Polish2 syllablesPolish form of Matthias
Meaning: gift of Yahweh.
Maciej
| Origin | Polish form of Matthias, the apostle chosen by lot to replace Judas Iscariot |
|---|---|
| Meaning | Gift of Yahweh, from Hebrew Mattityahu; Greek Matthias is a contraction of Mattathias |
| Pronunciation | MAH-chey. The ci is a soft ch, made further forward in the mouth than the English one, and the final j is a y |
| Not to be confused with | Mateusz, which is Matthew. Polish treats them as two names because the Church treats them as two saints |
| Popularity | Outside the current U.S. top 100; consistently one of the more popular Polish boys' names of recent decades |
| Variants | Matthias, Mathias, Matías (Spanish), Matěj (Czech), Mátyás (Hungarian) |
| Nicknames | Maciek, Maciuś, Maćko |
| Name day | 14 May, the feast of St Matthias |
History & meaning
One Hebrew name, Mattityahu, "gift of Yahweh", reached Greek by two routes and produced two forms: Matthaios and Matthias. The early Church attached them to two different men. Matthew is the tax collector who left his booth and is credited with the first Gospel. Matthias appears exactly once, in the first chapter of Acts, when the eleven remaining apostles pray and cast lots to fill the place left by Judas Iscariot, and the lot falls on him; scripture never mentions him again. English lets Matthew swallow Matthias whole, so most English speakers hear the second as a fancy spelling of the first. Polish does not. Maciej is Matthias and Mateusz is Matthew, and confusing them in Warsaw would be like confusing John with Jonathan. Spanish keeps the same line, which is why Matías belongs beside Maciej rather than beside Mateo.
The sound needs one note. Polish ci before a vowel is not "see" or "chee" but a palatal ch, formed with the blade of the tongue against the front of the palate — softer and higher than the ch of "church", the same consonant written ć at the end of a word. MAH-chey is close enough for any English speaker. In Polish the name is old, thoroughly domesticated, and inseparable from its nickname: Maciek turns up in folk song, notably the round Umarł Maciek, umarł, in which the dead man revives the moment the pipes start.
Why parents choose it
It is the rare Polish name that is both traditional and current — grandfathers have it and so do toddlers. Two syllables, no barred letters, a saint behind it, and Maciek for the playground.
Middle names for Maciej
The soft ending pairs well with something blunt: Maciej Jan, Maciej Piotr, Maciej Kazimierz, Maciej Bartosz. Steer clear of a middle name beginning with a y sound. The middle names guide sets out the method.
Famous Maciejs
Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, a seventeenth-century Jesuit, wrote Latin odes good enough that Pope Urban VIII crowned him laureate and Europe called him the Sarmatian Horace. Maciej Zembaty translated Leonard Cohen into Polish and effectively naturalised him there. Maciej Stuhr, son of the actor Jerzy Stuhr, is one of the most recognisable faces in contemporary Polish film.
Consider instead
Mateusz is the other apostle, and the commoner Polish choice. Matías is the same Matthias with a Spanish passport. Marek is the shortest of the Polish evangelist names.