Where does Novák and Svoboda come from? What does Kučera and Horák mean? And how come there are surnames like Osolsobě? In this guide, I will tell you about Czech surnames, their meaning and origin. And if you want to know the meaning of your Czech surname, we’ll get to that as well.
Czech surnames are diverse, funny, traditional as well as unusual. All of them have a history. There is such a variety of Czech surnames that even though books about them are regularly updated, there’s probably not a single source where all of them would be listed and government institutions had to stop collecting data about them after the GDPR came into force. Dobrava Moldanová estimates the number at 65.000 – the Ministry of the interior at 412 387 unique surnames in 2016, this includes all the surnames used in the Czech Republic, even foreign ones.
I wanted to give you context, history, some overview of the groups of surnames, list of some very unusual surnames…and the result is a basic guide to Czech surnames, something you can start with in your quest for researching your family name. For those of you who would like to get into more detail, I will list some sources.
Are you perhaps looking for your Czech ancestors? Start with the Beginner’s Guide to Finding Ancestors in Czech Republic.
Would you like to know what your Czech surname means? Leave a comment and I will look your surname up and get back to you.
Table of Contents
History – How Czech Surnames Were Made
For quite some time, Czech people didn’t have official surnames, they have been developing between the 14th and 18th century. However, there was an understandable need to distinguish between people with the same name in the village. How did they do it? At first, just by changing the form of their first name, for example, Jan řečený Janák (Jan called Janák). Using the father’s first name was another way to do this and so, Petr Vítův would be Vít’s Peter, Vít being the father.
Another way was to use people’s profession or any other distinguishing features to name them. And so, a blacksmith became kovář, a person known for their humility would be pokorný and a man significantly shorter than others was called malý. These names were written with small letters and they would be used even after official surnames had been introduced. At first, these surnames weren’t passed from father to son and were changed as the professions (and features) changed.
In 1780, the emperor Joseph II. issued a patent making the surnames heritable on the male lineage and 6 years later, he made the use of surnames mandatory.
Even after the introduction of heritable surnames, the old ways would still prevail, especially in the countryside.
“When I went to school with my sister Marie on September 1, 1893 to register, I found it strange that the teacher called me Josef Lada. After all, I had always been Josef Ševcův – nobody had called me anything else. At most, in the neighbouring villages, they called me Mlejnčekův. The Ladas were only the family on the village square, farmers. The other Lada family, by the brook, was called Uhrovi, and we were just called Ševcovi.”
– From Dětem by Josef Lada. Lada’s father was a shoemaker – švec in Czech.
Just like the Czech language, the surnames, too, have been influenced by the languages of the neighboring countries. In addition to Czech surnames, there are German, Slovak and Polish ones.
Changing Orthography and De-germanization
As Czech language developed, so did the orthography of the surnames. Nowotny changed to Novotný, Gerzabek to Jeřábek. The efforts of the Czechs to become independent from the Germans was reflected in their surnames and even the orthography of typically German surnames was changed and transcribed phonetically: Schneider – Šnajdr, Fischer – Fišer, Fleischhans – Flajšhans. Polish surnames were also sometimes changed to be more convenient for Czech spelling: Kowalski-Kovalský.
The de-germanization went even further and some of the German surnames (and even given names) were translated into Czech. To give you one example, the great Czech patriot ethnographer whom we know under the name Vojta Náprstek was born Adalbert Fingerhut. František Jílek-Oberpfalcer, Czech linguist, advocated for the change of German surnames arguing that German surnames had been imposed on Czech people and many Czech surnames forcedly translated into German. The Czech state supported the de-germanization by lowering the payment for a change of surname from German to Czech to 5 Czechoslovak crowns (standard payment was 125 crowns).
Czech Surnames Now
Nowadays, every Czech national has to have at least one name and one surname. Surnames are mostly inherited but they can also be chosen and changed. In case of abandoned babies, it’s often the medical professionals who choose their names and surnames but the official decision has to be made by a court. People can also change their surname.
