The Great Szczepański Surname Mystery

The following may be treated as a general guide to many other Polish surnames ending with -ski, not just this particular one.

Side Note: As you can see I’m striving to finally include some relevant content on my home website, so please bear with me. Thank you.

Table of Contents (×)

Meaning

First: the proper spelling

  • Szczepański is a Polish surname and is properly written with an acute accent over n (like here: ń).
  • Various disfigured versions exist, like Szczepanski or even Schepansky, but this is the only correct spelling.

Second: it’s an adjective

  • The -ski ending denotes an adjective in Polish (and in some other Slavonic languages too, thanks to the Polish influences).
  • Adjectives in Polish are inflected, so if you want a female surname, replace -ski with -ska. Otherwise, it sounds bizarre.
  • By the way, the same applies to -cki and -dzki, which emerge when -ski meets a stem ending in -t or -d respectively (from «tski» and «dski»).
  • Szczepańscy is Polish for «the Szczepańskis» but one wonders what you would need this word for. Anyway, I’ve already written it so it stays.

An intermission

  • Not all people in Poland are skiers. Other popular surname endings include -icz (of Lithuanian etymology) and -ak / -ek / -ik / -yk.
  • In fact the most popular Polish surname, Nowak is of Czech origin (from Novák meaning ‘new’).

Origin

Meet Szczepan

  • Szczepański is a possesive adjective formed from the given name Szczepan.
  • Szczepan itself is a Polish cognate of the name Stephen. However, the translation of Stephen rendered in contemporary Polish is Stefan. Szczepan is an older and a little outdated version that originated in the early middle ages, when there was no f-sound in Polish (yet).
  • Some other names had «forked» in Polish too. One example is Jędrzej and Andrzej (for Andrew).
  • Anyway, back to Szczepan/Stefan (or Stephen if you prefer), the name was popularized by an early Catholic deacon who was the first to receive the dubious honour of becoming a martyr — he was stoned to death and then named a saint (not by the same people obviously).

A biblical name? Not so fast!

  • The story does not end here though — the name is much older than its Christian propagator and comes from Greek Στέφανος, meaning «a crown».

Etymology

The possesive adjective sub-mystery

  • The question I cannot answer you though is how did it exactly happen that the name was turned into a surname. There are at least two equally founded competing hypotheses for this:
    • The surname could have been created from a father’s name.
    • A person could have been called directly after the saint.
  • Although we can probably agree that it doesn’t really make that much of a difference after a thousand years or so have passed anyway.
Dołęga Coat of Arms

Now for the self-aggrandizing part

  • Szczepański is a nobility surname and has its own coat of arms, called Dołęga (pictured right).
  • The word dołęga, meaning «potent», did not make it to modern Polish. Its word root is preserved only in the antonym niedołęga (meaning «impotent», as you may have already guessed).

Sub-factlets

  • There is a Szczepański Square in Kraków, named after a church (which was then moved to another location).
  • Some 30,000 people living in Poland bear the Szczepański surname, 1/10th of whom live in Warsaw (the capital).
  • Image courtesy of Herby.com.pl (herb is not «weed» in Polish, but rather «a coat of arms»).

Why I wrote this

  • Many people keep asking me this over e-mail. So here’s what I know.
  • Presently, the #1 Google search result for “szczepanski” is some «genealogy» ad website promoted using link farm spamdexing techniques and I feel this should change.

What do you think?

Gerald Cyza-Szczepanski — 2006–10–22, 13:00

As a member of the Szczepanski family, I thank you for your information. Best regards

Piotr P — 2006–10–25, 10:56

Great info, great site - I like your humor. In a way very interesting ;-)

Regards

just wondering — 2006–12–05, 00:03

any royalty left in poland?

Piotrek Szczepanski — 2007–01–26, 00:31

Great Stuff! Its always nice to learn somethıng about… umm… myself! :) And i really like the ‘potency’ part…. very self-aggrandizing indeed. You have done all the Szczepanskis a great service!

