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Family Relationships in Polish

Polish Genealogy

Tim Firkowski

Wednesday, 10 September 2014

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4 Comments

Most people have a good understanding of basic relationships, but what about the relationship terms that we don't use in everyday speech? Terms like "second cousin" and "first cousin, once removed"? We don't tend to speak about our relationships in such exact terms, so most of us aren't familiar with what these words mean. The same holds true in Poland. This post is meant to fill you in on those terms that are more than basic and some of the differences between Polish and English. I have included a relationship table in Polish and English so you can compare the two.

relationshiptablePL1024a

In Polish most of these relationships are the same as in English, but there are some differences.

UNCLE - In Polish there are two ways to say uncle.... "Stryjek" or "Wujek"

GREAT GREAT GREAT GRANDPARENTS)- You can use the term "grandparents (dziadkowie)", also "great great grandparents (Prapradziadkowie)" but a threefold repetition of "great" is over doing it. In English, this ancestor is called "3rd great grandparent" or "great great great grandparent". The Polish term would be "great-grandparents 3rd level (pradziakowie 3 stopnia)". The word "grandparents (dziadkowie)" suggests distant grandparents, and "3rd Level (stopnia)" accurately indicates their position. The situation is similar with their grandchildren.

GREAT NIECE or NEPHEW - A similar problem exists with the naming of children of a niece and nephew. In Polish there is no common term for these relatives as in English. The best name is probably "The brother's grandson (wnuki brata)"and "sister's grandson (wnuki siostra)" or "The brother's granddaughter (wnuczka brata)"and "sister's granddaughter (wnuczka siostra).""

NIECE & NEPHEW - When stating the relationship of niece or nephew in Polish, you use a word which defines from which gender of your siblings they are from. A niece from a brother would be "bratanicy" and a niece from your sister would be "siostrzenicy". Similarly, a nephew of your brother would be "bratanek" and a nephew from a sister would be "siostrzeniec"

DISTANT COUSINS - In Polish the cousin relationships are the same as English. Second cousin twice removed would be "Kuzin 2 stopnia, 2 razy przesunięci"
relationshiptableEN1024a

Tags:

Polish Culture Polish Genealogy

About the author

Tim Firkowski

I have been doing genealogy research since 2002 & have worked full time as a Professional Genealogist since 2008. I specialize in Polish and American-Canadian Genealogy. As a member of APG, I was the 2010/2011 President of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG). I have Certificates of Completion for studies in "Foundations of Forensic Genealogy" and "Advanced Forensic Genealogy Techniques". I have been a volunteer librarian at the local Family History Center, and a genealogy research consultant at “Ask the Expert” Ancestry Road Shows. I have traveled to Poland numerous times & researched in churches and archives. At conferences and special events, you may find me dressed up in my Sherlock Holmes outfit, or my Kujawy (the folk costume from the region in Poland where my ancestors came from).

Author's recent posts

Comments 4

Guest - Theresa Zubrycki-Seger on Wednesday, 10 September 2014 08:20

While at the Family Research Library in Utah, I was able to find my maternal grandmother's baptism record. I was told that my maternal grandfathers records are not online.
My paternal grandfathers records are not online either. A researcher has not had any luck with finding the records either.
I was wondering if there is any way that you might be able to help.
Thank You for at least reading this.

0 Reply

Tim Firkowski on Wednesday, 10 September 2014 09:00

Theresa,

I can help you out. Send me a direct email and we can talk in further detail. tim@thegenealogyassistant.com

0 Reply

Guest - Danuta on Monday, 06 October 2014 08:54

Hi Tim,
My name is Danuta. When it comes to the uncle relationship, I always understood that stryjek is the fathers brother, and wujek is the mothers brother.

1 Reply

Tim Firkowski on Monday, 06 October 2014 09:29

You are correct Danuta. I have learned that almost everyone now uses "wujek"(wuj) to describe both conditions that you mention. In fact many of the younger generation do not use or know about the term "Stryjek"(stryj). You will find the word "Stryjek" used in metrical records & most of the older generation understand the use of both versions of the word for uncle. I should have gone into more details on that in my Blog Post. Thank you for your input.

0 Reply