Family Surnames
The tradition is that the whole family adopts the father’s (husband’s) surname. This means the women changing their surnames and children being born with the surname of the male lineage, even children born outside of wedlock. However, tradition isn’t law and nowadays, families can decide for the female surname or the man and woman keeping their surname.
Female Surnames
As you might know, the female form of the Czech surnames usually ends with –ová. There is, however, a not-so-small group of surnames – formed mostly from adjectives and Polish surnames – that just change the last letter: Malý-Malá (small), Černý-Černá (black), Kovalský-Kovalská, Devátý-Devátá (ninth).
Some surnames, even though they’re traditional, don’t change form: Krejčí-Krejčí (tailor), Bártů-Bártů (Bárta’s),
And very few follow an unusual patter: Dítě-Dítětová as well as Díťová (child)
A woman can use the male form of her surname and a married woman can keep her birth surname or use it in combination with the husband’s surname (first her “new” surname, then the old one).
Gender Inflection
It is still widely discussed whether the surnames of women who are foreigners should be inflected (the ending –ová is added for easier declination). Generally, this is practiced in press and literature and recently, a broadcaster of the Czech Public TV was criticized by this institution for refusing to inflect the surnames of foreign athletes at the Olympic games, despite the approval by language experts.
This inflection often leads to ridiculous situations as a result of the fact that journalists and other professionals who inflect a foreign female surname don’t know that they’re using the surname in a form that has been already inflected in a foreign language.
Example: Russian male surname Petrov, female form Petrova, Czech inflection Petrovová; Greek male surname Sideridis, female form Sideridu, Czech inflection Sideriduová
Sometimes, the inflection is omitted when the surname ends with a vowel. However, surnames of Czech women who decide to use their surname in male form, are not inflected. Which is even more curious because in one sentence you can read a foreign female surname with the ending –ová and a Czech female surname without it.
Changing Surnames
The law lists situations in which it’s possible to change one’s surname. Some of the situations are: adoption, marriage, divorce or if the original surname is pejorative.
Regional pronunciation
An interesting fact is that one surname can be informally pronounced differently in different regions. For example the surname Hašek can be said as Hašků, Haškovic, Haškův or Haškůj according to the dialect of the region. In some cases, these forms have become formal versions.
Typology of Czech Surnames
Origin and Meaning
There are several ways classify Czech surnames. I suppose most of the readers are interested in the origins and meaning, I will start with the classification by D. Moldanová.
Given names
Many Czech surnames come from given names. Most frequently, names of apostles and popular saint. And not just names in their formal form but also their derivates and diminutives, e.g. Jakub as well as Kuba. These surnames follow the earlier tradition of naming sons and daughters after their father, e.g. Martinův (Martin’s) gave origin to the surname Martinů.
Local names
These surnames derive from the names of places (Filipínský – of the Phillippines), nationalities (Němec – German), unspecified locations (Kopecký – from a hill), Horák (from the mountains), Novák (new to the village or town) or even positions (Hořejší – upper). There are a few special cases that are formed of prepositional phrases (Skamene – of stone).
