Gretzky (Belarusian: Грэцкі, Russian: Грецкий) is a Belarusian and Russian family name. In Poland the surname is Grecki. The name is best known in English speaking countries as the surname of Canada's most famous hockey player -

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

. His father

Walter Gretzky Walter Gretzky, (October 8, 1938 – March 4, 2021) was a Canadian philanthropist who was best known as the father of Canadian ice hockey icon Wayne Gretzky. An avid hockey player as a youth, and a keen analyst of the game, he built a backyar ...

reports that his own father, an immigrant to Canada, was of consciously Belarusian landowner stock.

Origin

The origin of the name is the Polish aristocratic surname Grecki, or specifically Grecki h. Prawdzic - Grecki of the

Prawdzic coat of arms Prawdzic (Prawdzik) - was historically a Polish Coat of Arms. It was used by the nobility clans and later szlachta families in the times of the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569) and Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. History Motto The mo ...

.Носители фамилии Грецкий (ая)
"История фамилии. Род ГРЕЦКИХ, если быть точнее Грецкие герба ПРАВДЗИЦ, с польского GRECKI h. PRAWDZIC. Род, утвержденный в шляхетстве Царства Польского.." The Russian form of name, following the Polish, is an old variant spelling of the Russian adjective for "Greek" - though in modern Russian this spelling of the adjective is mainly used for "Greek nut", meaning the

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of a drupe of any tree of the genus ''Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. Although culinarily considered a "nut" and used as such, it is not a true ...

(also in Belarusian; Грэцкі арэх, Greek nut, walnut). The Russian name is the name of two notable soldiers on the Eastern Front in World War II; Piotr Gretzky ( :ru:Грецкий, Пётр Петрович) (1904-1972) a Soviet army colonel, and Vladimir Gretzky ( :ru:Грецкий, Владимир Иванович) (1912-2000) a tank commander. Both were awarded

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

. In Poland the name is not common, but found for example with the pianist Maksymilian Grecki (1841-1870) and the rock guitarist :pl:Jacek Grecki (1977-).

People

Some English-speaking individuals with the surname include: *

(born 1961), a Canadian former professional ice hockey player *

(1938–2021), member of the Order of Canada, and father to Wayne *

Keith Gretzky Keith Edward Gretzky (born February 16, 1967) is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player who served as interim general manager of the Edmonton Oilers, from January 23 to May 7, 2019. He is a brother of ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. ...

(born 1967), former professional ice hockey player and brother to Wayne *

Brent Gretzky Brent Gretzky (born February 20, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, and the brother of Wayne and Keith Gretzky. He briefly played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Tampa Bay Lightning. Playing career Gretzky was ...

(born 1972), former professional ice hockey player and brother to Wayne * Janet Jones-Gretzky (born 1961), American actress and wife to Wayne *

Lisa Gretzky Lisa Gretzky (born January 19, 1971) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. She is a New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, who was elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. She represents the riding of Windsor West. Back ...

(born 1971), Canadian politician and cousin-in-law to Wayne

References

{{reflist Russian-language surnames Belarusian-language surnames