Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • Polish, Slovak, and Hungarian : from Slavic gajda ‘bagpipe’, in particular the kind of folk instrument found in the Carpathians. The word is ultimately of Turkish origin. The surname probably arose as a metonymic occupational name for a piper, but perhaps in some cases as a nickname, as the Polish word also has the figurative meanings ‘fat legs’ or ‘awkward person’.