Apellatives
This is a very large group and you’ll find the strangest Czech surnames in several subgroups. Surnames formed from apellatives refer to, among others:
– place in the society – profession:
- Kovář – blacksmith
- Krejčí – tailor
- Řezník – butcher; Řezníček – little butcher
– social status:
- Měšťan – townsman
- Kaplan – chaplain
- Pololáník – owner of half a lan
– characteristic features:
- Malý – small, little
- Neruda – bad-tempered
- Hrubý – rough, coarse
- Kučera – a person with curly hair
– other adjectives:
- Černý – black
- Veselý – jolly
- Holý, Holas – bare, naked
– animals:
- Holub – pigeon
- Koníček – little horse
- Kočka – cat
– body parts:
- Koleno – knee
- Hlavička – little head
- Hnát – limb
– things:
- Pytel – sack
- Vomáčka – sauce
- Kladiva – hammers
– abstract values, emotions etc.:
- Svoboda – freedom
- Láska – love
- Strach – fear
– verbs in past tense:
- Vyskočil – jumped
- Navrátil – returned
- Pospíšil – hurried
– verbs and phrases in imperative form:
- Osolsobě – Salt it for yourself
- Skočdopole – Jump in the field
- Nejezchleba – Don’t eat bread
- Polehnidále – Lay down further
- Hrejsemnou – Play with me
- Přinesdom(ů) – Bring home
- Nechoďdomů – Don’t go home
- Přineskarladomů – Bring Karel home
– verbs and phrases in present tense
- Vítámvás – I welcome you
- Nepovím – I won’t tell
– metaphors:
- Suchařípa – dry beetroot
- Malypetr – little Peter
- Vozihnoj – dung carrier
– sentences in past tense:
- Drahokoupil – He bought expensive
- Přecechtěl – He wanted anyway
- Rádsetoulal – He liked to roam around
- Zabiljelito – He killed the blood sausage
- Snědldítětikaši – He ate the child’s puree
- Ontověděl – He knew that
– interjections:
- Tydlitát
- Cvak
- Prsk
Foreign words
Surnames derived from foreign words are no rarity and just like you can find foreign-sounding surnames in the Czech Republic, so you can find Czech surnames (also in adapted forms) abroad. It’s very common to find Czech surnames in Vienna, Austria (Ruzicka, Prochaska). In Czechia, there are especially German, Slovak, Hungarian and Polish surnames, whether used in their original form or adapted to the Czech languages.
Did you know that the Italian adventurer Giacomo Casanova lived the end of his days in what is now the Czech Republic and Czechs with the surname Casanova still live here?
Strange and Rare Czech Surnames
Noble Surnames
Some Czech families still bear surnames passed onto them from their noble lineage. Some of them are not of Czech origin, some are and others had their orthography adapted to the Czech language. I mention at least some of them:
- Černín
- Belcredi
- Schwarzenberg
- Špork
- Šlik
- Kinský
Two-letter Surnames
We can find several two-letter surnames, there’s no data about the origin of those surnames, however, those that sound Czech or adapted to Czech are Áč and Šé.
Palindromes
There are also palindromic surnames of foreign origin like Renner or Čišič.
Pejorative Surnames
This is not an official category but I decided to add it out of curiosity. You could call some of the following surnames pejorative or ridiculing but some of them are just swearwords straightforward. Some are not in use anymore but others are and they are not even that uncommon. I am going to write their literal translations, no filter:
- Kokot – colloquial expression for male genitalia used as an offense
- Šourek – scrodum
- Šoustal – he fucked
- Prdel – ass
- Prcina – expression children use for genitalia or “butt”
- Pizda – vulgar expression for an unpleasant woman
- Moč – urine
- Hovno – shit
- Uchcaný – pissed (people with this surname often changed it to Urban)
- Nasralvhrnec – he shat in a pot
- Kolmosral – he shat perpendicularly
- Kakáč – potty (from kakat – to poop)
- Kadič – from kadit – to poop pejoratively
- Pudelka – from prdelka – little ass
- Mrdek – from mrdat – to fuck (people with this surname often changed it to Medek)
- Šuk – a fuck
- Hajzl – asshole (person)
Most Common Czech Surnames
According to prijmeni.cz, the 20 most common Czech surnames are:
- Nováková
- Novák
- Svobodová
- Svoboda
- Novotná
- Novotný
- Dvořáková
- Dvořák
- Černá
- Černý
- Procházková
- Procházka
- Kučerová
- Kučera
- Veselá
- Veselý
- Horáková
- Krejčí
- Horák
- Němcová
Would you also like to know what the most common Czech baby names have been in recent years? Read Most Common Czech Baby Names.
Fun fact: The names Jan Novák and Jana Nováková are so common that they’ve become sample names in official forms.
