What is "juraszczyk"

Juraszczyk ( Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Czech and Slovak transliteration: Juraščik; Eastern Cyrillic forms: Юрашчык, Юращик; Serbian Cyrillic and Macedonian transcript: Јурашчик) is a Polish surname of Yugoslav origin.

The last name itself is Polish, found almost exclusively among people of Polish descent, however its roots reach the territories of Serbia and Montenegro. It was derived from the name 'Juras' ( Croatian: 'Juraj', Romanian: 'Jura') which appeared mostly in Moravia, although in countries like Serbia, Croatia and Slovakia it was also met as 'Juraš' (that is Jurasz, or Jurash), what clearly indicates on its ancestry. It is a patronymic surname created from an old local dialect and comes from Greek 'Georgios', meaning 'George' (in Polish: 'Jerzy').

Many forms of the ‘Juraš’ surname, that is the main part of 'Juraszczyk', occur in many forms not only in Poland, Serbia, Croatia and Slovakia, but also for instance in Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and the former Soviet Union countries, like Ukraine or Moldova. Moreover, there are such Italian surnames as Gjuras, Giuras and Giurassi, which are believed to be cognate with the South Slavic ‘Juras’ and 'Đuras'.

The 'Juraszczyk' surname is closely related to Juraszewicz (Juraševič or Đurašević), which likewise has its deepest roots in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, mostly Serbia and Montenegro.