Hi Just wondering if anyone could give me some help. My name as you can see is Steve Skurek. I am trying to find out what my name means and where has it come from. My father was Hungarian and married a English girl. My father came to England after the uprising in 1956. My family split when i was very young and before i could get close to my father to find out where my roots had come from he died. I belive my surname has come from the Czech Republic but that is where my trail goes cold. I would love to know what my name means and what part of the country it originates from if possible. Is there anyone out there who could help me? Cheers Steve
There are many variants of similar surnames in the Czechlands: Skura, Skurka, Skurský, Skurčák, Skurovec Skora, Skorka, Skorčík, Skarka Škurek, Škurka, Škůrek, Škor Their ethymology is not clear to me. My guess: It contains either the Proto-Slavic stem *(s)kora or *(s)kara (= leather, skin, bark, peel) or the Proto-Germanic stem *skaro-, both from Proto-Indo-Eropean root *(s)ker- (= to cut). The nearest living Czech words: kůra (= bark, peel), škára (= leather, skin), skořice (= cinnamon) It is definitely NO Hungarian word.
Many thanks for your reply. Seems my surname name is very rare and difficult to find any information about. I would agree that my surname may be Slovak. My father was from a town called Kazincbarcika with is very north east Hungary. Also seems that my grandfather was also a Slovak as well from which town i do not know yet. Again many thanks for your help. If you have any further information please forward. Cheers Steve
This is from American Surnames: "Skora [prepared skins]in Poland....Kuzniar and Kozeluh in Czechoslovakia prepared skins and furs." Doesn't mean Skurek is a Polish name, but it's so interesting how surnames ooze over political borders, especially when there are related languages.
