Radek

Radek grew out of the old Slavic root rad, which meant glad or willing. That same root sits inside longer names, among them Radzisław, where it joins sław, the Polish word for fame or glory. Put the halves together and you get a happy sort of renown, a gladness worth being known for. The short sense the name keeps, happy and joyful, comes straight from rad.

Most men called Radek wear it as a warm, clipped form of a fuller name. It shortens the sound and softens it. On the feminine side the family offers Radzisława, so the root moves between a brother and a sister without any strain.

In a Polish class register the name reads brisk and plain. It suits a boy who answers fast at roll call. The meaning stays close to where it began, the gladness that Polish still names radość.