Protazy
Only about two dozen men in Poland carry Protazy, so most Poles have never met one. It comes from Greek, with a meaning that fits its scarcity: "first, foremost".
Protazy Pronunciation
Protazy is pronounced pro-TAH-zih (/prɔˈtazɨ/).
What Protazy means
Where Protazy comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Protazy comes from Greek. Behind it sits protos, the word for "first," and the older form Protasios, read as first, foremost. A boy given this name holds a place at the front, set there by the name itself.
It reached Poland through an early martyr. Protazy died in Milan, and Bishop Ambrose recovered his remains beside those of Gerwazy in 386. Polish custom keeps the two together, so the names still appear as a pair.
Adam Mickiewicz knew that pairing. In Pan Tadeusz he named the old court usher Protazy, and gave Gerwazy to the rival household. Readers have met the name in that poem for two centuries.
His imieniny fall on 19 June. On a school register the name is rare now, four syllables among the Kubas and Anteks, and it points back to one root: first, foremost.
When Protazy celebrates name day
Protazy appears 3 times in the Polish name day calendar, 1 of them as a main name, the first on 19 June.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
How many people are named Protazy
1 in 889425 men in Poland is named Protazy. 24 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #8852 among male names.
Protazy as a middle name
Protazy is a first name for 24 men in Poland and a middle name for another 32, a 43/57 split, almost evenly. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 1483rd, between Musa (32) and Ramadan (32).
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#1481 Léon32
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#1482 Musa32
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#1483 Protazy32
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#1484 Ramadan32
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#1485 Riza32