The author analyses onymic practices of Poznań–based craftsmen forming guilds. In the names of the inhabitants of Poznań, which stabilised until the end of the 18th century, she seeks traces of the so-called cognomens, i.e. secondary personal designations granted to apprentices who were becoming masters. The names resulted from community acts of creation, which were of ludic nature. Referring to German onymic practices and pointing to the so-called Schleifnamen, the author discusses specific codes of European middle-class culture. She focuses on the transfer of models and patterns to Polish urban communities.