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[Surname] Pensak
Can someone help me with the origin and meaning of the surname Pensak? The oldest record of it that I have is as a Jewish surname from the Polish part of Galicia in the 1800's.I've posted about it before but without much success. Hoping some new eyes will see it this time! Thanks!
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Pensak looks a lot like Penzag which according to the dictionary Jewish Family Names and Their Origins is a variant of Penzig, the origin being the placename Penzig in Poland. The surname Pensak was also written Penzik in the same family as you can see at http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jaelsne&id=I170. You'll also find the form Penzak at http://tr.im/sX1J.
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Oh, thank you!!! mNow I want to know what Penzig / Piensk means. :) It fits perfectly historically, because there was a migration from the Gorlitz, Germany area (near Penzig) to the Gorlice, Poland area (from where the immigrants to American came) during a major Jewish migration in the middle ages. This is the most promising etymology yet.

This message was edited 8/25/2009, 8:28 PM

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