Zawadzki [zaˈvat͡ski] (feminine: Zawadzka, plural: Zawadzcy) is a Polish and Ukrainian surname. It is a toponymic surname derived from one of the numerous locations named ZawadaorZawady.
It may belong to a noble family bearing the Zawadzki coat of arms.
Historically, due to the instability of the orthography, as well as in the periods of the partitions of Poland by foreign powers the same person or persons of the same family could use different spelling of the surname. Variant spellings include Zawadski, Zavadsky, Zavadski, Zawadowsky, Zawadowski, Sawadsky, Sawadski, Sawatsky, Sawatzky, Zawatzki, etc.
Notable people with these surnames include:
This version of the name is very prevalent among the Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites who emigrated from Ukraine to Canada and the United States. Many hundreds or thousands of families with these spellings exist, thus it is likely the most numerous of the many versions listed in this article. Family history suggests it derives from a Pole who converted to Mennonitism and joined the Mennonites in the Vistula delta region. It is not connected to other similar-sounding German names like the Sudeten-German name Watzke or Watzky, with which it is sometimes confused.[citation needed]
