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Help[Surname] Re: Kurecka, meaning and origin in Czech, Slovakian, Polish
in reply to a message by jstasney
If your great-grandmother was Kurecka this may be a female form of Kurecky (Czech) or Kurecki (Polish). The basis of the name could be Kurek, which is a Polish place name. I haven't found a likely place name in the Czech Republic or Slovakia which could be a source, but that's not to say that none exists. Those names ending in -sky/-ski or -cki/cky are adjectival, signifying "belonging to ...", and are often, but not always, locative.
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Replies
Hi Jim,
Well, that's a start.
Jim, you did understand that this Kurecka name is a surname.
Therefore, given by her father and has passed down in generations to present day. I have relatives relatively nearby with the name Kurecka in and around San Angelo, TX.
My Great grandmother Anna Kurecka and family and my great great grandfather Jan Svajda Repa migrated here to the Port of Baltimore USA on the S.S. Baltimore on June 4,1881.
Apparently my great grandfather Jan Repa, named after his dad Jan Svajda Repa, married my great grandmother after migrating to the Taylor, TX community. That would make my great grandfather and great grandmother around 19 and 17 years of age respectively when my grandmother was born. Does that sound plausible?
Their oldest child being my grandmother Lidmilla "Lillian" Repa born
April 28th, 1898 near Taylor, TX.
My grand mothers name, Lidmilla I find on the web as well, however, historically of it's origin and meaning I am steered to the spelling of Ludmilla. Ludmilla being the Americanized spelling, I take it?
Isn't Czech geneology fun with all of these different spellings to go with?
Maybe this sheds some different lights on the Kurecka name now.
Oh, and they are of Czech Moravian descent. That much we do know.
Thanks and my regards,
Jeff
Well, that's a start.
Jim, you did understand that this Kurecka name is a surname.
Therefore, given by her father and has passed down in generations to present day. I have relatives relatively nearby with the name Kurecka in and around San Angelo, TX.
My Great grandmother Anna Kurecka and family and my great great grandfather Jan Svajda Repa migrated here to the Port of Baltimore USA on the S.S. Baltimore on June 4,1881.
Apparently my great grandfather Jan Repa, named after his dad Jan Svajda Repa, married my great grandmother after migrating to the Taylor, TX community. That would make my great grandfather and great grandmother around 19 and 17 years of age respectively when my grandmother was born. Does that sound plausible?
Their oldest child being my grandmother Lidmilla "Lillian" Repa born
April 28th, 1898 near Taylor, TX.
My grand mothers name, Lidmilla I find on the web as well, however, historically of it's origin and meaning I am steered to the spelling of Ludmilla. Ludmilla being the Americanized spelling, I take it?
Isn't Czech geneology fun with all of these different spellings to go with?
Maybe this sheds some different lights on the Kurecka name now.
Oh, and they are of Czech Moravian descent. That much we do know.
Thanks and my regards,
Jeff
This message was edited 10/20/2008, 4:04 PM
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So you're saying that not only was the lady called Kurecka but her father was too, so ruling out the idea that it's a feminine form of Kurecky?
Right, a couple of other thoughts. Kures - with a mark over the S and pronounced Kooresh - is a Czech surname derived from a forename we know as Cornelius. Kurecka is not so far from that, so a possibility that it has the same origin.
Kur in Polish means "cock" (male bird), whence a Polish surname Kurek. The Czech equivalent is kohout, but there are words in the Czech language that begin with kur, and refer to poultry.
The -ecka component presumably a diminutive.
Right, a couple of other thoughts. Kures - with a mark over the S and pronounced Kooresh - is a Czech surname derived from a forename we know as Cornelius. Kurecka is not so far from that, so a possibility that it has the same origin.
Kur in Polish means "cock" (male bird), whence a Polish surname Kurek. The Czech equivalent is kohout, but there are words in the Czech language that begin with kur, and refer to poultry.
The -ecka component presumably a diminutive.
1
Hi Jim,
I've contacted another person, Fred Huffman, about this and their reply is as follows:
I deal primarily with Polish names, not Czech. I'm not
totally ignorant about Czech names; the languages
are similar in many ways, so that analysis of
Polish names is often valid for Czech names
pronounced essentially the same way. But it's kind
of iffy -- there are times a Czech name can look
or sound like a Polish name, yet turn out to be
very different in meaning. It's unwise to make
assumptions, as the study of names can often throw
you a curve.
The best I can do is tell you about KURECZKA, the
Polish name pronounced the same way. Polish name
expert Kazimierz Rymut mentions this in his book
_Nazwiska Polakow_ [The Surnames of Poles], and he
lists it under the many names coming from the root
seen in the nouns _kura_, "hen," and _kurek_,
"chicken, cock." KURECZKA would be a diminutive
from _kurek_, meaning something like "little
cock." It probably started as a nickname for an
ancestor who reminded people of a little cock,
perhaps because he wasn't very big but had a
cock's fighting spirit. Or he could have been the
little chicken guy, someone who cared for
chickens -- this could have been meant as an
affectional diminutive.
I believe this might also be applicable to Czech
because the same root shows up in Czech, for
instance in _kurnik_, "hen house." But the root
Kur- shows up in other Czech words, including ones
meaning "crust of bread" and "smoking." Still, the
root _kur_ is associated with chickens in
virtually all the Slavic languages. I think it's
very plausible the surname you ask about does come
from that root.
