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ArchivesRe: polish surname WOJTYLA
in reply to a message by anonyme
After reading Menke's great site on Slavic endings and one of my own Russian sites, I would guess that the root of this word, 'wo-' or 'vo-' is related to "war" ...so it possibly means something like "warrior" or "son of or related to war" ...just a guess ...
Menke, anything closer?
Menke, anything closer?
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Replies
that would be a very good guess, but according to the online dictionaries, war in Polish is wojna , warrior is wojowny and army is wojsko . The surname Wojdyla has the meaning that you suggested.
But apparently Wojtyla is not related to Wojdyla:
[...Wojtyl~a may come from that first name Wojciech, but it may also come from the noun wójt, an official in charge of a rural district...]
There are quite some Polish surnames starting with wojty . Wojciech has also a pet form: Wojtek. The yl is according to the same site apparently of no meaning (they don't mention it). Wojciech, by the way, means "joyful warrior", so you're right about woj- ('war, warrior').
this is the site:
http://www.polishroots.org/surnames/surnames_33.htm
the other site about Polish surnames was also from www.polishroots.org, so this seems a site to add to your list, it is very useful.
But apparently Wojtyla is not related to Wojdyla:
[...Wojtyl~a may come from that first name Wojciech, but it may also come from the noun wójt, an official in charge of a rural district...]
There are quite some Polish surnames starting with wojty . Wojciech has also a pet form: Wojtek. The yl is according to the same site apparently of no meaning (they don't mention it). Wojciech, by the way, means "joyful warrior", so you're right about woj- ('war, warrior').
this is the site:
http://www.polishroots.org/surnames/surnames_33.htm
the other site about Polish surnames was also from www.polishroots.org, so this seems a site to add to your list, it is very useful.
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