Sources
- 301/2000 Sb. zákon o matrikách, jménu a příjmení – Lay of Civil Registers, Names and Surnames (Czech)
- MOLDANOVÁ, Dobrava. Naše příjmení. druhé. vyd. Praha: Agentura Pankrác, 2004. ISBN 80-86781-03-8. (Czech)
- BENEŠ, Josef. Německá příjmení u Čechů. Praha: Agentura Pankrác, 2020. ISBN: 978-80-86-781-42-6. (Czech)
- Dvořáková Née Procházková, Žaneta. (2018). Lidová etymologie a “hanlivá” příjmení (Folk etymology and “pejorative” surnames). Acta Onomastica. 59. 42-53. (Czech)
- O našich příjmeních by Josef Beneš; via http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/ (Czech)
- MATÝSKOVÁ, Jitka. Origin of English and Czech Surnames: Similarities and Differences. Opava: 2020; (English)
If you want to know the meaning of your Czech surname, write it in a comment below.
My father’s family name was Kaisvinkler (from Prague and Vamberk)and my mother’s was Kotrly. (From Bludov) Are there meanings for them? Thank you.
Kaisvinkler – I haven’t been able to find the meaning, only that it’s German and originally Geiswinkler or Gaiswinkler. Kortlý is from “kotrla”, a local name for woodlark.
My surname is Chvatal. But I don’t know where the people with that name live.
Chvátal is a fairly common surname, you can find it all around the Czech Republic. It comes from the verb chvátat – to hurry. Chvátal is a past tense masculine – he hurried.
My last surname is Coufalik. I believe people from the z as Moravia region have this name.
It comes from the verb “coufat”, now “couvat” – to move backwards. And yes, the stats show, that this surname occurs mostly in Moravia, scarcely in Prague.
Prachar
Prachař – gunpowder manufacturer
Hi, my surname is Hanzlicek
It’s a diminutive from the given name Johannes (Hans). Nowadays, the diminutive of the Czech name Jan (Johannes in Latin and German) is Honza.
My surname is Abeles(Majzis) v Příbrami recorded bez kolku 1/1 1902. Děkuji
Abeles is a Jewish surname from Habel = breath
Hi! My surname is Hanus.
That is a domestic form (diminutive) of the given name Johannes.
Rynes, pronounced rin as in tin and is as in fish
I’m not able to find any information about the surname Ryneš but one – it might be of French origin which would explain why it’s not included in any of the Czech surname dictionaries.
Paternal grandfather–Vyvial (Vyvyial?)
Paternal grandmother–Fojt (Foyt?)
Vyvíal/Vyvíjal – literally “he developed”, from vyvíjet (arc. vyvíjat) – to develop.
Fojt – town clerk in Moravia, high clerk in the middle ages
Good evening. My father’s surname is Mulacek from Hvozdany, West Bohemia, Czech Republic . Thank you for your time and knowledge.
Muláček – someone who crumples something in their hand OR a person with large lips
Kopsa -my mother’s maiden name
Taiber-my mother’s maternal surname
Cernoch- my mother’s great grandparent’s surname
Thank you!
Kopsa – from the given name Prokop
Taiber (same like Tauber) from the German word taub – dumb (a person who cannot speak)
Černoch – a black person
Thank you!
Koudelova 😃
Koudel = tow. This surname could refer to a person handling tow or of similar hair color. According to Moldanová, in Olomouc region it also means “stupid”.
Hi! This is such an educational page!
My maiden name is Hajostek. We were told it meant “woodsman” but it was not clear if that meant something like carpenter or lumberjack or maybe a hermit lol
I have been looking into this surname for some time now and I haven’t found anything. Is it possible that at some point your family changed the spelling? If I had to say something, then “háj” means grove. But hajostek is a word I’ve never heard. I’ll let you know if I find out something.
Thank you!
The immigration logs show that spelling, so I’m not sure if it was changed before that.
Hello!
Good cheer to all on this beautiful day!!!!!
Good luck 🙂
Kozák
Thank you!
There can be various origins of this surname:
1. “kozák” – goat shepherd
2. “hřib kozák” – type of boletus mushroom
3. a person from the small region of Kozácko – around the town of Želeč close to Tábor
My great great grandfather’s name was Joseph Krasimol, though I’ve seen it spelled Krasmiol.
