Gretzky (Belarusian: Грэцкі, Russian: Грецкий) is a Belarusian and Russian family name. In Poland the surname is Grecki.
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The name is best known in English speaking countries as the surname of Canada's most famous hockey player - Wayne Gretzky. Wayne Gretzky's father Walter Gretzky reports that his own father, an immigrant to Canada, was of consciously Belarusian landowner stock.
Origin
The origin of the name is the Polish aristocratic surname Grecki, or specifically Grecki h. Prawdzic - Grecki of the Prawdzic coat of arms.
The Russian form of name, following the Polish, is an old variant spelling of the Russian adjective for "Greek" - though in modern Russian this spelling of the adjective is mainly used for "Greek nut", meaning the walnut (also in Belarusian; Грэцкі арэх, Greek nut, walnut). The Russian name is the name of two notable soldiers in the Great Patriotic War; Piotr Gretzky (ru:Грецкий, Пётр Петрович) (1904-1972) a Soviet army colonel, and Vladimir Gretzky (ru:Грецкий, Владимир Иванович) (1912-2000) a tank commander. Both were awarded Hero of the Soviet Union.
In Poland the name is not common, but found for example with the pianist Maksymilian Grecki (1841-1870) and the rock guitarist pl:Jacek Grecki (1977-).
People
Some English-speaking individuals with the surname include: