Anonymous wrote:

Hi,

 My family followed the traditional Rusyn naming order making for difficult research with common surnames. Yes, many Mihaly, Petro, Ivan, Vaszil , Nicholay and then the ladies Anna, Maria, Olena, Pohala,  But I found some first names that aren't familiar to me such as Jewka , Pal and Kuat. Anyone familiar with these names?

Sharon

Our regions were a mixing pot.   The names you cite I have often seen in the Glaicia (Poland) region.    Make sure you cite what year these names were given to the child.  Events at those times may have influenced.   

Also go back to the church records for these people and see if those names were common in the village as a whole, or if they were exceptions.   

There is a lot of history to unpeel here before you can draw a conclusion.  Did they migrate from another village?   Were they a majority or minority in the village?

Bill

Thank you for that possible explanation

My father's first name was Harry. Does anyone know what this name corresponds to with my  grandparents coming from small village in southeast Poland?  He was the first male son. His father's first name was Grzegorz and mother's father was Michal.

Hi Sharon,

Regarding other names, you listed:

Pohala - looks like typo of proper Polania = Polina, Pavla,

Jewka - is definitely Eva, or Ewa in PL. My grandma was called Evka (Yev-ka) in family and in village.

Kuat - that's a tough one. But could be Kwat (Kwiat like pronounced Kquiat) from PL = blossom. Close to Kvitka Cisyk first name, i guess

Yes, it looks like "Ochtina". I have never heard of this kind of a first name. Form: "Ochtinie" seems to be a Genetive case of "Ochtina" (pronunciation: okhtina).