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ArchivesRe: Kurecka, meaning and origin in Czech, Slovakian, Moravian, Polish
in reply to a message by Jim Young
Hi Jim,
I've contacted another person, Fred Huffman, about this and their reply is as follows:
I deal primarily with Polish names, not Czech. I'm not
totally ignorant about Czech names; the languages
are similar in many ways, so that analysis of
Polish names is often valid for Czech names
pronounced essentially the same way. But it's kind
of iffy -- there are times a Czech name can look
or sound like a Polish name, yet turn out to be
very different in meaning. It's unwise to make
assumptions, as the study of names can often throw
you a curve.
The best I can do is tell you about KURECZKA, the
Polish name pronounced the same way. Polish name
expert Kazimierz Rymut mentions this in his book
_Nazwiska Polakow_ [The Surnames of Poles], and he
lists it under the many names coming from the root
seen in the nouns _kura_, "hen," and _kurek_,
"chicken, cock." KURECZKA would be a diminutive
from _kurek_, meaning something like "little
cock." It probably started as a nickname for an
ancestor who reminded people of a little cock,
perhaps because he wasn't very big but had a
cock's fighting spirit. Or he could have been the
little chicken guy, someone who cared for
chickens -- this could have been meant as an
affectional diminutive.
I believe this might also be applicable to Czech
because the same root shows up in Czech, for
instance in _kurnik_, "hen house." But the root
Kur- shows up in other Czech words, including ones
meaning "crust of bread" and "smoking." Still, the
root _kur_ is associated with chickens in
virtually all the Slavic languages. I think it's
very plausible the surname you ask about does come
from that root.
I wish I could give you something more definitive
and reliable, but that's the best I can do.
Perhaps you can contact a Czech genealogical
society such as the Czechoslovak Genealogical
Society International (http://www.cgsi.org/) and
through them find some source of info on Czech
names. I would suggest checking with the Texas
Czech Genealogical Society
(http://www.txczgs.org/)
Bottom line, you don't need the author of _Polish
Surnames: Origins & Meanings_. You need someone
who's written a comparable book on Czech names. I
do not know of such a book -- if I did, I'd buy it
in a moment! But Czech genealogical societies
would be the most likely way to get on the track
of someone who has studied the subject -- someone
who could confirm what I've suggested or refute it
with something more reliable.
As a Texas myself (temporarily in exile in
Connecticut), I wish you the best of luck.
Your essentially finding the same roots as I
> have making this
> definitive root confusing as to the meaning.
> You would think that it's entirely plausible
> that, as you say,
> comes from poultry, hens, cocks, roosters.
> I thought possibly a Cornish rooster maybe?
> The "echka" meaning diminutive?
Something along those lines, yes. For instance, in
Polish you have the word _corka_, "daughter," and
you have the word _coreczka_, which means "little
daughter," especially as an affectionate term. So
words in the form X-eczka are very often
diminutives of X-ka. And that means KUREC^KA can
very well be a diminutive of the basic word
meaning "chicken, cock, rooster." That is, if we
can apply Polish name tendencies to Czech.
I really think we can. Still, we should keep in
mind that there other possibilities. For instance,
there's a Czech word _kurka_ that means "crust of
bread." It would not be farfetched to suggest that
_kurec^ka_ is a diminutive of that word.
But in most Slavic languages, the first and most
basic meaning of the root _kur_ is connected with
chickens. So "little chicken" or "little hen" or
"little rooster," as an affectionate diminutive,
is what strikes me as the most likely
interpretation.
If you find someone who knows a lot about Czech
names, however, listen to what he or she says. I
have a lot more expertise in Polish names than in
Czech.
Good luck, and I hope you find out more! If you
do, I'd be very interested in hearing about it.
Fred Hoffman
I've contacted another person, Fred Huffman, about this and their reply is as follows:
I deal primarily with Polish names, not Czech. I'm not
totally ignorant about Czech names; the languages
are similar in many ways, so that analysis of
Polish names is often valid for Czech names
pronounced essentially the same way. But it's kind
of iffy -- there are times a Czech name can look
or sound like a Polish name, yet turn out to be
very different in meaning. It's unwise to make
assumptions, as the study of names can often throw
you a curve.
The best I can do is tell you about KURECZKA, the
Polish name pronounced the same way. Polish name
expert Kazimierz Rymut mentions this in his book
_Nazwiska Polakow_ [The Surnames of Poles], and he
lists it under the many names coming from the root
seen in the nouns _kura_, "hen," and _kurek_,
"chicken, cock." KURECZKA would be a diminutive
from _kurek_, meaning something like "little
cock." It probably started as a nickname for an
ancestor who reminded people of a little cock,
perhaps because he wasn't very big but had a
cock's fighting spirit. Or he could have been the
little chicken guy, someone who cared for
chickens -- this could have been meant as an
affectional diminutive.
I believe this might also be applicable to Czech
because the same root shows up in Czech, for
instance in _kurnik_, "hen house." But the root
Kur- shows up in other Czech words, including ones
meaning "crust of bread" and "smoking." Still, the
root _kur_ is associated with chickens in
virtually all the Slavic languages. I think it's
very plausible the surname you ask about does come
from that root.
I wish I could give you something more definitive
and reliable, but that's the best I can do.
Perhaps you can contact a Czech genealogical
society such as the Czechoslovak Genealogical
Society International (http://www.cgsi.org/) and
through them find some source of info on Czech
names. I would suggest checking with the Texas
Czech Genealogical Society
(http://www.txczgs.org/)
Bottom line, you don't need the author of _Polish
Surnames: Origins & Meanings_. You need someone
who's written a comparable book on Czech names. I
do not know of such a book -- if I did, I'd buy it
in a moment! But Czech genealogical societies
would be the most likely way to get on the track
of someone who has studied the subject -- someone
who could confirm what I've suggested or refute it
with something more reliable.
As a Texas myself (temporarily in exile in
Connecticut), I wish you the best of luck.
Your essentially finding the same roots as I
> have making this
> definitive root confusing as to the meaning.
> You would think that it's entirely plausible
> that, as you say,
> comes from poultry, hens, cocks, roosters.
> I thought possibly a Cornish rooster maybe?
> The "echka" meaning diminutive?
Something along those lines, yes. For instance, in
Polish you have the word _corka_, "daughter," and
you have the word _coreczka_, which means "little
daughter," especially as an affectionate term. So
words in the form X-eczka are very often
diminutives of X-ka. And that means KUREC^KA can
very well be a diminutive of the basic word
meaning "chicken, cock, rooster." That is, if we
can apply Polish name tendencies to Czech.
I really think we can. Still, we should keep in
mind that there other possibilities. For instance,
there's a Czech word _kurka_ that means "crust of
bread." It would not be farfetched to suggest that
_kurec^ka_ is a diminutive of that word.
But in most Slavic languages, the first and most
basic meaning of the root _kur_ is connected with
chickens. So "little chicken" or "little hen" or
"little rooster," as an affectionate diminutive,
is what strikes me as the most likely
interpretation.
If you find someone who knows a lot about Czech
names, however, listen to what he or she says. I
have a lot more expertise in Polish names than in
Czech.
Good luck, and I hope you find out more! If you
do, I'd be very interested in hearing about it.
Fred Hoffman
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