Wojciech () is a Polish name, equivalent to Czech Vojtěch , Slovak Vojtech, and German Woitke. The name is formed from two Slavic roots: * ''wój'' (Slavic: ''voj''), a root pertaining to war. It also forms words like ''wojownik'' ("warrior") and ''wojna'' ("war"). * ''ciech'' (from an earlier form, ''tech''), meaning "joy". The resulting combination means "he who enjoys war" or "joyous warrior". Its Polish

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

forms include ''Wojtek'' , ''Wojtuś'' , ''Wojtas'', ''Wojcio'', ''Wojteczek'', ''Wojcieszek'', ''Wojtaszka'', ''Wojtaszek'', ''Wojan'' (noted already in 1136), ''Wojko'', and variants noted as early as 1400, including ''Woytko'', ''Woythko'', and ''Voytko''. The feminine form is Wojciecha (). Related names in

South Slavic languages The South Slavic languages are one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches (West Slavic la ...

include ''Vojko'', ''Vojislav'', and ''Vojteh''. The name has been rendered into German in several different variations, including: ''Woitke'', ''Witke'', ''Voitke'', ''Voytke'', ''Woytke'', ''Vogtke'', ''Woytegk'', ''Woytek'', ''Wogtke'', ''Woetke'', ''Wötke'', and ''Wotke''. It appears as '' Woyzeck'' in the play of that name by Georg Büchner. A variant form is '' Wozzeck'', the result of confusion due to the similarity of the letters and in Sütterlin handwriting; this form is used as the name of the opera by Alban Berg, based on Büchner's play. The Germanic name Adalbert is sometimes associated with Wojciech, or Vojtech, but the two names are not linguistically related. Their components and meanings are completely different, but the names may have become associated as a result of the 10th-century St. Adalbert of Prague (born Vojtěch Slavník) having taken the name Adalbert at his confirmation. The

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

for individuals named Wojciech is 23 April.

People and characters with the given name Wojciech

* Saint Adalbert of Prague (Czech: ''svatý Vojtěch''; Polish: ''Św. Wojciech''), the first recorded user of this name * Wojciech Bogusławski (1757–1829), a Polish actor, theatre director, and writer of dramas * Wojciech Bobowski (1610–1675), an Ottoman musician, dragoman, and an intellectual of Polish descent. * Wojciech Buliński (1929–2021), Polish architect and professor * Wojciech Fangor (1922–2015), Polish painter, graphic artist and sculptor * Wojciech Fibak (born 1952), Polish tennis player * Wojciech Frykowski, Polish actor, murdered in the US in 1969 *

Wojciech Jaruzelski Wojciech Witold Jaruzelski ( ; ; 6 July 1923 – 25 May 2014) was a Polish military general, politician and ''de facto'' leader of the Polish People's Republic from 1981 until 1989. He was the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party ...

(1923–2014), Polish political and military leader,

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

, head of the

Polish Council of State The Council of State of the Polish People's Republic, Republic of Poland () was introduced by the Small Constitution of 1947 as an organ of executive (government), executive power. The Council of State consisted of the President of Poland, Presid ...

, President and de facto dictator of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

1981–89 *

Wojciech Kamiński Wojciech Kamiński (born 27 February 1974) is a Polish professional basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with ...

(born 1974), Polish basketball coach *

Wojciech Kasperski Wojciech Kasperski (born April 25, 1981) is a Polish screenwriter, film director and film producer, producer. In 2006 he received the Grand Prix for ''The Seeds (film), The Seeds'' for Best Documentary at Kraków Film Festival, and went on to w ...

(born 1981), Polish film director * Wojciech Kilar (1932–2013), Polish composer, known especially for his film music to '' Dracula'' * Wojciech Kondratowicz (born 1980), Polish hammer thrower * Wojciech Korfanty (1873–1939), a Polish activist, journalist, politician, and a leader of the Silesian uprisings * Wojciech Kossak (1856–1942), Polish painter * Wojciech "Lala" Kuderski, Polish musician, member of Myslovitz * Wojciech Olejniczak (born 1974), Polish politician * Wojciech Pszoniak (1942–2020), Polish actor * Wojciech Powaga, Polish musician, member of Myslovitz * Wojciech Samotij, Polish mathematician * Wojciech Siudmak (born 1942), Polish painter and sculptor * Wojciech Stuchlik (born 1984), Polish tennis player * Wojciech Szczęsny (born 1990), Polish goalkeeper * Wojciech Szpankowski (born 1952), Polish-born American computer scientist * Wojciech Wentura (born 1972), Polish opera tenor * Wojtek Wolski (born 1986), Polish-born Canadian

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

forward for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

* Wojciech Zabłocki (1930–2020), Polish architect and fencer * Wojciech Zaremba (born 1988), Polish computer scientist, co-founder of Open AI * Wojciech Zurek, Polish-born

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

and nationalized American who works at Los Alamos National Laboratory in quantum physics * Wojciech Żukrowski (1916–2000), Polish writer

Others

* Wojtek, a Syrian brown bear from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

adopted by soldiers of the Polish II Corps

References

{{given name Polish masculine given names Masculine given names Slavic masculine given names

People and characters with the given name Wojciech

Others

See also

References