Piotrek from Melbourne, Australia (born in Warszawa)

SZCZEPRA@POCZTA.FM — 2007–02–16, 08:26

NIE ZNAM DOBRZ ANG. SĄ JESZCZE RODY SZCZEPAŃSKICH, KTÓRE PIECZĘTOWAŁY(-UJĄ) SIĘ HERBEM POMIAN,SZCZEPAŃSKI ODM.II, ORAZ JASTRZĘBIEC- Z KTÓRYCH TO WYWODZI SIĘ GAŁĄŻ DOŁĘGÓW. POZA TYM NAZWISKA TEGO UŻYWALI RÓWNIEŻ MIESZCZANIE I CHŁOPI(MOŻE ZDEGRADOWANA SZLACHTA). CO MYŚLI PAN O STWORZENIU OSOBNEJ STRONY, DWUJĘZYCZNEJ, KTÓRA PREZENTOWAŁA BY RÓŻNE WIADOMOŚCI DOT. HISTORII SZCZEPAŃSKICH. NP. PREZENTACJA DRZEW GENEALOGICZNYCH, ZDJĘĆ …POSIADAM SPORO MATERIAŁÓW, KTÓRE MOGĘ PANU DOSTARCZYĆ.

daniel szczepanski — 2007–05–29, 14:43

Hello my frinds. I´m from germany. You can help me, find my family from poland. Please m@il me child-of-metal@arcor.de

Rick O’Brien — 2007–06–01, 11:23

Hi there. My Name is Rick O’Brien. My birth name is Szczepanski.My dad was born in a german prison camp to Polish parents. I was adopted after he passed away…The family moved to Australia where I was born. I am trying to trace my Polish heritage,Any help would be appreciated. My email is rickob5150@hotmail.com

Rick O’Brien/Szczepanski — 2007–06–02, 09:27

Hello again, I just met with my fathers brother,(who I havent seen in 20 odd years) and a cousin (who I havent seen in about 35 years) today,turns out that my cousin is doing research as well. She has info from the Polish Red Cross that even traces back to the address in Krakow of where he lived. He wasnt born in german prison camp but was interned there with his family. He was born in Krakow. I also found out that my Grandfather was a prisoner in Auschwitz. I learnt for the first time of the struggles my family endured..as well as the Polish people during that time.I say god bless to them..you know what I mean.I am so excited and proud of what I have learnt today that words cant express it. I wish everyne all the best in life. xo Rick

Charles Michael Szczepanski — 2007–07–06, 11:06

Thank you for putting this together.

I am looking to reconnect with my family in Poland, as my Grandfather Miechyslaw Szczepanski passed away after living in the US only 5 years in 1975. I have 5 sons, and my sixth on the way. We as a family enjoyed reading about our name, and take great pride in it.

Again thank you for doing this and I hope more of us can reconnect to Europe from abroad through this portal.

R.S — 2007–09–06, 20:25

Hi all dea…r relatives? Im Rafael Szczepanski, 33, from Argentina. My father Edmund Richard came after WW2 and we lost all track of what the family was. He was born in Poznan, 1921. Great site Piotr. For any contacts, mail to rafaelszczepanski@hotmail.com.

Neil Szczepanski — 2007–09–25, 18:02

Hey great information on the name. My name is missing the accent over the “N”. I’ll have to put that back. My grandfather was from Poland (who is now passed away).

Anna Domik — 2007–11–03, 23:39

Hello, my name is Anna and I want to thank you for this wonderful information. My father’s name was Szczepan Domik and to gether with my mom who is italian imigrated to Argentina after WWII where I was born, then we came to USA but we were never able to find my polish roots . My father was born and lived in Lwow until the age of 12. Can anyone help me with this?

Michael Szczepanski — 2007–11–29, 01:06

I love this! Thanks!

I’m missing the accent myself.

S.S — 2007–12–01, 00:49

Hello everybody, I´m Sebastian Szczepañski from Argentina, 19, my grandfather came here after WW2. I would like to know about his family. he was born in Poznan, 1921. my e-mail polacoush@hotmail.com Thanks Saludos Rafael!

