subtelny

Subtelny is a surname of Ukrainian-Polish origin. It derives from the Polish adjective subtelny, meaning subtle, refined, or delicate; historically such descriptors were used as nicknames that later became hereditary surnames. The name is found among Ukrainian, Polish, and diaspora communities and has been carried to North America and other regions through immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries.

In historical and genealogical contexts, Subtelny is most often associated with Ukrainian immigration to North America, where bearers established academic, professional, and cultural ties in the latter half of the 20th century and beyond. The name appears in records across Canada and the United States, as well as in other countries with Ukrainian and Polish diasporas.

Notable bearers include Orest Subtelny (1922–2000), a Ukrainian-Canadian historian and professor at the University of Toronto, who authored Ukraine: A History (1988) and specialized in Ukrainian history and the history of Ukraine under the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The surname remains a marker of familial and cultural heritage in scholarly and community contexts.