Hello, that is a beautiful surname but I have not found a single person called Krasimol (Krasmiol) and I have never heard that word/surname before. Is it possible that the original spelling was Krasomil? That is an old Czech given name that means “the one who loves beauty”.
My father’s name was Hauk. He was from Citov, Czech Republic.
According to D. Moldanová, the surname Hauk comes from the German given name Hugibert and also from the German dialect word “Haug” – small hill.
Mokrejs. There should be Czech punctuation on the ‘r’, but I’m writing from the U.S.
The surname Mokřejš comes from the adjective “mokrý” – wet
My ancestors were from Moravia. I’m curious about two surnames
Hrbacek – we’ve been told it means little hunchback. Is that right? There’s always been disagreement about how to say it too with some family pronouncing it like “her-ba-check” and others “herb-a-check”.
Camfrla – curious about this one. Haven’t been about to find much about it.
Hrbáček – yes, little hunchback, you can listen to the pronunciation here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LGtEDvLAStlUQvtJrJZEfbbpBA2OoczI/view?usp=sharing
Camfrla – I haven’t been able to find the meaning, I will let you know if I find out soemthing.
My mother’s maiden name was Simerka. She said her family was so small that anyone with that surname was probably related. Also, she had an aunt whose married name was Chudoba. Can you tell me anything about these names?
Hello, this is what I found on Šimmerka: same like Šimmer, it come from the German word Schimmer – glitter, shine. Chudoba means poverty.
I suspect the connection between my mother’s maiden name – Bąkowski – to the surname Bakovský. I live near Poznań, close to several localities where Czech Brethren got their refuge. The is a Czech Brethren Street in Szamotuły, for example. Huge numbers were in Leszno, and there is also their archive, which got into the Unesco list. One of the localities related to Czechs (and Slovaks, if you want) closest to me are Tomice and Sierosław. I’ve just rechecked Geneteka, and one of the earliest mentions of the surname are from Stęszew (close to Tomice), Ostroróg (another Czech Brethren “epicentre”) and Szamotuły (version Bąkoski no really used today).
https://geneteka.genealodzy.pl/index.php?op=gt&lang=pol&bdm=B&w=15wp&rid=B&search_lastname=B%C4%85kowski&search_name=&search_lastname2=&search_name2=&from_date=&to_date=&ordertable=%5B%5B0,%22asc%22%5D,%5B1,%22asc%22%5D,%5B2,%22asc%22%5D%5D&searchtable=&rpp1=200&rpp2=50
Hello, yes, your surname would be Bakovský in Czech. This would happen if your ancestors came over to CZ and decided to change to Czech writing, although I don’t think that the original is Czech, even looking at the Czech version of that surname sounds Polish.
My great grandfather was a Greschek from what’s now Bílovek, Czechia. I would love to learn more about the name, since I haven’t been able to find much other than a record from a couple generations earlier that recorded the name as Gřeschek.
Thanks for sharing all this great info!
Hello, I wasn’t able to find the meaning of the surname, only that the Czech version is Gřešek. My guess would be that the origins are probably Polish with the original orthography being grzeszek with the meaning “decline”.
There is Bakovský potok and city Bakov, and the surname could be polonized into Bąkowski.
I had no idea! Thank you for the info!
My family name is Heminover and said to come from Moravia about 1770 the Krounland was mentioned in his history but can find nothing else
Wow, this is a difficult one! I have found nothing, not even a similar word in Czech and it looks like there’s nobody with that surname in CZ.
My husband’s family came from the Chmelna and Rojsin area of Bohemia in the 1880’s. Currently we use Klemish, but we’ve found old marriage records showing Klimes as the surname. We’d like to know the meaning of this name and to know how common it is in Czechia- currently and in the past. Thank you!
The surname Klimeš comes from the given name Klement, also Kliment, it is a diminutive of the name. It’s not super common but also not unusual as there are over 3000 people with that surname in CZ.
My family surname is Petra. I know that Petra is a common first name in Europe but the surname appears to be quite rare. My great grandparents emigrated from Bohemia in 1892 after my grandfather’s first birthday. Unfortunately, my father didn’t know the name of the town/village the family was from.