I wish I could give you something more definitive
and reliable, but that's the best I can do.
Perhaps you can contact a Czech genealogical
society such as the Czechoslovak Genealogical
Society International (http://www.cgsi.org/) and
through them find some source of info on Czech
I've contacted another person, Fred Huffman, about this and their reply is as follows:
I deal primarily with Polish names, not Czech. I'm not
totally ignorant about Czech names; the languages
are similar in many ways, so that analysis of
Polish names is often valid for Czech names
pronounced essentially the same way. But it's kind
of iffy -- there are times a Czech name can look
or sound like a Polish name, yet turn out to be
very different in meaning. It's unwise to make
assumptions, as the study of names can often throw
you a curve.
The best I can do is tell you about KURECZKA, the
Polish name pronounced the same way. Polish name
expert Kazimierz Rymut mentions this in his book
_Nazwiska Polakow_ [The Surnames of Poles], and he
lists it under the many names coming from the root
seen in the nouns _kura_, "hen," and _kurek_,
"chicken, cock." KURECZKA would be a diminutive
from _kurek_, meaning something like "little
cock." It probably started as a nickname for an
ancestor who reminded people of a little cock,
perhaps because he wasn't very big but had a
cock's fighting spirit. Or he could have been the
little chicken guy, someone who cared for
chickens -- this could have been meant as an
affectional diminutive.
I believe this might also be applicable to Czech
because the same root shows up in Czech, for
instance in _kurnik_, "hen house." But the root
Kur- shows up in other Czech words, including ones
meaning "crust of bread" and "smoking." Still, the
root _kur_ is associated with chickens in
virtually all the Slavic languages. I think it's
very plausible the surname you ask about does come
from that root.
I wish I could give you something more definitive
and reliable, but that's the best I can do.
Perhaps you can contact a Czech genealogical
society such as the Czechoslovak Genealogical
Society International (http://www.cgsi.org/) and
through them find some source of info on Czech
1
Hi Jim,
Well, all I can say is the family name of Kurecka is what has passed down through the generations to present day.
Whether it is a feminine form of Kurecky or not, I haven't a clue.
I wouldn't think so as it has passed down as a surname and
remember the artist guy's website I spoke of, Kurecka.com?
That is today, now, in the old country.
So, He has the surname as well.
Not to mention the other guy I found on facebook.
In the old country too.
So, there we have it, a surname for sure still carried forth
in the old country today.
I have the pronounciation as "Koorech-Ka", as I understand it.
We 'are' getting somewhere, I think, here with more and more data added.
Is there such a thing as a Czech/Moravian dictionary translated to English on the web?
Also, the Kurecka name had a hash mark over the 'c', if I remember correctly.
Maybe this will come out right, I'm copying and pasting the name with the hash mark over the "c": Kureèka. Well, it didn't, it came out as Kureeke.
Sometimes this changes to another form of the spelling automatically.
So, you think the name means a small rooster or cornish rooster of some sorts??
Hummmmmmm.....I woulda never.....
Imagine that?
Maybe one of the two people I emailed from the old country will write back and give us a little more input to go with this.
We still have the origin issue to solve, as well.
Thanks for all of the input you've provided though.
Your being a big help that we didn't have.
I appreciate that man.
Thanks again,
< JLS
Well, all I can say is the family name of Kurecka is what has passed down through the generations to present day.
Whether it is a feminine form of Kurecky or not, I haven't a clue.
I wouldn't think so as it has passed down as a surname and
remember the artist guy's website I spoke of, Kurecka.com?
That is today, now, in the old country.
So, He has the surname as well.
Not to mention the other guy I found on facebook.
In the old country too.
So, there we have it, a surname for sure still carried forth
in the old country today.
I have the pronounciation as "Koorech-Ka", as I understand it.
We 'are' getting somewhere, I think, here with more and more data added.
Is there such a thing as a Czech/Moravian dictionary translated to English on the web?
Also, the Kurecka name had a hash mark over the 'c', if I remember correctly.
Maybe this will come out right, I'm copying and pasting the name with the hash mark over the "c": Kureèka. Well, it didn't, it came out as Kureeke.
Sometimes this changes to another form of the spelling automatically.
So, you think the name means a small rooster or cornish rooster of some sorts??
Hummmmmmm.....I woulda never.....
Imagine that?
Maybe one of the two people I emailed from the old country will write back and give us a little more input to go with this.
We still have the origin issue to solve, as well.
Thanks for all of the input you've provided though.
Your being a big help that we didn't have.
I appreciate that man.
Thanks again,
< JLS
This message was edited 10/20/2008, 4:42 PM
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The surname is definitely Kurečka as you can see at http://www.zlatestranky.cz/O2WPResult.do?locale=cs&forceUTF8=☺&term=Kurečka&where=&x=39&y=16
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Bravo, Jeff, getting such a comprehensive answer from Fred Hoffman, a busy man by all accounts. I think you've got as much information as you're likely to find, short of locating an expert on Czech surnames. I don't know of one, nor, it seems, does Fred H.
I reckon the odds are shortening on a rooster/chicken basis for Kurecka.
I reckon the odds are shortening on a rooster/chicken basis for Kurecka.
1
Yeah, it looks that way.
I've emailed the Texas Czech Society contact to see what they say.
Thanks Again for your help.
Regards
< Jeff
I've emailed the Texas Czech Society contact to see what they say.
Thanks Again for your help.
Regards
< Jeff
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