Polish Names: Most Popular, Nicknames and Pronunciation
Polish names are first names drawn mostly from saints’ and old Slavic names. The most common in Poland are Anna, held by over a million women, and Piotr for men (PESEL register, January 2026). In 2025 the top baby names were Zofia and Nikodem. Most names have a standard diminutive, such as Kasia for Katarzyna.
Polish names (imiona, singular imię) are dominated by saints’ names and old Slavic ones. The most common first names in Poland today are Anna for women and Piotr for men, according to the official PESEL population register. Among babies, fashions have moved on: in 2025 the most popular names for newborns were Zofia and Nikodem. Polish names come with a rich set of nicknames, so a Katarzyna is almost always Kasia to her friends.
The most common Polish names
The Ministry of Digital Affairs publishes first-name counts from the PESEL register as open data. The table below shows the first names of living people as of 20 January 2026 (dane.gov.pl).
| Rank | Women | People | Men | People |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anna | 1,063,756 | Piotr | 682,516 |
| 2 | Katarzyna | 602,474 | Krzysztof | 631,898 |
| 3 | Małgorzata | 572,067 | Tomasz | 533,217 |
| 4 | Maria | 566,902 | Andrzej | 513,749 |
| 5 | Agnieszka | 544,968 | Paweł | 502,076 |
| 6 | Ewa | 469,822 | Michał | 492,326 |
| 7 | Barbara | 467,697 | Jan | 462,503 |
| 8 | Magdalena | 434,117 | Marcin | 447,274 |
| 9 | Elżbieta | 404,679 | Jakub | 433,692 |
| 10 | Joanna | 401,861 | Adam | 400,572 |
Anna is the only first name held by more than a million people in Poland. The men’s list is flatter: the top five are all above half a million. The ranking reflects all living generations at once, so it changes far more slowly than the baby-name charts.
Polish names and their English equivalents
Most Polish names are local forms of saints’ names shared across Europe, so many have a direct English twin:
| English | Polish | English | Polish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine | Katarzyna | John | Jan |
| Margaret | Małgorzata | Peter | Piotr |
| Elizabeth | Elżbieta | Michael | Michał |
| Agnes | Agnieszka | Andrew | Andrzej |
| Mary | Maria | Paul | Paweł |
| Sophia | Zofia | Jacob, James | Jakub |
Others are native Slavic names with no English counterpart. Many end in -sław, related to sława, glory: Stanisław, Bronisław, Mirosław, and the women’s forms Stanisława and Mirosława. Names like Kazimierz and Bogdan belong to the same old layer.
Popular Polish names for babies in 2025
The same open-data portal lists the names registered for children each year (dane.gov.pl). In 2025, the top first names were:
| Rank | Girls | Births | Boys | Births |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zofia | 4,415 | Nikodem | 5,772 |
| 2 | Zuzanna | 3,881 | Antoni | 5,253 |
| 3 | Maja | 3,873 | Leon | 5,079 |
| 4 | Laura | 3,821 | Jan | 5,054 |
| 5 | Hanna | 3,452 | Aleksander | 4,687 |
Old names are back. Zofia, Antoni, Franciszek and Stanisław sound like great-grandparents to many Poles, and they now fill nursery classes. Notice that almost all women’s names end in -a. That is a near-rule in Polish; Kuba, the nickname for Jakub, is a well-known exception for men.
Polish name diminutives and pronunciation
Diminutives are used at every age, between friends, in families and often at work. Each full name has a standard short form, and more affectionate ones on top: Anna becomes Ania, then Anka or Aneczka. Some short forms look nothing like the original, which confuses foreigners: Asia is Joanna, and Ola is Aleksandra.
| Full name | Sounds like | Common short form | Hear |
|---|---|---|---|
| Katarzyna | kah-tah-ZHIH-nah | Kasia | |
| Małgorzata | mahw-goh-ZHAH-tah | Gosia, Małgosia | |
| Agnieszka | ahg-NYESH-kah | Aga | |
| Aleksandra | ah-lek-SAHN-drah | Ola | |
| Joanna | yoh-AHN-nah | Asia | |
| Barbara | bar-BAH-rah | Basia | |
| Krzysztof | KSHISH-tof | Krzysiek | |
| Tomasz | TOH-mahsh | Tomek | |
| Wojciech | VOY-chekh | Wojtek | |
| Jakub | YAH-koob | Kuba | |
| Grzegorz | GZHEH-gosh | Grześ, Grzesiek | |
| Aleksander | ah-lek-SAHN-der | Olek |
The sounds that trip up English speakers are ł (like w, so Paweł is PAH-vew), rz (like the s in “pleasure”) and sz (sh). Our guides to the Polish letter Ł and rz vs ż in Polish explain them, and how to pronounce Polish names walks through the full rules.
Addressing someone: the vocative
Polish has a special form for calling or addressing a person, the vocative case. You will see it in polite letters and hear it on formal occasions: Pani Anno (Ms. Anna), Panie Piotrze (Mr. Piotr). With diminutives it is everyday speech: Kasiu!, Tomku!, Aniu!. In casual conversation many people simply use the ordinary form instead (Kasia, chodź!, Kasia, come here!).
In Poland, adults usually address colleagues and acquaintances as pan or pani plus the first name, such as pani Magda, until someone suggests switching to first-name terms. That moment even has its own word: bruderszaft, often sealed with a drink.
Polish name law
Choosing a name in Poland is regulated. Under the civil registration act, parents may give a child no more than two first names. The registrar refuses a name that is a diminutive, that is ridiculing or indecent, or that does not show the child’s sex. Foreign names are allowed. So you can register a son as Jakub but not as Kuba, and a daughter as Zofia but not Zosia. Many Catholics also take a saint’s name at confirmation, but it has no legal effect.
Name choice is tied to the saints’ calendar. Every name has its feast day, and many Poles celebrate it as their imieniny, sometimes as much as their birthday. Read more about Polish name days, and how to wish someone well in happy birthday in Polish.
Common mistakes with Polish names
- Using a diminutive with someone you have just met. Start with the full name: pani Katarzyna, not Kasia.
- Treating Kuba and Jakub as different names. They are the same person.
- Dropping diacritics. Lukasz is a misspelling of Łukasz, and the Ł is pronounced w: WOO-kahsh.
- Assuming a name ending in -a is always female. Most are, but Kuba and the old name Barnaba are male.
- Pronouncing Wojciech with an English w. It is VOY-chekh.
For family names, see Polish surnames.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most common Polish name?
Anna for women (1,063,756 living people) and Piotr for men (682,516), according to the PESEL register as of 20 January 2026.
What were the most popular Polish names for babies in 2025?
Zofia, Zuzanna and Maja for girls, and Nikodem, Antoni and Leon for boys, based on births registered in 2025.
What is Kasia short for?
Kasia is the usual diminutive of Katarzyna, the Polish form of Catherine.
How many names can a child have in Poland?
No more than two first names. The registrar also refuses diminutives, names that ridicule, and names that do not show the child’s sex.
Why do Polish names change at the end?
Polish nouns, names included, take case endings. When addressing someone you may hear the vocative, such as Kasiu or Panie Piotrze.
Sources
- dane.gov.pl: Lista imion występujących w rejestrze PESEL, osoby żyjące (data as of 2026-01-20)
- dane.gov.pl: Imiona nadawane dzieciom w Polsce (2025 data)
- Wikipedia: Polish name