Typy motywacyjne nazwisk poznaniaków i ich funkcjonowanie w wybranych rejestrach podatkowych z XVII i XVIII wieku

Abstract

The paper examines the Poznan historical anthroponymy preserved in tax registers from the 17th and 18th century, collected in the Documents of the City of Poznan in the State Archives. The starting point in the description of the surnames is their interpretation based on cultural onomastics according to which the linguistic interpretation of surname forms is accompanied by the social and cultural context. The theses of the paper are based on the linguistic analysis of the onomastic material that has been used in the research process and which rendered it possible to distinguish three main motivational types of Poznan anthroponyms from the 17th and 18th century: surnames formed from appellatives (from old characterizing nicknames, from names of professions, posts and social functions) and surnames derived from proper names (from first names, local names, from ethnonyms). The model that appeared most frequently is an appellative-based surname formed from old nicknames. The second position in the Poznan anthroponymic system is occupied by a surname derived from the names of places. Also surnames formed from first names and appellatives followed this structural pattern due to the conviction of the social superiority of the adjectival model ending in -ski. The third group consists of surnames derived from first names whereas the anthroponyms formed from the ethnonyms and the heraldic names appear rather rarely. Despite the fact that the German language had a significant impact on the surnames of Poznan burghers, these surnames – as the examined anthroponymy shows – preserve, in the majority of cases, the Polish character. As a result of an accurate observation of the anthroponyms occurring in the period of over a hundred and fifty years it was possible to show how the selected motivational types functioned and changed in the examined municipal documents and what degree of stabilization they presented. The process of the formation of the anthroponymy of Poznan burghers shows, on the one hand, specific regional features, on the other hand however – especially with reference to originally Polish surnames – confirms the general regularities connected with the development of the Polish anthroponymy in the Middle Polish period.