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Help[Surname] Fatula & Lesnefsky
Fatula and Lesnefsky are two surnames from my family tree that I'm curious about. I've done a lot of research on the two names over the years but haven't been able to find out much about either's meaning.
What I know is:
Fatula - According to Ancestry.com (used the Surname meaning feature and tried multiple spellings) it says it is Slovak but doesn't have a meaning. The name originated from Hungary as far as I've been able to find out when tracing my family tree, even though it looks Italian with it ending in a vowel.
Lesnefsky - All I know is that the name is supposedly Polish. I've seen family listed as coming from Lithuania on census (not that they are always accurate), but the name came from Poland according to family.
If anyone knows anything that would be great. :)
_________
What I know is:
Fatula - According to Ancestry.com (used the Surname meaning feature and tried multiple spellings) it says it is Slovak but doesn't have a meaning. The name originated from Hungary as far as I've been able to find out when tracing my family tree, even though it looks Italian with it ending in a vowel.
Lesnefsky - All I know is that the name is supposedly Polish. I've seen family listed as coming from Lithuania on census (not that they are always accurate), but the name came from Poland according to family.
If anyone knows anything that would be great. :)
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Replies
Two cases here of shifting borders and crumbling empires.
Lesnefsky is almost certainly the Polish surname Lesniewski (there should be a mark over the S to show how it's pronounced, near enough -sh-). Lithuania was once part of the Polish Commonwealth, the King of Poland being also the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Some Lithuanians, particularly of the landowning class, had Polish surnames. These names would later become politically incorrect, but your ancestors probably left before that change. Your name is likely to be from a place name based on the word for forest, las/lesie.
Fatula may not be Hungarian, though from Hungary of old, which incorporated the modern Slovakia. So Slovak may be correct for the language. Alternatively it may belong to one of those minority Carpathian Slav languages related to Ukrainian, known collectively as "Rusyn". At the end of all that I have to say that I haven't a clue what it means.
Lesnefsky is almost certainly the Polish surname Lesniewski (there should be a mark over the S to show how it's pronounced, near enough -sh-). Lithuania was once part of the Polish Commonwealth, the King of Poland being also the Grand Duke of Lithuania. Some Lithuanians, particularly of the landowning class, had Polish surnames. These names would later become politically incorrect, but your ancestors probably left before that change. Your name is likely to be from a place name based on the word for forest, las/lesie.
Fatula may not be Hungarian, though from Hungary of old, which incorporated the modern Slovakia. So Slovak may be correct for the language. Alternatively it may belong to one of those minority Carpathian Slav languages related to Ukrainian, known collectively as "Rusyn". At the end of all that I have to say that I haven't a clue what it means.
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Thanks for taking the time to answer my post, Jim. What you told me is interesting and makes me want to dig around and find out more about the names and their meanings. Lesnefsky and the forest relation is interesting.
As for the Fatula name and the Rusyn thing, that sounds quite familiar. I think I might have read something about it online in the past. Either the Fatula surname or another one of my other Hungarian lines might have something to do with Rusyn or be from/near the Carpathian mountains.
Do you get your informations from a book or website, or is this all just things you know?
As for the Fatula name and the Rusyn thing, that sounds quite familiar. I think I might have read something about it online in the past. Either the Fatula surname or another one of my other Hungarian lines might have something to do with Rusyn or be from/near the Carpathian mountains.
Do you get your informations from a book or website, or is this all just things you know?
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I get my information from websites and books, mostly dictionaries.
If your interested in the Rusyn connection it might be worth your while to visit www.lemko.org, which has some informative articles. Also the wikipedia articles on Rusyn, Lemko, Boyko, Hutsul. There is also a list of Lemko surnames on the web. Fatula isn't on the list, but Fat, Fatala, and Fatila are. Nothing on the meaning however. Out of curiosity I looked up "fat" in Russian and Ukrainian dictionaries; it means "fop" or "dandy" in both languages.
If your interested in the Rusyn connection it might be worth your while to visit www.lemko.org, which has some informative articles. Also the wikipedia articles on Rusyn, Lemko, Boyko, Hutsul. There is also a list of Lemko surnames on the web. Fatula isn't on the list, but Fat, Fatala, and Fatila are. Nothing on the meaning however. Out of curiosity I looked up "fat" in Russian and Ukrainian dictionaries; it means "fop" or "dandy" in both languages.
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The site you linked is interesting. Thank you.
I might have to do some more digging on Fatula and see if I can find any Slovak dictionaries, or I'll have to ask again on one of my Slovak lists to see anyone can give me any more information.
I might have to do some more digging on Fatula and see if I can find any Slovak dictionaries, or I'll have to ask again on one of my Slovak lists to see anyone can give me any more information.
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