J J Stepanski — 2008–01–03, 06:43

Yo, my name is Jason Stepanski, 25 yrs old, Detroit Michigan (Hamtramck, recognize). My mothers family tree work has traced our old country name from Ellis Island to “Szczepanski”. Loved the information. How positive of that Coat of Arms representing the Szczepanski name are you? because I’m about to get it inked onto my skin if I can confirm it from some reliable sources. My e-mail is “uos_spo6@yahoo.com” (for an interesting side note, that spells “gods son” if you read it upside down) One love, na zdrowie

Charles M. Szczepanski — 2008–01–24, 00:21

….I am working on a true vector version of the coat of arms if you can wait. I can send it to Piotr or yourself. He does have it right, Dolega is the root and this is the corresponding coat of arms. Once I saw it i started working on a vector version so it can be re-sized without any blurriness. My email is charles@investgreenville.com if you would me to email it to you, it should be finished this week.

Best regards,

Mcclemmy — 2008–02–04, 21:49

Allo!

My grandparents are pure polish and austrian on my mom’s side. They have this name too! THEIR grandparents had it as well in the 1800′s when they first came to American while the fight for rule over Poland was held between Germany and Austria!

It’s cool, And here I thought I was the only person (well family) with the name in it….oh well, guess not.

Gosia — 2008–02–08, 20:14

Hello!

My name is Malgorzata Szczepanska and i’m loocking for family of my grandfathers Marek Szczepanski. He was born in Kowalewo in Poland and he have 4 brother and one sister. They emigrated to the U.S.A. about 1910- 1920. His parents name Jozef and Anastazja. If you have some information about it please write gonia.s@hotmail.com

Gosia — 2008–02–08, 20:16

My grandfather Marek Szczepanski born 1899.

Piotr Szczepański — 2008–02–11, 00:00

It’s nice to see people from all around the world gather here. While I’m afraid that due to time constraints I can’t assist any of you individually with searching for relatives, if you have something more to add on the subject matter and would like me to publish it or add it as an attachment, there’s a plenty of room here — please mail me to discuss the details. I can also set up a message board if there is demand, but I wouldn’t like to be the one in charge of moderating it. :) Anyone willing to help?

Amy Szczepanski-Raleigh, NC — 2008–03–04, 20:00

Thanks so much for the wonderful information about my last name! I had no idea there were so many of us, all over the world! Hello everyone from Raleigh, NC!! My great grandfather/mother went to SE Ohio from Poland and settled. Though I don’t know a lot about their history aside from that. One day, I will find out more and let you know!

Mark — 2008–03–12, 02:16

Cool! My mom has given me a ring which was passed down to me from generations with this same symbol. But my last name is not Szcezepanski

I could have been royalty 900 years ago!

Barbara Dunleavy Nottingham England — 2008–03–12, 21:37

thank you so much for the fascinating information. I am Barbara Szczepanski, sorry I don’t have an accent on my keypad, my father was Tadeusz Szczepanski and originally came from Holatyn a village in Wolyn, Poland. His father was Ludwik Szczepanski and his mother was Maria Manasterska. My father was born in 1918. Does anyone out there have any connection to me. I have been wondering for years if I could find my routes and my family background. thank you.

piter — 2008–03–23, 12:19

Hi my grandfather’s grandfather was friedrich (Ernest) Szczepański he was barn in 13.03 1874 in Wilnau . If anyone out there have any connection to me this is my e mail troszekx@wp.pl . thank you

Piotr Szczepanski 3–27–08 Hopkins Michigan — 2008–03–27, 19:16

It is great to see so many Szczepanski’s in one place. I’m American and I live in Hopkins, Michigan. I’m in 9th grade and the only Szczepanski’s I ever new were my Grandparents and Relatives (all American). This is a great site on the names origin. thankyou Piotr Szczepanski

Michael Szczepanski — 2008–04–05, 08:46

I live in Chico California and have been representing polish power for many years. People of polish descent have great spirit and resiliency. I am proud to be a Szczepanski and be part of a fascinating history with such captivating tales of heroism and iron will.

