The associated coat of arms for this name are recorded in J.B Rietstaps Armorial General. Illustrated by V & H.V Rolland's. This Monumental work took 23 years to complete and 85,000 coats of Arms are included in this work. This surname of ZAGORSKI is a Polish and East Ashkenazic Jewish topographic name of three-fold origin derived from the elements ZA (beyond) + GORA (hill). The name meant the dweller on the other side of the hill or mountain. It may also have applied to someone who came from a place named with the elements ZA + GORA. It was also a baptismal name meaning 'the son of Gregory', a derivative of Gregorein, meaning to be awake or watchful, but at an early date the Latin form GREGORIUS was associated by folk etymology with Grex, meaning flock or herd. This corresponded with the Christian image of the good shepherd, and several early bishops adopted this name as appropriate to their calling. The Greek name was borne in the early Christian centuries by two fathers of the orthodox church, St. Gregory Nazianzene (c.325-90) and St. Gregory of Nyssa (c.331-95). Another eminent member of the name was Saint Gregory (240-332) the 'Illuminator', said to have been of the royal Persian race of Arsacidae, who became patriarch of Armenia. The name has numerous variant spellings which include GORAL, GORNY, GORAK, HORA, HORAK, ZAGORNY, ZAGOROWSKI, ZAGORKSY, ZAGURKSY, ZAHORA, ZAGORAC, ZAGORSKY, ZAGORNY, ZAGURSKY, ZAHORA, ZAHORSKY and ZAGORAC. The earliest Polish surnames were patronymic. The personal names from which they were derived were mainly Slavonic, but as the Middle Ages progressed, traditional Slavic given names, began to give way to saint's names, mainly of Latin origin. Surnames derived from Slavonic personal names are of early origin, and tend to be borne by aristocratic families. Many Polish people acquired their surnames by reason of former residence in a town or village. Some names were changed by immigrants whilst on the boat heading for America and Australia. These transformations were usually to names thought by the immigrants to be more respected in their native land than the one he bore. Many Poles added 'ski' to their names to attain a higher social status since such names were accorded more respect from people of Polish extraction. Thus a larger proportion of Polish names carried this termination in America and Australia than in Poland. |
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