Brzeziński
Brzeziński (feminine: Brzezińska, plural: Brzezińscy) is a Polish surname derived from the root word "brzoza" ("brzez-" in some compound words), meaning "birch". The adjective suffix "ski" means "being like" or "belonging to", so Brzeziński refers to a person from one of the localities named for a concentration of birch trees, such as Brzezina, (a small village in Western Pomerania). In Polish, Brzeziński has an accent mark over the letter "ń", and the Polish pronunciation is "bzhe-ZEEGN-ski" (where GN sounds like the NI of "onion").
The Brzeziński surname was originally borne only by the szlachta, the Polish noble class, who took their names from their estates, but it later spread to the working and peasant classes as well. It is known to be associated with at least nine different coats of arms:
- Dołęga coat of arms (originating in eastern Poland)
- Doliwa coat of arms (originating in Łęczyca)
- Gryf coat of arms (borne by the two Brzeziński families ennobled by the Tsar in his role as "King of Poland" in the 19th century)
- Kościesza coat of arms
- Łabędź coat of arms (originating in Sandomierz)
- Lubicz coat of arms (originating in Płock)
- Prus III coat of arms
- Trąby coat of arms (originating in Kraków)
- Zabawa coat of arms
There were 25,361 persons with the name Brzeziński in Poland in 1990. The name has been borne by many notable Poles and persons of Polish descent, including:
In Poland
- Anna Brzezińska (disambiguation), several people
- Anton Brzeziński, Polish artist
- Ewelina Brzezińska (born 1988), Polish volleyball player
- Franciszek Brzeziński, Polish composer
- Jerzy Marian Brzeziński, Polish psychologist, methodologist
- Józef Piotr Brzeziński, Polish biologist
- Marcin Brzeziński (born 1984), Polish rower
- Mieczysław Brzeziński, Polish naturalist
- Piotr Brzeziński, Polish lawyer
- Stefan Julian Brzeziński, Polish education activist, engineer
- Tadeusz Brzeziński (1896–1990), Polish diplomat and soldier
- Tadeusz Brzeziński (physician), Polish physician
- Wacław Brzeziński (1878-1955), Polish baritone singer
In other countries
- Emilie Benes Brzezinski (born 1932), American sculptor, wife of Zbigniew Brzezinski
- Ian Brzezinski (born 1963), American foreign policy and defense expert, son of Zbigniew Brzezinski
- Lech Brzezinski, Canadian engineering executive, son of Tadeusz Brzeziński
- Mark Brzezinski (born 1965), American lawyer and diplomat, son of Zbigniew Brzezinski
- Matthew Brzezinski (born 1965), author and journalist, son of Lech Brzeziński
- Michael August Brzezinski, American chemist
- Mika Brzezinski, American TV news anchor, daughter of Zbigniew Brzezinski
- Richard Brzezinski, military historian
- Rob Brzezinski, Vice President of Football Operations for the Minnesota VIkings
- Zbigniew Brzezinski (1928–2017) American foreign policy expert, son of Tadeusz Brzeziński