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My husband has many relatives named Wajda, but all agree it is a shortened form of the original name. A birth certificate from 1900 lists the country of origin for the Wajdas as Hungary. This leaves me with several questions, which maybe someone with more familiarity with Eastern Europe could tell me:
1)What are possible long forms of Wajda?
2)Were they from what is now Hungary, or is the name more closely associated with a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that is now another country?
Any info much appreciated!
1)What are possible long forms of Wajda?
2)Were they from what is now Hungary, or is the name more closely associated with a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire that is now another country?
Any info much appreciated!
1
Replies
Thanks for the info on Wajda
Your insights are most helpful and I'll print them out for our file on the family.
Your insights are most helpful and I'll print them out for our file on the family.
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A few dictionaries say the name comes from Hungarian 'wajda' - 'a commander'. A few add that this Hungarian word is a shortened form of an old Slavic word 'wojewoda' (the same meaning). The name is popular in Poland and in Hungary.
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Yes, if there is a Hungarian word "vajda" comind from Slavic "wojewoda", then this name can be of Hungarian origin. Note, however, the spelling: the letter W is not used in Hungarian while the letter "V" is not used in Polish. So, that name has a Polish spelling.
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True, but I've heard that this name in Hungary is also spelled Wajda (I'm not sure of that, though. I've read it somewhere in the web).
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The letter W does feature in some Hungarian surnames, the spelling having being established before the written language was standardised and the W discarded.
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