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FERJENTSIK surname meaning
The surname Ferjentsik comes from the German word "die Ferien". This surname holder is of German origin, coming to northen Hungary´s mountain area (now Slovakia) in the 15th century as minediggers (miners), mining for non-ferrous metals, namely: gold, silver, copper etc. and coal. Although this was hard work, it meant that they didn´t have to work in fields as serfs. "Ferien" in German means free time (holiday). These miners were released from compulsory field works in the serfdom period and therefore they were "Feriens" - free men. The surname with time changed by ending -tsik, -csik, -čik (read: -tchick) as a very frequent ending of surnames in Slovak language that means "small". It´s also very interesting that perhaps all ancestors of holders of this surname come from the mining area of central Slovakia.
Source: Koloman Ferjentsik, Prague (Czech Republic)
The surname Ferjentsik comes from the German word "die Ferien". This surname holder is of German origin, coming to northen Hungary´s mountain area (now Slovakia) in the 15th century as minediggers (miners), mining for non-ferrous metals, namely: gold, silver, copper etc. and coal. Although this was hard work, it meant that they didn´t have to work in fields as serfs. "Ferien" in German means free time (holiday). These miners were released from compulsory field works in the serfdom period and therefore they were "Feriens" - free men. The surname with time changed by ending -tsik, -csik, -čik (read: -tchick) as a very frequent ending of surnames in Slovak language that means "small". It´s also very interesting that perhaps all ancestors of holders of this surname come from the mining area of central Slovakia.
Source: Koloman Ferjentsik, Prague (Czech Republic)
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Replies
I think you're confusing freier (free) with Ferien (holidays, originally holy days, but as in English now just holidays in the sense of vacation, though the idiom is confined largely to the various Schulferien, or school holidays). Since this sense wouldn't have existed in the 15th C. Ferjentsick can't have gotten their name from being men with free time or being free men. Ferien is related to Feier "celebration" and like English "fair" is from Latin Feriae, also related to festus and festival. It seems more appropriate to apply it to carnies than miners.
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Do I detect a slavicised form of the Hungarian male given name, Ferenc (Eng. Francis)? Slovakia was a region of the kingdom of Hungary 100 years ago, and Hungarian surnames are not uncommon.
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Addendum: Ferencsik is a Hungarian surname, though the -csik ending looks Slavic. Some cross-pollination, no doubt.
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