Bukowski

Recorded in a number of spellings including Bukac, Bukova and Bukovsky (Czech), Bukov (Bulgarian), Bukek, Buczek, Bukowski, Bukowiecki (Polish), Bukowsky, Buczko (Jewish) and others, this is a surname of topogrphical origins. It derives from the Polish and Slavic word 'buk' meaning a beech tree. Hence it was originally given either as a topgraphical name for somebody who lived by a prominent beech tree perhaps one used as a boundary marker, or to somebody who owned a beech wood or forest. Where the name is Jewish it was ornamental, and usually 18th century, and was one given to refugees fleeing Islamic persecution from areas under Turkish control or dominance. Ornamental surnames were widely adopted in for instance Scandanavia, Germany and Central Europe, because they were considered pleasantly descriptive at a time when more attention was being paid to the beauty of nature. The surviving church records of much of Central Europe following fifty years of war and Communist control are always poor and often non existent however we have been able to find some examples. These include Anna Bukova who married Josef Horak at Kladina, Pardubice, Czech Republic on June 21st 1757, and Catharina Bukowski, who was baptised at Tabor Weilki, Poland, on Septembver 21st 1770.