# Names of Poland: Polska, Polonia and Lechia

Source: https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/articles/poland/polska-polonia-and-other-historical-names/
Last updated: 2026-10-12
Summary: Meet the historical names of Poland found in maps and family documents. Understand how language, borders and period affect the places in your research.
Publisher: The Polish Genealogist (professional Polish genealogy research, polishgenealogist.co.uk)

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Poland is known by several names, depending on the **language**, the **time period** and whether you are reading an official document, an old map, or a church inscription. In English it’s *Poland*. In Polish it’s *Polska*. In Latin you’ll often see *Polonia*. In older cultural references you may come across *Lechia*. And in formal state language you’ll meet *Rzeczpospolita*.

The language and date of a document help you interpret these names. A Latin country name on a parish entry may describe the same place that a British certificate calls Poland.

### Names used for Poland

- **Polska** - the native Polish name for Poland.

- **Poland** - the English name, built around “the Poles” as a people.

- **Polonia** - the Latin name, common in older writing, churches and inscriptions.

- **Lechia** - an old poetic/historic name linked to Lech/Lechites in tradition.

- **Rzeczpospolita (Polska)** - “Commonwealth/Republic (of Poland)”, used in formal state titles.

### Polska: Poland’s name in Polish

**Polska** is what Polish speakers call their country. You’ll see it everywhere in modern Polish life: in newspapers, on official websites, on road signs, and in everyday speech.

The full official form, **Rzeczpospolita Polska** (“Republic of Poland”), appears on passports, state documents and government forms.

### Poland: the English name

**Poland** is an exonym: a name for a country used by outsiders rather than by its own people. English built it from the name of the people, *the Poles*, and the word *land*. It is the form used in British, American and Canadian certificates and census returns for country of birth or nationality.

### Polonia: the Latin name that appears in churches and older texts

**Polonia** is the Latin form. Latin was the language of the Church, scholarship and formal inscriptions for centuries, so *Polonia* appears in:

- church records and memorial inscriptions

- academic writing

- mottos, medals and emblems

- diaspora names (many Polish communities abroad use “Polonia” in organisation names)

*Polonia* on a headstone or in a parish register means the writer used Latin, not that a different country is meant.

### Lechia in literature and historical tradition

**Lechia** is an old name linked to the legend of Lech, the mythical forefather of the Poles. It appears in:

- poetry and patriotic writing

- cultural references and symbolic language

- some historic chronicles and discussions of early Slavic identity

It is a literary name. You are unlikely to find it in 19th- or 20th-century civil or parish records.

### Rzeczpospolita: “Commonwealth/Republic” in official language

**Rzeczpospolita** is the Polish rendering of the Latin *res publica*. It is translated as **Commonwealth** or **Republic**, depending on the period, and appears in state names such as:

- **Rzeczpospolita Polska** (modern state name)

- **Rzeczpospolita Obojga Narodów** (Commonwealth of the Two Nations), the Polish name for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

### Country names in family records

The name used for Poland in a record depends on who wrote it and in which language, not on how the family described themselves.

#### 1) Latin in church contexts

Baptisms, marriages and burials may use Latin-style forms, especially in older registers. That can include *Polonia* or Latinised versions of place names and first names.

#### 2) English forms in UK records

British records usually say *Poland*, but an informant may have given Russia, Austria, Germany or Prussia for someone born before 1918, depending on who governed the birthplace at the time.

#### 3) Historical labels tied to administration

Even when a family considered themselves Polish, the administration governing the birthplace may have been different at certain points in history. That can influence:

- the language used in records

- where the records are stored today

- how a location is spelled

**Searching indexes:** do not rely on a single country label. Use town names, surname variants, religion, and family networks to identify the locality.

### Poland’s names by language and context

| Name | Language/Style | Meaning (plain English) | Where you’ll commonly see it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Polska | Polish | Poland | modern Polish usage, Polish documents |
| Poland | English | land of the Poles | English records, modern English maps |
| Polonia | Latin | Poland (Latin form) | churches, inscriptions, older scholarly texts |
| Lechia | historic/poetic | Poland in cultural tradition | literature, cultural references |
| Rzeczpospolita (Polska) | official Polish | Commonwealth/Republic (of Poland) | state documents, formal headings |

### Related guides

- [Identifying your ancestor’s parish](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/vital-records-find-polish-parish-village/)

- [Polish State Archives](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/vital-records/finding-family-records-in-state-archives/)

- [Planning Polish family history research](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/blog/planning-your-family-history-search/)

- [The Polish flag: white and red](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/articles/poland/white-and-red-symbols-of-polish-heritage/)

> **Research service:** Take the next step with your family history · 10, 20 or 30 hours of research for one family line · [View research packages](https://www.polishgenealogist.co.uk/services/family-history-research/)

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