Polish surnames are extremely complex and this is no exception. It is comprised of the elements "skrzy", a nickname or baptismal name of endearment which translates as "one who sparkles" plus the diminutive "yn", implying, "little Sparkles" or probably "son of Sparkles". The suffix ending of "ski" is now considered equivalent to the English "-ish", as in English or Scottish, but originally it was locational and indicated association with a place. Later in the 18th Century it was regarded as equivalent to the German "von" or the French "de", and indicative of nobility or at least gentry status. This is certainly the case with the surname Skrzynski of Posnia (now Poznan) of a red field charged with a silver horse shoe, surmounted by a cross, between two arrows. The date of the grant is believed to be 1780, but this is not proven. Name recordings in Poland are either erratic or non existent, owing to the destruction of war, and the continual shifting of the national boundaries; hopefully the 1989/1990 political stabilisation will lend to more registers coming to light, and hence more infield research facilities. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Leo Skrzynski, which was dated January 8th 1882, marriage to Anna Maria Schlicht, at Langenav Bei Danzig, during the reign of Czar Alexander 111 of Russia, 1881 - 1894. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.