[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Gatzke

[Spaghettitree at aol.com]

I usually gobble up everything Otto writes, because he is so thorough, and  
I love the etymological histories and evolutions of names and places too.   
On the other hand, I hesitate to believe a lot of Wikipedia, knowing who 
they  are and checking what they choose to use for sources - but do not ignore 
 them, either.     Even the lofty OED and Britannicas and  Brockhaus and 
all the others make mistakes sometimes, but I still go to them  first, 
Wikipedia last.
 
A name with a 'ke ending indicates "little" or "family of" and usually, but 
 not always, emanates from the Baltic Sea (Öst See) area, as one of mine 
did  (Schoenke from Königsberg/Kaliningrad Ostpreußen and also found in  
Frauenburg/Frombork).   That is also, of course, Schönke, but screwed  up by 
someone in the USA into Schoenky, which my ancestor did not bother to  correct, 
so he was born with an 'e', died with a 'y'.      Umlauts are rarely used in 
North America, and extremely rarely do I find anyone  who can pronounce 
'oe', in the Anglicized sound or the Germanic sound  either.  It usually comes 
out as a sneeze.   I have a long,  long list of ways people have tried to 
spell that.  I know that Schoen  means beautiful/handsome/nice and I'll buy 
that!   Some are not so  flattering.   My oldest brother disagrees, even when 
I send him  documentation, but then that's his job.   
 
So that's why I'm called - just Maureen.  
 
For whatever it's worth, Bahlow's German Names says:
Gatz, Gatzke - East German/Slavic - perhaps related to the personal name  
Gaczko, Breslau 1328.
 
 Lars Menk's naming dictionary says:  (no Gatzke) for Gatzmann,  possibly 
from the abbreviation GaTs for Gab'ay tsedakah - Arameic or Hebrew -  
official in charge of alms, and mann, German for man.   
 
In Hoffman's Polish Names - no Gatzke either - but Gasc - name element Ga-  
from Gawel, Gawryzyjal, and suffix -sz or -gach, lover.  Now, you have to  
like that one!  In his preface, under Foreign Suffixes, he  says: 
-ke German, but is used primarily with Germanized surnames derived from  
Polish or Czech first names, example Raschke is from Raszka or Raszek, short  
forms of Raclaw or Radoslaw.   
 
Duden's Lexikon der Familiennamen - 
Gatzke - Von einem Rufnamen polnischen Ursprungs (Gatzko, Gaczka)  
abgeleiteter  Familienname.    Herkunftsname zu den  Ortsnamen Gatzken (Schlesen).  
 
What do you think, Otto?
 
just Maureen
 
 
 
In a message dated 4/21/2012 9:19:39 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time,  
otto at schienke.com writes:

Polish  "Gać"

Before I'd become too excited over the 'cut & paste'  definition below, I 
would seriously consider a Baltic coastal place-name  meaning.  it fits in 
with our research  scope.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gać,_Gmina_Słupsk

Both Gatzke  and Szatkowski surnames would be place-names. They remain two 
DIFFERENT  surnames.

On Apr 21, 2012, at 11:54 AM, Gary Warner wrote:

>  Otto,
> 
> I was afraid of that.   Does Gatz have any  meaning?
> 
> Gary
> 
> On 4/21/2012 7:51 AM, Otto  wrote:
>> Two DIFFERENT surnames.
>> 
>>  GERMAN:
>> Gatzke is Lowland German/Plattdeutsch.
>> The  surname is "Gatz" with the added diminutive "ke" , = little Gatz or 
child of  Gatz.
>> A cut&  paste on the meaning:
>> "The  surname Gatz is German. It's from Gato, a short form of an old 
personal name  formed with the same root as Middle High etc  (Gadafried)"
>>  
>> POLISH:
>> An answer from Roots Web:
>>  "SZATKOWSKI or Szadkowski surnames come from a place
>> SZADEK (there  are several in Poland) Szatkowski = "a
>> man from Szadek or  Szadkowsice". Szadek was written
>> too as Szadko or Szadkow in old  documents. The name
>> Szadek is connected to the word "szady",  "sady", which
>> means "grey", "ash-blond".
>> 
>>  Rymut and Rospond give the samy etymology for the name
>> place  "SZADEK".
>> 
>> Note: "d" before "k" is pronounced as a "t"  in
>> Polish."
>> 

. . .   Otto
" The Zen moment..." wk. of January 01,  2012-
_____________________________________
"The World Is . . . what we make of  it."





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