Origins for surname Polack?

Question:

Origins for surname Polack?

I've got a half peruvian cousin and I'm quite curious about her last name because its not the usual spanish (ex:gomez/cruz/gonzalez/espino...
Her father isn't too familiar with his surname either. Does anyone have any helpful information regarding european immigration to Peru (other than Italian)
Is Polack an eastern european name?
Is it common with jews, perhaps?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: I do think it is highly possible that there would be a Jewish connection. Some folks wanted to immigrate to the United States, but could not do so due to the quota system. This is how many Jews ended up in South America. In fact I just learned that I have a branch of my family there.

I could not locate anyone with this surname from Peru, BUT there are many who are researching forms of this surname w/ relatives from Argentina and it is possible that once the family arrived in Argentina they moved on to Peru.

If you go to http://www.jewishgen.org and search its "Family Finder" you will find MANY people searching a variety of spellings for this surname. I am including just a few versions below. You can see where in Europe these people's relatives lived, but Ukraine, Germany and Poland are high on the list.

POLACK
POLLACK
POLLAK
POLAK
POLLOCK
POLACK
PALUCH
etc.

Here are some references to Jewish immigration from Siemiatycze, Poland to Peru at:
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/siemiaty...
http://www.jewishgen.org/yizkor/siemiaty... .
I included these, so, you could find out more about this type of immigration, but am not saying that this specific town is related at all to your cousin's family.

As for JewishGen, it is the largest online Jewish genealogy website. You 'may' need to subscribe to search its Family Finder, but it is free. Once there, you can email anyone who seems to be a possible link and perhaps, you might be able to solve your family mystery.

Good luck...