Ernest Szczepanski — 2008–05–21, 20:21

This is great information on the family name. I am always interested in reading about it. I do have a question about the Dołęga Coat of Arms. You say, “Szczepański is a nobility surname and has its own coat of arms, called Dołęga.” Wikipedia says that the Dołęga Coat of Arms is used by approximately 300 Polish surnames. I have also found a couple Szczepanski coat of arms depicting an upright horseshoe and another showing a tree. Do you know the validity of these variations?

Stanley Spanski (grandson) — 2008–06–22, 05:24

Granddad went from the Warren/Argyle area of Minnesota to Van Zant Wa. in the early 20′s. No one could pronounce or spell the name so Granddad (Theodor) changed it to Spanski. Passed away in 1965 at 75.

Piotr Szczepanski-London ## — 2008–07–19, 13:26

Great info I was always wondering if there is any coat of arms for my family name, could it be there are few different coaots of arms for different Szczepanki ?

Dok Tael Stevens — 2008–08–02, 19:35

My father changed his last name from Szczepanski to Stevens. He grew up in Detroit, MI, the son of Joseph Alyosius Szczepanski and Elizabeth Rose Buzza. Joseph’s father was Ignatius Adema Szczepanski, his mother was Rosalia Trawicka, and it gets pretty hazy before that, but I think Ignatius’ father was Frank Szczepanski and his mother’s name was Zofia. He had siblings, Wladyslawa and Leokadja. It’s great to see so much information about the Szczepanski name, but also disheartening - it seems to be as popular as “Smith” in America, so I guess I won’t have much luck tracing my roots any further back. But if any of this is ringing a bell with anyone, please e-mail me at dalkrvor@aol.com. Thanks for putting this together, Piotr!

Dean Szczepanski — 2008–08–21, 00:08

My grandfather,Franchiszek Szczepanski was born in Plock [the “l” has a slash through it], Poland in 1887. He immirgrated to Philadelphia about 1910 and married Josefa Trazaska, also from Poland. His father was probably Michael Szczepanski [spelling probably angicized] and mother Josephine [probably Josefa again] Szczepanski. They may have been cousins. As he was the only known U.S. immigrant, and my father was his only son, I assume my family is probably not very directly related to any other Szczepanskis in the States. Thank you for the interesting information!

Szczepanski sisters — 2008–08–27, 22:11

This site has been so helpful to my sisters and I’s search of our families history! Thank you so much.

-Chrissy and Heather Szczepanski (U.S.A.)

Srivandana Szepanski — 2008–10–10, 19:50

My family left Poland in around 1870 to work as miners in the Ruhr area of Germany and there they have remained. The name has been shortened to Szepanski. My father was captured by the British and was a prisoner of war in England where I was born. My mother l,ost contact with the German Szepanskis however we were reunited 3 years ago through the Szczepanski family website run by Alfons Szczepanski, his email diszcz@aol.com. Alfons has masses of information and family trees involving people in the US, UK and Germany. Interesting about the name, i had no idea!

Alfons D. Szczepanski — 2008–10–25, 14:16

Thank you, dear Srivandana. The helpful website is Szczepanski Familienarchiv Delmenhorst http://members.aol.com/diszcz1/Szczepanski.html

Thanks for putting this together, Piotr!

Kaethe Szczepanski — 2008–10–25, 14:36

Here the new email of the Szczepanski Familienarchiv Delmenhorst diszcz1@aol.com

Sebastian S. — 2008–11–04, 03:22

Hi everyone, Sebastian Szczepanski here currently living in Seattle but spent most of my U.S. life living in the Chicago region. Migrated here with mom in 1988 from Poland. My father, Ignacy passed away in 1990… Just curious if anyone here might be related…we’ve lost touch with my dad’s side of the family. casperski@hotmail.com

Patricia Sczepanski (maiden name) — 2008–11–12, 22:11

Hello everyone. My great-great grandfather was Antoni Szczepanski. He and his wife, Marianna (Banicka) were born in Debnica, Poland. I am not sure when he and his wife immigrated the the United States. The first ‘z’ was dropped from the name after my great-grandfather, Lawrence Szczepanski (along with his wife) immigrated to the United States in 1883, changing the spelling to Sczepanski.

