Wojciech () is a Polish name, equivalent to Czech Vojtěch , Slovak Vojtech, and German Woitke. The name is formed from two components in archaic Polish: * ''wój'' (Slavic: ''voj''), a root pertaining to war. It also forms words like ''wojownik'' ("warrior") and ''wojna'' ("war"). * ''ciech'' (from an earlier form, ''tech''), meaning "joy". The resulting combination means "he who enjoys war" or "joyous warrior". Its Polish

diminutive A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...

forms include ''Wojtek'' , ''Wojtuś'' , ''Wojtas'', ''Wojcio'', ''Wojteczek'', ''Wojcieszek'', ''Wojtaszka'', ''Wojtaszek'', ''Wojan'' (noted already in 1136), ''Wojko'', and variants noted as early as 1400, including ''Woytko'', ''Woythko'', and ''Voytko''. The feminine form is Wojciecha (). Related names in

South Slavic languages The South Slavic languages are one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches (West and East) ...

include ''Vojko'', ''Vojislav'', and ''Vojteh''. The name has been rendered into German in several different variations, including: ''Woitke'', ''Witke'', ''Voitke'', ''Voytke'', ''Woytke'', ''Vogtke'', ''Woytegk'', ''Woytek'', ''Wogtke'', ''Woetke'', ''Wötke'', and ''Wotke''. It appears as '' Woyzeck'' in the play of that name by Georg Büchner. A variant form is '' Wozzeck'', the result of confusion due to the similarity of the letters and in

Sütterlin (, " script") is the last widely used form of , the historical form of German handwriting that evolved alongside German blackletter (most notably ') typefaces. Graphic artist Ludwig Sütterlin was commissioned by the Prussian Ministry of Scien ...

handwriting; this form is used as the name of the opera by

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

, based on Büchner's play. The Germanic name

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...

is sometimes associated with Wojciech, or Vojtech, but the two names are not linguistically related. Their components and meanings are completely different, but the names may have become associated as a result of the 10th-century St. Adalbert of Prague (born Vojtěch Slavník) having taken the name Adalbert at his

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. For adults, it is an affirmation of belief. It involves laying on ...

. The name day for individuals named Wojciech is 23 April.

People and characters with the given name Wojciech

* Saint Adalbert of Prague (Czech: ''svatý Vojtěch''; Polish: ''Św. Wojciech''), the first recorded user of this name * Wojciech Bogusławski, a Polish actor, theatre director, and writer of dramas * Wojciech Bobowski, an Ottoman musician, dragoman, and an intellectual of Polish descent. * Wojciech Buliński, Polish architect and professor * Wojciech Fibak, Polish tennis player * Wojciech Frykowski, Polish actor, murdered in the US in 1969 * Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish political and military leader, prime minister, head of the Polish Council of State, President and de facto dictator of Poland 1981–89 * Wojciech Kamiński, Polish basketball coach * Wojciech Kasperski, Polish film director * Wojciech Kilar, Polish composer, known especially for his film music to ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

'' *

Wojciech Kondratowicz Wojciech Kondratowicz (born 18 April 1980) is a male hammer thrower from Poland. He set his personal best (81.35 metres) on 13 July 2003 in Bydgoszcz Bydgoszcz ( , , ; german: Bromberg) is a city in northern Poland, straddling the meeting of ...

, Polish hammer thrower *

Wojciech Korfanty Wojciech Korfanty (; born Adalbert Korfanty; 20 April 1873 – 17 August 1939) was a Polish activist, journalist and politician, who served as a member of the German parliaments, the Reichstag and the Prussian Landtag, and later, in the Polish ' ...

, a Polish activist, journalist, politician, and a leader of the Silesian uprisings * Wojciech Kossak, Polish

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

* Wojciech Olejniczak, Polish politician * Wojciech Pszoniak, Polish actor * Wojciech Samotij, Polish mathematician *

Wojciech Stuchlik Wojciech Stuchlik (born November 12, 1984) is a Polish tennis player and film producer. Career Athletics Stuchlik started playing tennis in his native Poland from a young age, but eventually moved to the US, where he studied the sport at Qu ...

, Polish tennis player * Wojciech Szczęsny, Polish goalkeeper *

Wojciech Szpankowski Wojciech Szpankowski (born February 18, 1952 in Wapno) is the Saul Rosen Professor of Computer Science at Purdue University. He is known for his work in analytic combinatorics, analysis of algorithms and analytic information theory. He is the di ...

, Polish-born American computer scientist * Wojciech Wentura, Polish opera tenor * Wojtek Wolski, Polish-born Canadian National Hockey League forward for the Washington Capitals *

Wojciech Zabłocki Wojciech Mikołaj Zabłocki (6 December 1930 – 5 December 2020) was a Polish architect and fencer, specialist in the saber modality. Sports career Zabłocki participated in four Olympic Games: 1952 Helsinki, 1956 Melbourne, 1960 Rome, 196 ...

, Polish architect and fencer * Wojciech Zurek, Polish-born physicist and nationalized American who works at Los Alamos National Laboratory in

quantum physics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, qua ...

Wojciech Żukrowski Wojciech Żukrowski (14 April 1916 in Kraków – 26 August 2000 in Warsaw) was a Polish prosaist, poet, reporter, essayist and literary critic. Life In 1936, Żukrowski graduated from High School Zana in Pruszkow. In the same year he made his wr ...

, Polish writer

Others

Wojtek Wojciech () is a Polish name, equivalent to Czech Vojtěch , Slovak Vojtech, and German Woitke. The name is formed from two components in archaic Polish: * ''wój'' (Slavic: ''voj''), a root pertaining to war. It also forms words like ''wojownik ...

, a Syrian brown bear from Persia adopted by soldiers of the Polish II Corps

References

{{given name Polish masculine given names Slavic masculine given names

People and characters with the given name Wojciech

Others

See also

References