Help:Name Fields for Czech Names
Categories: Name Field Guidelines
Here are guidelines for using the name fields on Czech Roots profiles. These assume you are familiar with WikiTree's basic rules on Name Fields. It is very important to understand all these guidelines and rules before doing any significant editing.
Please join the project and ask any questions you may have there before making significant edits to these profiles. If you're unsure, ask the group by posting a question on the G2G forum (be sure to tag it with Czech_Roots).
See G2G for the original discussion.
Contents |
Middle Name
Few Czech people have a middle name, so this tends to be blank. However, this may be used for a saint if the person was named after a Saint, this is not the LNAB.
Last Name at Birth
- Females should use the correct naming conventions. This is the name they were given at birth (see below). Czech females will have a birth surname with -ová at the end of their surname (see exceptions). German females will have a birth surname with -in at the end of their surname (see exceptions). This is not to be confused with the Latin -in.
- Use –ová (Czech) or –in (German) for all names regardless of time period or what's written in the parish record (see exceptions).
- Use no Latin names even if the records were written in Latin (using –in.) This is not to be confused with German ending -in.
- Don't use the following as part of the surname. This isn't correct use of the LNAB field. These are describing words about the person:
- "recte" or "vlastně" = correctly or in fact
- "vulgo" and "vel" = alias or aka (also known as)
- "neb" or "nebo" = or
- "nini" or "nyní" = now or currently
Current Last Name
Czech Females should use the correct naming conventions. The last name at death is the name used here (see below).
Other Last Names
This should include alternate last names and last name variations, separated by commas. Prior married names for women occur here. This is not the place for titles (those go in the Nickname field). ‘’Name changes after immigration’’ would go here.
Gender in Czech Naming Practices and Example Usage
Czech surnames are affected by gender. For example, a woman's surname must have a feminine ending. Although all surnames are nouns, they come from various parts of speech; adjectives and nouns. Surname endings vary according to the type of surname, i.e. whether from a noun or adjective, and the gender of the person.
Most common change is simply adding -ová to the end of male form of the surname. This is used in case when the surname ends with a consonant.
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Novák | Nováková |
| Dvořák | Dvořáková |
| Peták | Petáková |
| Famfulík | Famfulíková |
| Bartoš | Bartošová |
| Haneš | Hanešová |
| Havlík | Havlíková |
| Krt | Krková |
| Novák | Nováková |
Ending with an -a, -e, or -o drop the final letter before adding the -ová. (vowel that doesn't have an accent mark).
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Kučera | Kučerová |
| Homolka | Homolková |
| Housle | Houslová |
| Mičko | Mičková |
Ends with -ek, -e is eliminated and -ová is added.
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Bukácek | Bukácková |
Ends with an -ě are quite uncommon. These usually simply drop the -ě before adding the -ová. Some however keep the -ě and add a -t- before adding the -ová.
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Bechyně | Bechyňová |
| Ditě | Ditětová |
| Hrabě | Hrabětová |
| Vlčiště | Vlčišťová |
Ending in -ec or -ek (or rarely -ev or -el) drop the -e- before adding the -ová.
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Broškev | Broškvová |
| Bukácek | Bukácková |
| Horáček | Horáčková |
| Šálek | Šálková |
Ending with -ĕk or -ĕc (Not the same as above as there are marks over the e) may or may not drop the -ĕ-.
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Danĕk | Daňková or Danĕková |
| Bartonĕc | Bartoňcová or Bartonĕcová |
German and Hungarian names are subjected to the -ová ending.
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Wagner | Wagnerová |
| Nagy | Nagyová |
Exceptions to the Rules
-ová Exceptions
Surnames of foreign origin not declined, Olga Walló, Blanka Matragi.
Surnames ending in i or u No Change
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Krejčí | Krejčí |
| Jirků | Jirků |
Ends in -ý drop the final letter before adding -a.
| Male | Female |
|---|---|
| Černý | Černá |
| Krátký | Krátká |
| Novák | Nováková |
| Novotný | Novotná |
| Palacký | Palacká |
| Veselý | Veselá |
| Palacký | Palacká |
Surnames of Foreign Origin
Czech surnames also include the surnames of foreign origin. A common German surname is MUELLER or MILLER. Czech people adopted German names by mixed intermarriages or when settled in German speaking region. These are mainly the surnames, describing their origin (PRAGER, POLITZER) or simply BOEHM (Czech). Some German names appeared in a prevailing Czech milieu with German administrations, clergy or landlords. Former NOVAK was simply translated to NEUMANN and later again Czechinized to NAJMAN. SEDLAK thus became BAUER and later BAJER, KOVAR was changed to SCHMIED and later to SMID. Besides the German influence also another nationalities contributed to the surname creation in Bohemia and Moravia. VLACH (Italian) became later a synonymum for any mason. Original Italian names are preserved in Czech artist families CHITTUSI and STRETTI. A few French family names as LE BREUX, ROHAN, BUTEAU. Their ancestors came here mostly after the French Revolution or as soldiers with the Napoleonic Army in the beginning of the 19th century. Polish and some Hungarian are some common names. Difference between Czech and Slovak names is not notable in all cases.
Common Surnames
| Surname | Meaning |
|---|---|
| NOVAK | from the Adj. new. A newly settled neighbor, a newcomer, a newman |
| NOVOTNY | the same explanation as NOVAK |
| SVOBODA | a freeman, freeowner, yeoman |
| DVORAK | a man from a yard, same meaning as SVOBODA, more common in Moravia |
| CERNY | a dark hair man, a dark skin man |
| VESELY | Adv. cheerish, cheerful |
| PROCHAZKA | who came back from the Wander |
| POKORNY | rom Adj. a humble, tame |
| KUCERA | Adj. curly |
| JELINEK | a stag, deer |
| HAJEK | bush, forest |
| RUZICKA | a little rose |
| ZEMAN | esquire, a member of lowest nobility with the coat of arms |
| FIALA | viola |
| KRAL | from the noun king |
| BENES | from a first name Benedikt (Benedict) |
This page was last modified 21:16, 28 July 2023. This page has been accessed 4,100 times.