How to Improve Your Searches
In handwritten records, certain letters look similar to, or are nearly indistinguishable from, other letters. And some letters or pairs of letters sound like others. When searching, you may want to try each possible spelling.
| Polish: ą | is also written as on or om | example: Ząbek — Zombek |
| Polish: ę | is also written as en or em | example: Lęga — Lenga |
| Polish: Fr- | looks like Tr- | example: Frajman — Trajman |
| Polish: I- | is also written as J- | example: Icek — Jcek |
| Polish: ł | looks like t | example: Całka — Catka |
| Polish: ó | is also written as u | example: Król — Krul |
| Polish: si or sz | is also written as ś | example: Mosiek, Moszek — Mośek |
| Russian*: handwritten Cyrillic for m *Applies to records from the late 1860s to the mid-1910s. |
looks like handwritten Cyrillic for t |
Note that ow, ów, ov, and óv at the end of a surname is nearly always a suffix that should be dropped. In the rare exceptions listed below, however, the final letters are part of the surname and should not be dropped. Therefore, try searching for these surnames using the “is exactly” option.
Fiszow / Fiszof / Fiszhof / Fiszauf / Fischof [and other spellings]
Isakow / Issakow / Izakow / Isaakow [and other spellings]
Dow / Dof / Doff [and other spellings]
- Volunteer to help type records!
- Learn about other topics in Polish Jewish genealogy.
Thinking of joining CRARG? Feel free to write to me ([email protected]) to ask if we have records for your family! — Daniel Kazez, CRARG President (a volunteer/unpaid position)
If you are ready to join CRARG, visit our Pre-Holocaust Database page.