What Are the Most Popular Polish First Names?
Ever wondered what are the most (and least) popular first names in Poland? What do these contemporary name-giving habits tell us about Poland?
As a rule, Poles are a rather conservative bunch when it comes to naming babies. Yet there have been observable trends over previous generations. Judging by how the list of most-given baby names has evolved over the years, Poles are slowly turning away from traditional Slavic names.
Most popular Polish boys' names (2020)
A look at the list of the top boys’ names given in Poland in 2020 (below) is a good indicator of this overall trend:
Text
Piotr
Krzysztof
Andrzej
Tomasz
Jan
Paweł
Michał
Marcin
Stanisław
Jakub
Adam
Marek
Łukasz
Grzegorz
Mateusz
Wojciech
Mariusz
Dariusz
Zbigniew
Jerzy
Author
From https://www.statista.com/statistics/1088939/poland-most-popular-male-names
In fact, amongst the top 10 names, only the ninth one, Stanisław, can be considered a traditional Slavic name. The remaining nine are names of either Biblical or Latin Christian origin. And only Wojciech and Zbigniew factor in the top 20.
These results are particularly striking when one compares them with the rankings of first names given in Poland across the 20th century. Stanisław used to rank among the most popular Polish names for the most part of the early 20th century, topping the list in the 1920s, and featuring in the top five until the 1950s. Tadeusz ranked in the top 10 in the 1950s, while Zbigniew ranked in the top five in the 1960s. (Note that whilst Tadeusz is not technically of Slavic origin, it became the archetypal Polish Slavic name.)
The majority of these names were used throughout the whole 19th century and much of the 20th century as demonstrations of Polish patriotism. On the other hand, Miłosz, which is somewhat popular amongst Slavic names today, can hardly be considered as such throughout the 20th century (though it did become quite a famous Polish surname thanks to Czesław Miłosz).
Most popular Polish girls' names (2020)
What’s the situation with girls’ names in Poland in 2020, then? Here are the top 10:
Text
Anna
Maria
Katarzyna
Małgorzata
Agnieszka
Barbara
Ewa
Krystyna
Elżbieta
Magdalena
Joanna
Zofia
Aleksandra
Monika
Teresa
Danuta
Natalia
Karolina
Marta
Julia
Author
From https://www.statista.com/statistics/1089014/poland-most-popular-female-names
The full list reveals a similar pattern in regard to girls’ names. While Slavic names in Poland were never as popular with girls as they were with boys, only a couple of decades ago, girls used to be called names like Czesława, Stanisława, Jadwiga and Danuta. Today, none of these have made it onto the list.
In the future, you will have to be very lucky to meet someone with one of these old-school Slavic names, like Lech, Jarosław or Kazimierz. So expect that on your future trips to Poland, in say 20 years, you’re certainly bound to meet many fewer Czesławs and many more Piotrs or Adams.
So is it time to say goodbye to the old-school Slavic names borne by generations of Poles, and open up to a new wave of names?
Only time will tell...
Written by Mikołaj Gliński, 10 Aug 2016; updated by LD, Jan 2021
Tytuł (nagłówek do zdjęcia)
Quarks, Elephants & Pierogi:
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