Thanks, for the info Tom. I also have a friend named Tom O'Kruta from WVA/OH areas. Cathy Raber > [Original Message] > From: Thomas E. Lassek <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Date: 8/19/2004 12:44:23 AM > Subject: [PITTSBURGH] OKRUTA > > "Tom, > Would you know where the name of O'Kruta might fit into the Polish > scene? Any background appreciated? Cathy" > > - - - - - - - - - - > > Hello Cathy ... > > In the Polish way, the surname should be spelled as "Okruta". OKRUT- Formed from a feature, from the Polish root word "okrutny" which means "cruel, savage". I see there were about 374 OKRUTA's residing in Poland as of about 1990. Other surname variants listed as being formed from this root word are Okrutnik and Okrutny. There is not suffix since the variant and the root are virtually the same - the letter "y" in the root "okrutny" was simply changed to the letter "a" to form and designate the surname. At the time of surname formation, your ancestor, Pan Okruta had a feature which others designated as "cruel, savage". Perhaps he had a scar on his face obtained during a battle where he was described as cruel and or savage during the fighting by the enemy. Perhaps Mr. Okruta caught someone stealing his vegetables at night and he "thrashed" the thief within an inch of his life and during the scuffle he incurred a large slash on his arm which may cause others to consider his resp! > onse to the theft cruel and savage. Lot's of possible variables ... however, he did have a visible feature on his person which was obtained, in some respect, from an act or acts of which others considered "cruel and or savage". > > http://www.herby.com.pl/herby/ will take you to a site where it is possible to see, by province, where the 374 OKRUTA's resided within Poland as of about 1990. When you get to the site, click on "Slownika Nazwisk Wsp�lczesnie w Polsce Uzywanych", then type in the surname OKRUTA in the search box, click "szukaj" (enter). Click Tutaj znajduja sie objasnienia skr�t�w and a little box will come down on the upper left which will provide province abbreviation's. I see that the largest number of OKRUTA's (154 of them) were grouped in Bielskie province (abbreviation "BB"). > > Tom Lassek > Eufaula Alabama > > > ==== PA-PITTSBURGH Mailing List ==== > If you need to contact the listowner, send an email to Sue* at: > [email protected] > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237