In Lithuania there are 8800 last names with non-Lithuanian letters

In Lithuania in almost 8800 cases it was possible to register such names as Katarzyna, Ewa, Tadeusz, Matthew, Joanna, Odetta and last names such as Leszczynska, Szczerba, Szulc, Brown– informed the European Foundation of Human Rights (EFHR)  in a special statement.

On request, EFHR has received from a Register Office (Gyventojų registro tarnyba) a document with statistic data on non-Lithuanian names and last names registered in Lithuania.

The data shows that in almost 8800 cases it was possible to register such names as Katarzyna, Ewa, Tadeusz, Matthew, Joanna, Odetta and last names such as Leszczynska, Szczerba, Szulc, Brown. “Thus, it can be concluded that using non-Lithuanian letters and combinations such as ‘rz’, ‘cz’, ‘sz’ and double letters such as’ nn’ or’ tt’ does not pose a danger for the Lithuanian statehood anymore.”— the special statement says.

In the Foundation’s opinion, the problem with original spelling of last names influences not only the Polish minority, but also all the people living in Lithuania,. “Over 16% of marriages contracted every year are mixed ones (a spouse is from a different country). Moreover, the number of children born abroad grew from less than 1% in 2001 to as much as 16% in 2011. Thus, the number of people influenced by this problem grows, and it applies to all Lithuanian citizens”– says the Foundation.

Source: http://pl.delfi.lt/aktualia/litwa/na-litwie-jest-8800-nazwisk-z-nielitewskimi-literami.d?id=60332393

Tłumaczenie Emilia Zawieracz w ramach praktyk w Europejskiej Fundacji Praw Człowieka, www.efhr.eu. Translated by Emilia Zawieracz the framework of a traineeship programme of the European Foundation of Human Rights, www.efhr.eu.