The Meaning of Osturna Surnames

During the recent reunion trip, one of the many activities which took place was a group discussion about the meanings of the surnames common to Osturna. Some of you may recall from an earlier issue that there were only slightly more than 50 family names found in Osturna before the turn of the century. On June 23, 1996, a group of about 8 people — including Jozef Smolenak and his sister, Zofia Barcakova of Osturna, Jan Smolenak of Detva, Milan and Jozef Smolenak of Presov, and Dr. Michal Smolenak and his family of Prague — gathered at the mayor’s house. With grace and good humor, they tolerated Megan Smolenyak’s questions about each of a long list of Osturna surnames. Megan recorded this conversation and it is from this recording that the content of this article is provided. First, though, a word of warning to the reader might be warranted. During the discussion, an interesting pattern emerged concerning our names. While some of our names are derived from occupations, ethnic ties, and other traditional sources, quite a few of them appear to be essentially nicknames that others bestowed upon our ancestors. It also seems that our ancestors had a rather sharp sense of humor and enjoyed poking fun at each other. The end result of all this is that many of us are now walking around with names that have less than flattering meanings. Having said all this, it is hoped that everyone will read this in a lighthearted way with a willingness to chuckle at what some mischievous people — who probably did not appreciate the importance and permanence of a surname — did hundreds of years ago when they somehow arrived at the names that future generations would bear. Finally, it is necessary to point out that the meanings contained in this article are simply the best guesses of the casual group assembled in the mayor’s house. They should not be taken as the final word, but more as a likely conjecture in each case.

• Bassar — probably from "bassa," as in bass guitar; perhaps one who played an instrument or sang
• Bednar — someone who makes trunks, like a carpenter or joiner
• Bizub — without teeth
• Drugacs — could be from Russian expression for "friend," or from local expressions having to do with someone who is slow to make up his mind or who enjoys his drink
• Figlyar — one who is tricky, town joker
• Gazdik — small farmer
• Glevanyak — probably from "gleva," a special type of mushroom; perhaps one who picked them
• Gorely — mountain people from Poland
• Harabin — probably from "hrab," a hard, white wood tree
• Hvalcsak — possibly from "chvaly," meaning "praise;" may mean one who thinks highly of himself
• Ilcsak — son of or simply "of" Elias
• Jacsencsak — from "jasen," a type of tree, or "jesen," meaning "autumn"
• Kasmarak — pubtender, tavern owner
• Kapraly — soldier’s rank, probably corporal
• Kosturak — from "kostura," meaning "knife"
• Kovalcsik — diminutive of blacksmith
• Krulyak — possibly "rabbit" or from the Polish "krul," meaning "king"
• Kundrat — from Polish, having to do with a person with a bad reputation
• Krupjak — probably from "krupy," meaning "barley"
• Kusnyirak — diminutive of tailor
• Lazarak — of Lazarus ¨ Lejava — unclear, but may have to do with the word "pour"
• Lessundak — to do with the forest or woods
• Lettman — unknown, but of German origin
• Lyach — from a region in Poland
• Mudrak — know-it-all
• Oprondek — from Polish "oprati," the reins for a horse
• Pavlicsak — of Paul
• Petrulyak — of Peter
• Polyak — Polish
• Remiasz — of Jeremiah
• Repchak — from "repa," meaning "beet"
• Romanyak — of Roman
• Rusnak — Rusyn
• Silon — strong, muscled man
• Skibjak — concerning a type of farming tool used for ploughing
• Smolenak — "pitch;" could be an occupational name, but there is speculation that it could have come from an expression which translates as "black as pitch;" perhaps an early ancestor was quite dark and swarthy.
• Stefanyak — of Stephan
• Szikora — a type of bird
• Talyascak — having to do with a cap worn by priests and other officials
• Tomascak — of Thomas
• Tuzsak — to be very tough, especially in the sense of resistant to diseases
• Vach — could have to do with the Vah River or "scales" or someone who is uncertain, not self-confident
• Vanescko — of Vanya
• Vascura — grim, not funny
• Voysicka — of Voytech
• Zavacki — could be "across the water" or "to quarrel all the time" or one who likes to mislead others

The following names have no known meaning:

• Barcak
• Brejczak
• Ducsak
• Duleba
• Fecsunda
• Homza
• Simsa
• Tibura
• Vaszicak

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