Hello, I would like to know what are the variations (other ways to spell) on this surname? I believe it is a common name. I am trying to find out more bout my great grandfather who was known in the USA as "Frank Reikowski". He was born 1851 in "Marienberg, West Prussia" and arrived in the USA in 1870.
Clare Anatolios
clare.anatolios@gmail.com
Clare,
In my experience Polish names usually show very little variation in Poland,
but can appear as almost anything in places like USA. For example the
Polish spelling Holcman shows up in the phonetic/German spelling Holzmann
or Holzman quite commonly, but I recently tracked down the spelling OLSMAN.
Historically your name may have been spelt Rejkowski.
Names ending in ~ski have the added complication of the Polish female
version ~ska, and then of course ~sky and ~ofski ~ovski etc. You may need
to be creative. Likewise with the other surname you asked about. The
answer is just a tiny bit more complicated than for 'how long is a piece of
string?'.
Bronwyn.
Hi Clare,
my great-grandfather was also born in Marienburg/ West Prussia, in the same year 
If your great-grandfather was a protestant, the church books are available at the EZAB in Berlin.
They also do researches, so you don´t have to come to Berlin to check the church books yourself.
If he was catholic, I don´t know whether these church books still exist.
Best regards, Tina