polish girl names
- Popular Polish boy names
Polish Baby Names
This might just be the perfect list for you if you’re trying to decide on a name for your new baby!
- Aldona (f) – noble, honorable
- Aleksandra (f) – defender
- Aleksy (m) – defender
- Alina (f) – bearer of light, shining
- Anatol (m) – sunrise
- Angelica (f)- angel
- Bazyli (m) – king, royalty
- Damian (m) – to tame
- Daniela (f) – survivor
- Delja (f) – daughter of the sea
- Emilia (f) – strive, excel
- Eryk (m) – eternal ruler
- Ewa (f) – live, life
- Gustaw (m) – staff of the goths
- Jerzy (m) – farmer
- Wit (m) – full of life
Popular Polish Girl Names
- Adelajda – noble person
- Agata – virtuous, good
- Alicja – noble
- Alina – bright and beautiful
- Czeslawa – glory
- Felka -lucky, happy
- Katarzyna – pure
- Karina -pure, beloved
- Krystyna – Christian
- Leokadia – white, clear
- Magdalena – from Magdalene
- Miroslawa – peace, glory
- Nadia – hope
- Oliwia – olive
- Pola – of Apollo
- Radomila – glad to favor
- Radoslawa – glad glory
- Renia – queen
- Stanislawa – famous
- Truda – warrior woman
- Zosia – wisdom
- Zuzanna – lily
Popular Polish Boy Names
- Alojzy – a well-known fighter
- Anastazy – resurrection
- Antoni – priceless
- Ariel – lion of God
- Bartek – rich in land
- Bartlomiej – farmer’s son
- Borys – warrior, snow leopard
- Bozho – God’s gift
- Cezary – king, ruler
- Eliasz – Yahweh is my God
- Eugeniusz – wellborn
- Georgi – farmer
- Henryk – ruler of the home
- Janusz – God is gracious
- Jerzy – farmer
- Konrad – bold counsel
- Nikodem – the victory of the people
- Patryk – noble
- Pawel – little, humble
- Piotr – rock
- Przemek – clever, intelligent
- Rafal – God heals
- Tomek – twin
- Witold – ruling the forest
- Wojciech – he who is happy in battle
Common Names Around The World
Now, let’s look at common names in other countries!
- United States – James (m), Mary (f)
- Canada – John (m), Olivia (f)
- Australia – David (m), Charlotte (f)
- Brazil – Jose (m), Maria (f)
- Mexico – Santiago (m), Sofia (f)
- Germany – Peter (m), Marie (f)
- France – Leo (m), Jade (f)
- Italy – Leonardo (m), Sofia (f)
- Sweden – Lars (m), Anna (f)
- Russia – Alexander (m), Sofia (f)
- Saudi Arabia – Abdullah (m), Fatemah (f)
- China – Mùchén (m), Ruòxī (f)
- Japan – Kenji (m), Himari (f)
- Thailand – Somchai (m), Malee (f)
- Philippines – Nathaniel (m), Angel (f)
Since there are 193 countries in the world, feel free to search for common names from countries we didn’t include in this list and leave it in the comments below! We’d love to see what you find!
If you’re interested in learning more about names, discover amazing names of Polish foods. On the other hand, if you’re here to master the Polish language, we recommend downloading some of the best apps for learning Polish.
Study More Than Polish Names Right Now!
If you love learning the Polish language or you’re interested in discovering a new language, Ling is precisely what you should check out. This app is dedicated to teaching you languages as easily and effectively as possible.
The Ling app features lessons that are so fun you’ll keep wanting to come back for more, audios recorded by real native speakers, direct feedback on your pronunciation via an AI chatbot, exercises to hone in on your writing skills, and much more! Not to mention, Ling is flexible, easy to navigate, and available for download on various platforms!
Apart from the learning platform, Ling has an epic language learning blog. Here, you can discover thousands of resources related to languages, learning tips, foreign countries, and unbiased reviews! Anything you could possibly need on your learning journey, Ling has it.
So, what are you waiting for? Do not miss out on this learning app and start your language learning journey today! As always, szczęśliwa nauka (happy learning in Polish)!
