What Does “vel” Mean Between Two Given Names or Between Surnames?

It is not uncommon to see vel (often abbreviated as v. or v) between two given names or between two surnames. It was used in all types of records in Poland: birth, marriage, and death records, books of residents, voter lists, property lists, and so on.

In Latin, vel means “or.” In Polish records, it essentially means “also known as” (“aka”). Here’s how and why vel might appear: Let’s say that when a child was born, the child’s father used the surname Goldberg, but when that child grew up and married he/she used the surname Altman instead. In the marriage record, then, that person could be recorded as Goldberg vel Altman. That person’s children might later be recorded either as Goldberg vel Altman or simply as Altman.

The use of vel is not rare! It appears in well over 10,000 CRARG records.

Here is an actual example of the use of vel. It involves the birth of a child named Aba in 1832, his marriage in 1852, the birth of his child Szaja in 1860, and the death of his child Izrael in 1867:

Birth of Aba, son of Leybus Szklarz — Włoszczowa 1832 birth 47

Aba Szklarz v. [vel] Dyament — Włoszczowa 1852 alegata marriage

Abba Dyament — Włoszczowa 1852 marriage 5

Szaja, son of Aba Dyament Szklarz — Włoszczowa 1860 birth 40

Izrael Dyament, son of Aba — Włoszczowa 1867 death 36

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