Monday, February 16, 2009

Meaning of the surname Warunek

Quite often we like to know about the origins of our surname. For most people, their last name has been derived from a place, person, occupation, animals, nature, food and beverages, or foreign source.
William F. Hoffman's book called Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings, is the best reference for Polish researchers to use when trying to get a grasp on their surname.
The surname Warunek is a funny sounding kind of surname which does not fit any of the above categories. In Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski's Polish-English, English-Polish Dictionary, the meaning of Warunek is condition, requirement, term, stipulation or circumstance.
I can only imagine where or how the surname originated. The earliest records found for anyone with this name were for Josephus Calesantius Warunek who lived in Gura Humora, Bukowina in the early 18th century. Today this is the country of Romania. In the ancestral village of my family, Hucisko which is in the parish of Niwiska, the first Warunek found was Andreas in 1794. The sources for this information was obtained through microfilmed records of the Mormon Church.
In 2002, Kazimierz Rymut developed a database with surname distribution in Poland. According to his research, there were 223 persons living in 37 counties with this surname. This included 106 men and 117 women. http://www.herby.com.pl/
Another online resource which we can use is http://www.moikrewni.pl/ To use this site, click on the English flag on the top right side and search away!

No comments: