Polish Origin Names - Behind the Name

Gražina f Lithuanian
Lithuanian form of Grażyna.

Grażyna f Polish
From Lithuanian graži meaning "beautiful". This name was created by Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz for his poem Grażyna (1823).

Jagoda f Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish
Means "strawberry" in South Slavic, and "berry" in Polish. Also in Poland, this can be a diminutive of Jadwiga.

Jaśmina f Polish
Polish form of Jasmine.

Kalina f Bulgarian, Macedonian, Polish
Means "viburnum tree" in Bulgarian, Macedonian and Polish.

Kordian m Polish
Coined by Polish writer Juliusz Słowacki for the title character of his drama Kordian (1833). Słowacki likely based the name on Latin cor "heart" (genitive cordis).

LaWanda f African American
Combination of the popular prefix la and the name Wanda. This name has been used in America since the 1910s. It peaked in popularity in 1977, the same year that actress LaWanda Page (1920-2002) finished portraying the character Aunt Esther on the television comedy Sanford and Son. It subsequently faded from the charts.

Lechosław m Polish
Derived from (possibly) the Polish name Lech combined with the Slavic element slava meaning "glory".

Lechosława f Polish (Rare)
Feminine form of Lechosław.

Lesław m Polish
Short form of Lechosław.

Lesława f Polish (Rare)
Short form of Lechosława.

Lew 2 m Polish (Rare)
Polish cognate of Lev 1.

Liliana f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Polish, Czech, English
Latinate form of Lillian.

Lilianna f Polish, English (Modern)
Variant of Liliana.

Malina 2 f Bulgarian, Serbian, Polish
Means "raspberry" in several Slavic languages.

Nadzieja f Polish
Polish cognate of Nadezhda, being the Polish word meaning "hope".

Polonius m Literature
From Latin Polonia meaning "Poland". In Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet (1600) this is the name of the counsellor to Claudius and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. He is accidentally murdered by Hamlet.

Przemek m Polish
Diminutive of Przemysław.

Przemko m Polish
Diminutive of Przemysław.

Przemo m Polish
Diminutive of Przemysław.

Przemysław m Polish
Medieval variant of Przemysł, with the addition of the Slavic element slava "glory".

Róża f Polish
Means "rose" in Polish. It is a cognate of Rosa 1.

Szczęsny m Polish (Archaic)
Means "lucky, successful, happy" in Polish, a vernacular form of Felix.

Vanda f Portuguese, Italian, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Lithuanian, Latvian
Form of Wanda in several languages.

Vonda f English
Variant of Wanda, reflecting the Polish pronunciation.

Wanda f Polish, English, German, French
Possibly from a Germanic name meaning "a Wend", referring to the Slavic people who inhabited eastern Germany. In Polish legends this was the name of the daughter of King Krak, the legendary founder of Krakow. It was introduced to the English-speaking world by the author Ouida, who used it for the heroine in her novel Wanda (1883).

Wiera f Polish
Polish form of Vera 1.

Wiola f Polish
Polish form of Viola.

Zawisza m Polish (Archaic)
Polish cognate of Záviš.

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