Names by country
Polish names for characters
Popular Polish first names by birth decade, common and regional surnames, pronunciation, and the naming rules writers trip over.
How Polish names work
Surnames ending in -ski, -cki and -dzki change to -ska, -cka and -dzka for women; most others (Nowak, Wójcik) don't change. Name days (imieniny) are celebrated as much as birthdays.
First names by birth decade
Names drift in and out of fashion. Pick from the decade your character was born, not the year your story is set.
Born before 1950
Girls
- Halina hah-LEE-nah
- Krystyna kris-TIH-nah
- Danuta dah-NOO-tah
- Barbara
- Maria MAH-ryah
- Janina yah-NEE-nah
- Irena ee-REH-nah
- Zofia ZOF-yah
Boys
- Stanisław stah-NEE-swahf
- Jan YAHN
- Józef YOO-zef
- Tadeusz tah-DEH-oosh
- Kazimierz kah-ZHEE-myesh
- Henryk HEN-rik
- Władysław vwah-DIH-swahf
- Zbigniew ZBEEG-nyef
Born 1950–64
Girls
- Barbara
- Elżbieta elzh-BYEH-tah
- Krystyna
- Teresa
- Małgorzata mow-goh-ZHAH-tah
- Bożena boh-ZHEH-nah
- Grażyna grah-ZHIH-nah
- Jolanta yoh-LAHN-tah
Boys
- Andrzej AHN-jay
- Krzysztof KSHISH-tof
- Marek MAH-rek
- Jan
- Tadeusz
- Zbigniew
- Ryszard RIH-shart
- Jerzy
Born 1965–79
Girls
- Agnieszka ahg-NYESH-kah
- Anna
- Katarzyna kah-tah-ZHIH-nah
- Małgorzata
- Monika
- Beata beh-AH-tah
- Joanna yoh-AHN-nah
- Magdalena
Boys
- Piotr PYOTR
- Tomasz TOH-mahsh
- Krzysztof
- Paweł PAH-vew
- Marcin MAR-cheen
- Andrzej
- Robert
- Dariusz DAHR-yoosh
Born 1980–94
Girls
- Katarzyna
- Agnieszka
- Anna
- Magdalena
- Joanna
- Paulina
- Karolina
- Justyna yoos-TIH-nah
Boys
- Łukasz WOO-kahsh
- Michał MEE-hahw
- Tomasz
- Mateusz mah-TEH-oosh
- Marcin
- Kamil KAH-meel
- Adrian
- Paweł
Born 1995–2009
Girls
- Julia YOO-lyah
- Aleksandra
- Natalia
- Wiktoria veek-TOR-yah
- Weronika veh-roh-NEE-kah
- Zuzanna zoo-ZAHN-nah
- Martyna mar-TIH-nah
- Oliwia oh-LEE-vyah
Boys
- Jakub YAH-koob
- Kacper KAHTS-per
- Mateusz
- Szymon SHIH-mon
- Bartłomiej bart-WOH-myay
- Patryk PAH-trik
- Michał
- Filip FEE-leep
Born 2010 onward
Girls
- Zuzanna
- Julia
- Zofia
- Hanna
- Maja
- Laura
- Oliwia
- Alicja ah-LEETS-yah
Boys
- Antoni ahn-TOH-nee
- Jan
- Aleksander
- Franciszek frahn-CHEE-shek
- Nikodem nee-KOH-dem
- Jakub
- Szymon
- Leon
Common Polish surnames
Women's forms are shown after the slash.
- Nowak NOH-vahk
- Kowalski / Kowalska koh-VAHL-skee
- Wiśniewski / Wiśniewska veesh-NYEF-skee
- Wójcik VOOY-cheek
- Kowalczyk koh-VAHL-chik
- Kamiński / Kamińska kah-MEEN-skee
- Lewandowski / Lewandowska leh-vahn-DOF-skee
- Zieliński / Zielińska zheh-LEEN-skee
- Szymański / Szymańska shih-MAHN-skee
- Woźniak VOZH-nyahk
- Dąbrowski / Dąbrowska dom-BROF-skee
- Kozłowski / Kozłowska koz-WOF-skee
- Jankowski / Jankowska yahn-KOF-skee
- Mazur MAH-zoor
- Wojciechowski / Wojciechowska voy-cheh-HOF-skee
- Kwiatkowski / Kwiatkowska kfyaht-KOF-skee
- Krawczyk KRAHF-chik
- Kaczmarek kahch-MAH-rek
- Piotrowski / Piotrowska pyoh-TROF-skee
- Grabowski / Grabowska grah-BOF-skee
- Zając ZAH-yonts
- Pawłowski / Pawłowska pahv-WOF-skee
- Michalski / Michalska mee-HAHL-skee
- Król KROOL
Regional names
Where a character comes from inside Poland changes their surname, and sometimes their first name.
Silesia
Silesian families have a mix of Polish, Czech and German roots, and older people may have German first names from before 1945.
Surnames: Pietrzyk, Kubica, Sobota, Mrozek, Kocur, Kupka, Pyka, Wieczorek, Szołtysek, Kandzia
Greater Poland (Poznań)
Surnames ending in -ak (Michalak, Pawlak) are typical of the Poznań region.
Surnames: Kaczmarek, Michalak, Adamczak, Pawlak, Andrzejewski, Nowak, Kubiak, Walczak, Marciniak, Jankowiak
Podhale (Tatra highlands, Zakopane)
So many highland families share a surname that a second part was added to tell them apart: Gąsienica-Daniel, Bachleda-Curuś.
Surnames: Gąsienica, Bachleda, Karpiel, Chowaniec, Stoch, Krzeptowski, Pitoń, Gąsienica-Daniel, Bachleda-Curuś, Mróz
Questions
What are common Polish surnames?
Some of the most common Polish surnames are Nowak, Kowalski, Wiśniewski, Wójcik, Kowalczyk, Kamiński. Regional surnames differ, so check the regional lists before choosing one for a character from a particular area.
How do Polish names work?
Surnames ending in -ski, -cki and -dzki change to -ska, -cka and -dzka for women; most others (Nowak, Wójcik) don't change. Name days (imieniny) are celebrated as much as birthdays.
Build a Polish character in one tap
InkBorn gives them a name from the right decade, a face card, a background, a personality and even their social media handles.