I am currently living in California, but am from Michigan where most of my relatives still live. Two of my aunts put together a book/family tree, which includes a photograph of the family crest. It looks similar to, but not the same as the one posted here. If you would like a scanned copy, you can contact me at: trisha.com@gmail.com

I love the information on this site, and appreciate it very much.

Crystal Szczepanski — 2009–01–13, 14:44

Wow! It is great to see so many Szczepanski’s in one place. I’m American and live in Madison Heights Michigan, I’m a 9th grader. I though I was the only Szczepanski in Michigan. I was way wrong. It is great to learn some thing about me! Thank you

Alfons D. Szczepanski — 2009–02–06, 23:16

Hello Piotr, the website of the Szczepanski Familienarchiv Delmenhorst has moved to http://szczepanski-archiv.piranho.de

E SKI — 2009–05–17, 01:09

My fathers aunts have been tracing our family tree and I just recieved a copy of what they have so far. My last name is Sczepanski now but as of this posting they have traced us back to my great-great-great-great grandfather Antoni Szczepanski born in the 1840′s from Debnica, Poland. I am so interested in my past and this seems to be an interesting site to read through.

Charles M. Szczepanski — 2009–06–02, 01:36

Hello Szczepanski’s……

I have more info on my grandfather…

Mieczeslaw Szczepanski (with the accent)

Born 1905 in LWOW….. served in the Polish Army and was taken as a P.W. and spent time in concentration camps.

Please email if you can help or know of anyone else from this area…..

Also Piotr I would be glad to help moderate a forum… I have some quality experience and would love to offer any assistance needed…..

Best regards…

Charles M. Szczepanski charles@investgreenville.com

Dianka, Australia — 2009–06–14, 06:45

Hi,just discovered this link. My name is Dianka Szczepanski (maiden name) and I am the Australian part of this big family. My father was Kazimierz Szczepanski b. Emilianow (near Radzymin) Poland 1916. Some of his brothers went missing in WW2 and I wonder if any landed in the US ?

Mark Sepanski — 2009–06–28, 20:25

Thank you for your educating words!!! I also heard Ski means “Son Of” or “From”. I also found a village of Szczepan in North East Poland, near the Belarus boarder. Is it possible that Szczepanski (my name) could also mean from village of Szczepan?

Amy Szczepanski - Cleveland Ohio — 2009–07–26, 04:52

Hello ~ I thought it would be fun to do a search on Facebook of Szczepanski’s…..I was shocked to find this site and find out that there are so many of us :) My great granparents came to Northeast Ohio in 1910..give or take a few years. I am excited to go speak with my granfather and find out more……maybe one of you is a cousin :)

appaloneya szczepanski — 2009–08–14, 04:02

Wow! I had no clue i had this much family linked all over the world my name is appaloneya szczepanski which means polish princess. I was raised witha very strong polish upbringing! If anyone would like to contact me my e mail is supablondie123@aol.com and type my name in on myspace i would love a friend request i can introduce u to alot of szczepanski family!!!

CHARLY SZCZEPANSKI — 2009–08–19, 13:54

Hello ! My name is Charly SZCZEPANSKI. I live in FRANCE (Rochefort, Charente Maritime). My father was born in SZLARSKA POREBA. Nice to see all the SZCZEPANSKI ^^ Bons baisers de France

Paul Szczepanski — 2009–09–06, 08:17

Hello, Family! (Czesc, rodzina!) My name is Paul Szczepanski and I live in New York City. Our mutual cousin - Alfons Szczepanski - who continues the great work of his father in maintaining the Szczepanski Family Archive in Germany (there is a branch of the family there, too) was a HUGE help to me in researching my geneology. (Hi Alfons!) My grandfather, Fransiczek Szczepanski, was born in Nowa Wies (near Rypin), Poland in 1896 and came to the US in 1910. I was finally able to reconnect with my family there in 2001 - to date - over 60 living cousins! Don’t give up the search! Information may come in bits and pieces and it may take decades, but utilize the web and great sites like this. You never know when the next piece of useful information will come from. Thanks for the great site, Piotr!

