There are, however, a few male names that end in a, which are very old and uncommon, such as Barnaba, Bonawentura, Jarema, Kosma, Kuba (a diminutive of Jakub) and Saba.
Minor regional spelling differences also exist depending on whether the surname originated in Polish, Czech or Slovak (-sky/-ský).
Additionally, a few names of Lithuanian origin, such as Olgierd (Algirdas), Witold (Vytautas) or Danuta, are quite popular in Poland.
Many parents name their child after a national hero or heroine, or a character from a book, film, or TV show.
For example, Maria (a name which was once reserved to refer to the Virgin Mary; now the archaic form "Maryja" is used for this), has diminutives Marysia, Maryśka, Marysieńka, Mania, Mańka, Maniusia, etc.
[5] Polish triple-barreled surnames are known to exist; an example is the one borne by Ludwik Kos-Rabcewicz-Zubkowski [pl], a university professor and writer, living in Canada.
Almost all surnames borne by the nobility with the -ski (or -sky) suffix are preceded by a place name (toponymic) or other territorial designation derived from their main court, holdings, castle, manor or estate.
As such, and contrary to a popular modern-day misconception, the fact of a person simply bearing the -ski suffix in their family surname or merely sharing the same toponymic surname as members of Poland's nobility, does not in itself denote that person too is a member of the nobility, of noble origin, or indeed connected to that particular family.
Members of one clan could split into separate families with different surnames, usually derived from the name of their holdings or estates.
To explain the formation of a particular Polish nobleman's name, e.g. Jakub Dąbrowski, Radwan coat of arms, the process might be the following.
Then, by analogy with German surnames associated with noble provenance using von, the equivalent Polish preposition is z, which means "from", followed by the name of the patrimony or estate.
After the First and Second World Wars some resistance fighters added their wartime noms de guerre to their original family names.
A Polish citizen may apply to the registry office (Urząd Stanu Cywilnego) with a request for a change of name or surname alongside the payment of a small administrative fee.
Changes in Spanish can be even more extreme; a Spiczyński may become simply Spika, for example, where a more rigorous transcription would produce de Spichiñsqui.
As the surname is, in most cases, inherited from the father (or accepted from the husband), the Western registries of birth and marriage ascribe the masculine form (the one ending in -i) to the female members of the family.
However, as an exception, feminine endings like -ska apply even to some women from non-Slavic countries, not just outside Poland or English-speaking ones, who have Polish parentage or are half-Polish, namely Britain's Ella Balinska, whose father has the masculine Balinski(-Jundzill), and Australians Mia Wasikowska and her sister, Jess, who have the same ending as their mother's.
Based on origin, Polish family names may be generally divided into three groups: cognominal, toponymic and patronymic.
A Polish cognominal surname (nazwisko przezwiskowe) derives from a person's nickname, usually based on his profession, occupation, physical description, character trait, etc.
The occupational surnames often would come from the Medieval Polish serf-villages, where a whole village serving the prince, township or lord, or a few streets in a town block would be inhabited by the same kind of specialized workers, often a guild of professionals.
Such serf areas would bear the plural form of the profession name, such as Piekary (bakers), Garbary (tanners), Winiary (winemakers).
Furthermore, the suffix -czyk, -yk, -ek was used to describe a profession as a diminutive, often, but not always, indicating a trainee - the learning assistant before achieving a full job title or seniority.
A female first name coupled with a male surname or vice versa sounds incongruous and wrong to the Polish ear.
Another pair of archaic feminine forms are these derived from the masculine surname based on a nickname ending in vowel: "-ina" for married (Puchała –> Puchalina) and "-anka/-ianka" for unmarried (Przybyła –> Przybylanka).
Although these suffixes are still used by some people, mostly the elderly and in rural areas, they are now becoming outdated and there is a tendency to use the same form of a nominal surname for both a man and a woman.
Poles pay great attention to the correct way of referring to, or addressing other people, depending on the level of social distance, familiarity and politeness.
The differences between formal and informal language include: Pan and Pani are the basic honorific styles used in Polish to refer to a man or woman, respectively.
In the past, these styles were reserved for hereditary nobles, and played more or less the same role as "Lord" or "Sir" and "Lady" or "Madame" in English.
Since the 19th century, they have come to be used in all strata of society and may be considered equivalent to the English "Mr." and "Ms." or the Japanese "san" suffix, while nobles would be addressed "Jego/Jej Miłość Pan/Pani" (His/Her Grace Lord/Lady).
[citation needed] If a superior wants to behave more politely or show a friendly attitude towards the subordinate, a diminutive form of the given name may be used: "Panie Włodku!
At an intermediate level of familiarity (for example, among co-workers) a diminutive given name may be preceded by formal the Pan or Pani (semi-informal form of address):[citation needed] Using the honorific style with a surname only, if used to refer to a given person directly, is generally perceived as rude.