Lithuanian (Baltic) heritage in the surnames of the residents of the Białystok district

There are still Baltic remains in the names of places, hydro names and surnames in the territories formerly inhabited by the Balts. They are of interest among linguists. Michał Kondratiuk and Irena Halicka as well as others wrote about Baltic heritage in the geographical nomenclature of north-eastern Poland. The author of the article is interested in the surnames of the inhabitants of the Podlaskie Voyvodeship. The primary source for his investigation is the Annual Telephone Directory of the Białystok Voyvodeship (1998). Taking into consideration the origin of the surnames, they are divided into four groups: - the oldest surnames with the Yotvingian elements - the surnames of the Lithuanian origin - Belarusian surnames - Polish surnames. The author wants to reveal and to analyse Baltic elements in the surnames. More issues regarding this topic are provided in his book ‘Lithuanian (Baltic) Heritage in Surnames of Residents of Białystok Voyvodeship in Poland’ (‘Lietuviškas (baltiškas) paveldas Balstogės vaivadijos Lenkijojepavardėse’) (Vilnius, 2011)