Comments on: Surname Saturday – Early Latvian Surnames

By: Warren Hellwig

Warren Hellwig — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:04:42 +0000

Dear Antra,
I have not had any luck tracing my HELLWIG family from Latvia so far. My Great Grandfather was known as Edward HELLWIG who was married to a Julia (nee Saunders)and my grandfather was known as Charles(Karl) or Theodor who was born in March 1871. Any assistance would be most appreciated.
Thank you for your attention to this matter
Warren Hellwig

By: Antra

Antra — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 03:01:03 +0000

Prof. N. Heller Pellnat,

If the name was a Germanized form of Pelnaitis, it would likely be Lithuanian. Latvian doesn’t often have -aitis name endings.

However, since Elblag is a bit of a distance from Latvia and Lithuania, I speculate that the name could have Old Prussian roots – the Old Prussians were a Baltic ethnic group related to Latvians and Lithuanians that lived in what is now Kaliningrad and northern Poland, including the area around Elblag. There are numerous Polish names that appear to have Baltic roots, and since numerous Prussian toponyms were preserved into the modern age in what is now Poland, it would not surprise me if Prussian personal names were likewise preserved.

Best of luck with your research!

By: nadine heller pellnat

nadine heller pellnat — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 00:30:57 +0000

My husband’s surname is Pellnat, and his grandfather came to the US. from Elblag, Poland. However, while researching his name I was told it is likely a Germanized form of Pelnaitis (son of Pelnis) and possibly Latvian or Lithuanian. I am not having much luck in tracing the name Pellnat or Pelnaitis. Any ideas?
Sincerely, Prof. N. Heller Pellnat

By: Antra

Antra — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:08:29 +0000

Hi Lisa, My blog post Getting Started with Latvian Research should give you the introductory information you need to get started.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:56:34 +0000

Hi,

I’m trying to find my fathers family who lived in Latvia, they were seperated during WW2 and have never seen each other since. Last name of Fridenbergs- where does one begin?

By: Antra

Antra — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:34:35 +0000

Hi Ingrid,

Sanders does not sound Latvian in origin, but it is a name I’ve seen in parish registers. The name itself is most likely German in origin, but this does not necessarily mean the people with the name were of German origin. When the time to choose surnames came, many ethnic Latvians chose or were given German or Polish surnames.

By: Ingrid Hickman

Ingrid Hickman — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 16:24:56 +0000

Hi again Antra
You helped me a few months ago regarding my mother’s side of the family tree, well now I have an interesting scenario from my father’s side of the family. When he visited Latvia for the first time since leaving after WW2, in 1995, he brought back a copy of his family tree which I finally located a few weeks ago after much searching, whilst clearing out my parents’ house (mum passed away in May). His mother was Emilija Ozolina prior to marriage (to Pauls Sels) and HER mother was Marija SANDERS (1868 – 1947,she married Andrejs Ozolins 1868 – 1934). To me SANDERS is NOT a Latvian name,so I am wondering if you might have any idea where it originated from or where I could find out. I am intrigued as I want to continue going back further of course!!
Hope you can help!
Regards
Ingrid Hickman

By: Antra

Antra — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 16:55:18 +0000

LE,

Hmm, Plaiske sounds vaguely Germanic in name origin to me, but since he left in 1906 it could also be an old spelling of a Latvian origin name. Do you know where he lived? I don’t think Platkājis is the name you’re looking for though – missing a few key letters that couldn’t be attributed to different spellings.

By: LE

LE — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 02:23:22 +0000

Platkājis was kind of like Plaiske (my grandfather’s name). He came over in 1906 to America and I can’t find Latvian surname that seems to fit. THoughts?

THe website is very interesting and encouraging for me. Thank you.