What an interesting surname! And very rare indeed, there are only approx. 12 people with the surname Petra in CZ. According to online stats, there are 3 in Karlovy Vary, 3 in Turnov, 2 in Frýdlant nad Ostravicí and 1 in Brno, Železný Brod, Liberec and Orlová. So, scattered all over but maybe it helps with an eventual search.
My great grandmother’s last name was Dushek and may have been changed from Duschek after she emigrated to the USA in 1892.
The surname Dušek is quite common and comes from the given name Duchoslav (“of famous spirit”). Dušek is a diminutive.
Hi, any information on the name “Vasgestian”? After some research, it seems to be of Czech origin and a different spelling of “Wasgestian.” I’ve had no luck finding information about it, so I thought I’d ask. Thanks!
Hello, it doesn’t sound like a Czech surname at all, even less with the “W”. The stats ended in 2016 and at that time, there were only 3 people with that surname in CZ. My wild guesses would be: a) Eastern Slavic region, b) Armenia (although not really with “W” and their surnames end rather with -yan – with “y”).
Hi My mothers family emigrated around 1860 from the Maly Bor /Pacejov area south of Pilsen. Searching for the possible meaning of their surname “Karsik”
Hello, unfortunately, I haven’t found much about the origin of this surname. Only, that in 2016 there were 4 people of that surname in CZ. And a mention of a Matouš Karšík from Velké Hydčice who hung himself in 1672, that pops out everywhere for some reason.
Krcilek or Krčílek
From the verb krčit se – to crouch
Very cool page, thank you for the education!
How about Huncovsky
This surname comes from the name of the town Uničov (formerly Unčov – Hunčov – Hunčow)
My surname is Walla. I understand that is a germanized form of the Czech surnames Valla and Vala, perhaps for Czechs that lived where there were many germans. What do the names Valla and Vala mean in English?
Hello and thanks for the interesting submission! The form Vala is not uncommon in CZ at all, Vála and Valla also appear. This surname derives from the given name Valentin.
Great article! Cecka(formerly Czeczka) and Smerz(formerly Smrz) – thanks!
Thank you!
Čečka (Czeczka) – from the given name Čeběj
Smrž is a type of edible mushroom (morchella)
Family name Šubart
I didn’t find anything about Šubart specifically but it could be a version of Schubert (Czech versions Šubrt/Šubert), which is from the Middle High German words schuoch and würthe and it means “Shoemaker”.
Luksa, Vankat, Machacek, Yambor (changed from Jambor), Bezousek, Zaloudek
Lukša – from the given name Lukáš
Vankat – probably Vaňkát in its original form, from the given name Václav
Macháček – from the given name Matěj
Jambor – “single/unmarried gypsy”, probably from Hungarian
Bezousek/Bezoušek – from “bez” – elderberry bush
Žaloudek – diminutive of “žalud” – acorn
Family name Simek
Šimek – from the given name Šimon (Simon)
Tlustý vs. Tlustý-Ho
Tlustý means “fat”. The version Tlustýho can appear in older registries, it’s a declension of the surname, for example:
Magdalena, dcera Jana Tlustýho – Magdalena, daughter of Jan Tlustý
Family name Vacek.
Vacek comes from the given name Václav.
ADAMCIK
The surname Adamčík comes from the given name Adam.
My ancestor came from Bonetice, present-day Czech Republic. The surname was written Frabscha in the records in the German spelling. I don’t know if the name is a Germanized spelling of a Czech name or vice-versa.
The Czech-German component is actually really interesting! Frabscha (Czech spelling Frabša) actually comes from the Czech surname Vrabec (sparrow) which the German language took and changed to Frabscha and later some of the families converted is to the Czech spelling Frabša rather than going back to Vrabec.
My family name is Polansky from the Moravian area.
One of the theories about this surname is that it comes from the Vallachian word “polana” which is a place inside the woods with no trees.
According to family lore, mine are quite rare. The more common is Bejda. The less common is Vytiska (although there is a Czech artist with that surname). Supposedly, I am related to all of them throughout the world. There is a small village in the Czech Republic where the Vytiska family was / is centered and the homes there go back to the 14th century.
Those are uncommon! I’ve never heard the surname Bejda. It sounds very rural Czech but I haven’t found anything about its origin. Výtiska is either from vytisknout (to print out) or an old word for zahnat (chase out). And yes, Jan Výtiska is a Czech painter 😉
Ockay is what im searching for, ive been told it was spelled Ojsky or Očkay but I am unsure. Any help would be appreciated.
Hello, the spelling is Očkaj. According to the dictionary by Fr. Št. Kott in the archive of the Academy of Czech Languaje, it probably comes from “počkaj” which is a dialect imperative form of the verb “počkat” – to wait.
Family name Labaj, from Leskovec, Vsetin, Moravia.
Labaj – from the dialectal verb “lábat” – to take big sips
Leskovec – from “líska” – hazelnut shrub
Hi. My grandfather is John Chladni, Czechoslovakia. Born july 11,1889. Then came to America. Was married to Theresa Sherson, also Czech. Thank you.
Hi! I suppose the original spelling would be Chladný and it literally means “cold” (adjective). This one is a bit more poetic sounding than “studený”, which also means cold. The word chladný is used to describe weather (chladné počasí, cold weather) or a person’s character (chladný člověk, a cold person).
What is the meaning of surname Zubek?
Little tooth 😉
Mine is Posival, don’t know much beyond that. I did have a friend one time ask if i had heard the name parzival, he said it was german and thought Posival was a Czechia spelling or something?
Our family has ties to krčmář, but they at somepoint started using the german spelling i believe.
Pošíval comes from the verb “šít” – to sew, the form “pošíval” means “he sewed”. Krčmář means “pub owner”, krčma is an old word for pub.
Posival, had a friend say it sounded like a czechia version of a german name Parzival.
The name Parsival has nothing to do with the surname Pošíval, see my previous reply.
yeah i submitted twice cause it was not submittng and i just came back the next day and sent it again cause i didn’t see it, sorry
No problem at all!
I believe when my family came over in the early 1900’s their name was written as Paranic’ which got Americanized as Paranich. I’ve always known it as pronounced – I’ll try phonetically “Perranich”. I would like your opinion on it’s history please.
Thank you for an interesting submission! I’ve never heard that name but it seems to me that the original written version might be Paranič. This surname appears in Slovakia but it sounds Balkan – Serbian, Croatian (There are Croats with the surname Paranic and Peranić) and around. It does not sound Czech (not disputing that your ancestors were Czech but I think the surname has origins elsewhere).
Hello, my family name is Dusha. My grandfather said it comes from Bohemia. I also wonder about his mother’s maiden name which was Hanzo. Thank you in advance.
Hello, I suppose the original spelling is Duša – it is most probably eastern spelling of “duše” which means “soul” (duša is said in eastern Moravia). It could also be the diminutive form of names like Dušan, Duchoslav, Dušek.
As for Hanzo – I would say the original might be Hanza, from the German Hans (Johannes).
Hello! My maternal surnames are Svec and Buchko. Also, Kokoruda, Choma and Zsdinyak. They settled in Western PA.
Hello, the only one of them that sounds Czech is Švec – shoemaker. Kokoruda is a Slovak coloquial word for head or also cone (on the tree), Choma is firther Easters and I found that it’s a version of the given name Tomáš and I have no idea about Zsdinyak, maybe Polish.
Family Milim, later changed into Millim.
I found them in church books of Lettowitz/Letovice around 1700.
Wow, this one is a mystery! I have never heard that surname, the accessible registries say there’s no one with the surname Milim/Milím in CZ. I will look into it and let you know if I find something out.
Hi! Last name is Nechvatal. One cousin uses Neckvatal. Thank you!
Hi, the correct spelling is Nechvátal and it means “didn’t hurry”. With the spelling Neckvatal, it looses that meaning.