Surname Bernatowicz

The surname Bernatowicz can have two different origins. The first of these dates back to the Middle Ages and results from the process of the evolution of Polish names. Originally, the endings - icz or - owicz in the surnames were - ic, - owic and determined the origin from the father. So the medieval surname Bernatowic meant son of Bernat. The phonetic change in the sound of these increases was influenced by the Ukrainian language. At least three noble Bernatowicz families have been recorded since 1500. In medieval documents you can find: Biernatowicz in 1376, Biernartowic in 1189 and Biernat in 1365. What is the origin of the name Bernat? In the Middle Ages, many names were adopted under the influence of the Czech language: Jerzy, Katarzyna or names of the apostles. The name Bernat is probably the hardly pronounced Biernat or Bernard - name of Germanic origin. Bern means bear, while hard is strong.

Another possible theory of the origin of the surname assumes that some Bernatowicz families may come from Armenian settlers who had settled since the early Middle Ages in the cities of eastern Poland. Armenians, being polonized, also polonized their names by adding Polish name-forming suffixes, especially -owicz. That is why in the seventeenth century Lviv we meet Armenian merchants with the name Bernatowicz.

If we want to trace the name's history, we will learn from most sources that it is a coat of arms of given nobility, meaning that it was given by the ruler to persons who did not have a noble title before. Usually for merit.

However, the representatives of the Bernatowicz family that we will meet in this book are not noble. They are Podlasie peasants. So why do they have a noble name? The most probable hypothesis is that their ancestors were impoverished nobles who came from Lithuania and Russia, who lost their privileges and ennoblement.

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