Polish name

Polish personal names, like names in most Eastern European cultures, consist of two main elements: imię, the first name, or the given name; followed by nazwisko, the last name, surname, or family name. The usage of personal names in Poland is generally governed by three major factors: civil law, Church law, and tradition, in addition to personal taste and family custom.

It is required by law for a given name (imię) to indicate the person's gender. Almost all Polish female names end in the vowel -a, while most male names end in a consonant or a vowel other than a. There are, however, a few male names (which are very old and uncommon), such as Barnaba, Bonawentura, Boryna, Jarema, Kosma, Kuba (a diminutive of Jakub) and Saba, which end in -a. The name, Maria, is an exception because it is a female name which can be also used as a middle (second) name for males.

Since the High Middle Ages, Polish-sounding surnames which end with the masculine morpheme -ski suffix (this includes -cki and -dzki) and the corresponding feminine suffix -ska/-cka/-dzka were associated with the nobility (Polish szlachta) who, in the early years, preserved such suffix distinctions to themselves. They are widely popular today. Minor regional spelling differences also exist depending on whether the surname originated in Polish, Czech, or Slovak (e.g. -sky/-ský).

A child in Poland is usually given one or two names; Polish registry offices do not register more than two. Among Catholics, who form the vast majority of the population, it is customary to adopt the name of a saint as an informal, third given name at confirmation, however, this does not have any legal effect. (This is reminiscent of the pre-Christian rite of the "first haircut" (postrzyżyny), which also involved giving the child a new name.)

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