I was wondering if anyone knew what the origin of my last name Dodaj was from?

Answer 1

http://www.familysearch.org/Eng/Search/frameset_search.asp

has 8, from Albania and Poland.

Google has 166 MILLION hits for it; which hints that "Dodj" means something like "Refinance now" or "Babes in Bikinis" or "Cheap air fare" in Polish or Albanian. "Pack" is a surname, but it is also something you wear to go camping, a group of cigarettes and a way to put clothes in a suitcase.

Answer 2

http://www.polishroots.org/surnames/surnames_index.htm
this has good info on Polish surnames... IF it is actually a Polish name, which it sounds like.
However... it does break my "own" rule, that names don't always come from one place. Have you traced back in your family to find the person with that last name, and verified where he came from?? For instance, the records in the late 1800s might say Germany, because (at the time), Poland as a country did not exist.
http://www.feefhs.org/maps/indexmap.html
This is a great source for maps of Eastern Europe, as well as scholarly info on research in that territory.
http://feefhs.org/ (main page)

Answer 3

Tina, I googled "Dodaj" and came up with the following:
http://www.genealogytoday.com/surname/finder.mv?Surname=Dodaj
For origins of surnames, try: http://www.lifescript.com/channels/healthy_living/Family/how_to_trace_the_origin_of_your_surname.asp?page=7
and:
http://www.searchforancestors.com/surnames/origin/d/
But, more interesting is the website:
http://cia.bzzz.net/comment/reply/8450
as it contains the word dodaj, which appears to be Polish.
As in: Dodaj nową odpowiedź
I tried for a dictionary definition at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dodaj
but it apparently does not have that word.
Perhaps something I found and included here will provide a hint. E.g., are you Polish? That one web site contained "Dodaj nową odpowiedź" but the Polish dictionary did not include it, so I am stymied.
Talk to your parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, any one that may know of your ancestry and search through them. There are many ancestry sites to check from:

Free sites: there are several to choose from. Start with:
http://www.searchforancestors.com/...

http://www.censusrecords.net/?o_xid=2739...

http://www.usgenweb.com/

http://www.census.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/

http://www.ukgenweb.com/

http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.familysearch.org/

http://www.accessgenealogy.com/...

http://www.cyndislist.com/

Assuming they emigrated from Europe, start with Ellis Island and the Battery Conservancy sites:
http://www.ellisisland.org
http://www.castlegarden.org


For Scotland, check:
http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/


For ship’s passenger lists, try:
http://www.immigrantships.net/
www.cyndislist.com/ships.htm
www.geocities.com/Heartland/5978/Emigration.html
www.immigrantstips.net/
www.searchforancestors.com/passengerlists/
www.archives.gov/genealogy/immigration/passenger-arrival.html


For those with native American ancestry, try:
http://www.tribalpages.com/

For a fee, try a DNA test:
When you really want to know where your ancestors came from, try such sites as: www.familytreedna.com, dnatribes.com, dnaancestryproject.com, and, of course, the National Geographics Genotype program, https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/geno...
For Jewish ancestry, try:
www.israelgenealogy.com
Have a look at these sites these are South African ones,
http://genealogy.about.com/od/south_afri...
http://www.rupert.net/~lkool/page2.html....
http://www.jewishgen.org/safrica/website...
http://southafricanfamilyhistory.wordpre...

Meaning of names:
http://www.winslowtree.com/surname-meani...

http://www.familysearch.org/eng/search/f...

Finding live people:
Two good places I use are www.zabasearch.com and www.peoplefinder.com

***** Don't forget, use your local library. Ours (a small one, yet) has www.ancestry.com and www.heritagequest.com, as well as periodicals, books and guidance from an experienced genealogist. *****

Keep good notes on where you find what: sources are very important.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Google it