Świętopełk

Świętopełk comes from two old Slavic roots. The first, święty, meant strong or holy. The second, pełk, meant a host or a fighting band, the same word that became the modern Polish pułk, a regiment. Put together they give the sense of a holy host, a sacred army.

That second root travelled far. The Slavic *pъlkъ is a cousin of the English word folk and the German Volk, all going back to an old idea of a gathered people under arms. A boy called Świętopełk held a name built for a leader.

History handed the name to real rulers. Świętopełk the Great ruled Pomerania in the thirteenth century and governed Gdańsk until his death in 1266. Earlier, a Świętopełk reigned over Great Moravia. The variant Światopełk shows up in the records too, with the middle vowel shifted.

Today the name is rare. Look through a Polish school register and you will not find it often. When it does appear, it brings the old meaning along: święty pułk, the holy host.