José

José is the Spanish form of the Hebrew name Yosef, the same name the Bible gives to Joseph. The Hebrew is built on a verb for adding or increasing, so the old reading lands almost as a blessing: god will increase. Spain made the name its own, and it spread through every country that later spoke Spanish.

Saint Joseph gave the name its long life. His feast falls on the nineteenth of March, San José, a day kept in Spain as Father's Day and honored with pastries and small celebrations. A boy called José often shared his name day with the carpenter of Nazareth.

The name kept no Polish diminutive of its own. It stays José. On a Polish class register or an urząd form it stands out at once, Spanish to the ear, plainly borrowed. The Hebrew promise underneath has not changed: god will increase.