Jacek Szczepański Polska Prudnik — 2009–09–26, 06:35

Tkank you for the interesting information about Szczepańskich family. My family’s roots are from Trembowla. It was Poland back , before War World II. Expulsion after War World II ,reside around the World. Szczepańskich family from Trembowla emigrated to USA. My family’s roots counted 500 people.If you have some connection with family from Trembowla ,please give me any informetion. szczepanskijacek@interia,pl

Steven Lewis — 2009–10–02, 05:13

I had a very good friend in Sydney Australia called Dianka Szczepanski

slewis@slatergordon.com.au

Jonathan P. Szczepanski — 2009–10–02, 20:34

I am from Baltimore, Maryland, USA. My father Philip F. Szczepanski was born there too. I don’t know where my grandfather, Francis V. Szczepanski was born. I would love to connect with any other Szczepanskis in the Baltimore/D.C. area. I heard about Szczepanski Plac in Krakow, and I was able to take my family and mother there this Summer. It was beautiful… at least Krakow was. Szczepanski Plac was still under construction.

Phillip E. szczepanski — 2009–10–02, 21:12

Ive been looking for stuff about my last name for a while now and this is the best site so far!!! and when i was looking around on the net before and i found out that my last name transl;ated ment crown son of i had a feeling that it was a name of nobility

Frederick Szczepanski — 2009–10–23, 12:11

Thanks for all of the great information. Lots of useful stuff, and I agree with you regarding the top links on search engines. It’s sad.

alby dyminski — 2009–11–18, 10:42

alby dyminski from australia. Our coat of arms is very similar,derived from Dolega clan.

Ksaveras Lewandowski — 2010–01–06, 11:08

You are not the only ones to bear this Dolega coat of arms. I am Ksaveras Lewandowski leaving actually in France and have inherited of my parents’silver generations old with Dolega blazon “herbu”. Regards,

Cory James Szczepanski — 2010–01–22, 22:00

Thank you so very much !! I am going to tattoo our coat of arms some day,I will send you the pictures I live in Manitoba Canada and am very proud to be a Szczepanski

Sharon A. Szczepanski-Hutchinson — 2010–01–23, 14:18

Great website! I knew my ancestors were royalty and also fought bravely as knights. It must be in our genes as my father accomplished two missions (he volunteered!) during WWII with the French Underground where they’re chances of survival were slim to none.

I was born in Trenton and now live in the Vineland area. We all should rightly be proud of our heritage!

Piers J Szczepanski and proud — 2010–02–22, 21:22

Thankyou for this, it has been most helpful, Living as a Szczepanski in rural england where there is such racial insensitivity, this has been a shining outpost, was especially in favour of the self aggrandising segment, aptly titled, and has turned more than a few eyebrows, again, kind regards

Charles M. Szczepanski Dover, Delaware USA — 2010–03–27, 22:08

Hello again… …back for another visit! i have an update on my Grandfather, he was in Villingen at the end of the war. I have a letter in Polish that I believe is permission for my Grandmother to leave with him from Germany. I also have his original card with his hand written #15899 on it with the Nazi stamp. If anyone can help please look me up on facebook.

Best Regards All Szczepanski’s

Edmund sczepanski( szczepanski)Merritt island florida usa — 2010–05–12, 00:41

My grandpa lived in the stephen argyal area of minnesota. William szczepanski. He dropped the first z , because he said the swedes couldnt pronounce it correctly, and made banking harder. I dont know why. He was born in mn in 1899. Had a huge farm in the stephen mn area. As i under stand it most szczepanskis are related. He had brothers . Wish we could have a huge reunion. By the way, the coat of arms are correct. Been hanging on our walls since i can remember. My grandfather told me all of us are related one way or another. Proud to be polish!!!!

Thank you for your feedback

  • For the benefit of future readers, mistake reports will be merged back to the article. If you want them to be attributed to you, please leave your name or moniker. You can also leave a link..
  • Spam is not welcome and will be taken care of. The automatic protection is likely avoidable but all remaining spam will be immediately removed manually, so don’t bother.
  • External links will show up only after they have been approved. This is another reason not to spam here.