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ArchivesRe: GIEJCHROCH
in reply to a message by Sam7144
This surname doesn't seem to exist in modern Poland but there are some Belarusians and Russians with it out there. Although they seem to prefer to transliterate it as Geihroh.
My first thought was also that it could be German or Yiddish - a German surname beginning in Geh- for instance could be spelled with Giej- in Polish (how if I was just writing down gehrock (coat) from just sound I could go with giejrok). But pronunciation wise I'm not convinced that anything originally in German could become -jchr- in Polish. I suppose it could have been spelled with "ch" and the spelling rather than pronunciation was preserved.
Looking at similar Polish surnames I found this article:
https://repozytorium.amu.edu.pl/server/api/core/bitstreams/eabeb2b7-9a8e-4545-81c5-8fc755956201/content
The article is in Polish but Google translate handles Polish reasonably well.
It doesn't have Giejchroch but it has some other surnames with the same first part: Giejdziun, Giejgało, Giejsztor, Giejsztowt.
An issue with the Lithuanian origins is that -chroch doesn't seem to be Lithuanian. And Pinsk where practically everyone with this surname seems to come from is not that close to Lithuania.
But honestly considering the current distribution and some historical examples, if I had to bet, I'd guess that the name comes from Russian or Belarusian. I don't think it's Yiddish for several reasons that each wouldn't weigh much separately but together they make me think it's more likely not Jewish: 1. the given names of the people I could find with this surname - none of them had Jewish given names (Vyacheslav, Illarion, Sergey, etc.), 2. your mother (I'm assuming it's her from your other posts) is listed with specifically Polish refugees (Jewish refugees would probably be listed as such), 3. this guy specifically: https://eparhiya.by/2024/02/28/gejhroh-nikolaj-protoierej/ - it says there he came from a long line of clergymen so that would point to the family not being Jewish. This doesn't necessarily mean the name itself didn't start off as Yiddish but I think it's more likely it's just Russian/Belarusian.
These are just my musings but maybe you can use something here as a jumping off point. I like to see if I can find something new about Polish names of Lithuanian or Belarusian origins because I have some in my family tree and they are honestly a nightmare to research. I hope you have more luck.
ETA I was closing all my tabs relating to my search and I realised I forgot to include another Eastern Orthodox clergyman: https://baza.rodro.pl/Polesie?p=bazyl;n=giejchroch this site has clickable family trees so maybe it'll have some more info I didn't catch!
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/109883
My first thought was also that it could be German or Yiddish - a German surname beginning in Geh- for instance could be spelled with Giej- in Polish (how if I was just writing down gehrock (coat) from just sound I could go with giejrok). But pronunciation wise I'm not convinced that anything originally in German could become -jchr- in Polish. I suppose it could have been spelled with "ch" and the spelling rather than pronunciation was preserved.
Looking at similar Polish surnames I found this article:
https://repozytorium.amu.edu.pl/server/api/core/bitstreams/eabeb2b7-9a8e-4545-81c5-8fc755956201/content
The article is in Polish but Google translate handles Polish reasonably well.
It doesn't have Giejchroch but it has some other surnames with the same first part: Giejdziun, Giejgało, Giejsztor, Giejsztowt.
An issue with the Lithuanian origins is that -chroch doesn't seem to be Lithuanian. And Pinsk where practically everyone with this surname seems to come from is not that close to Lithuania.
But honestly considering the current distribution and some historical examples, if I had to bet, I'd guess that the name comes from Russian or Belarusian. I don't think it's Yiddish for several reasons that each wouldn't weigh much separately but together they make me think it's more likely not Jewish: 1. the given names of the people I could find with this surname - none of them had Jewish given names (Vyacheslav, Illarion, Sergey, etc.), 2. your mother (I'm assuming it's her from your other posts) is listed with specifically Polish refugees (Jewish refugees would probably be listed as such), 3. this guy specifically: https://eparhiya.by/2024/02/28/gejhroh-nikolaj-protoierej/ - it says there he came from a long line of clergymen so that would point to the family not being Jewish. This doesn't necessarily mean the name itself didn't start off as Yiddish but I think it's more likely it's just Russian/Belarusian.
These are just my musings but maybe you can use something here as a jumping off point. I like to see if I can find something new about Polish names of Lithuanian or Belarusian origins because I have some in my family tree and they are honestly a nightmare to research. I hope you have more luck.
ETA I was closing all my tabs relating to my search and I realised I forgot to include another Eastern Orthodox clergyman: https://baza.rodro.pl/Polesie?p=bazyl;n=giejchroch this site has clickable family trees so maybe it'll have some more info I didn't catch!
https://www.behindthename.com/pnl/109883
This message was edited 6/10/2025, 12:48 PM
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Replies
Cherrypiee - Chwala, thank-you very much. You and each respondent have given me so much to work from. The genealogy links for Giejchroch great grandparents also provide further scope for me to explore.
Sam
Sam
1