The article discusses basic issues related to Polish anthroponomastic terms, their development and frequency, taking into account the variability of terminological units and the co-existence of native and foreign forms (usually Greek or Latin). It presents problems related to defining a term, determining its scope or (in particular cases) status, indicating preferred, permissible or non-recommended variant forms, selection (reduction) of sub-terms, the existence of doublets with a grammatical number, acceptance or rejection of new terms, etc. In the text, among others, the following sources were used: the dictionary “Osnoven sistem i terminologija na slovenskata onomastika” [“Basic system and terminology of Slavic onomastics”] (1983), an article by Mieczysław Karaś “W sprawie polskiej terminologii onomastycznej” [“On Polish onomastic terminology”] (1968), studies by Henryk Górnowicz (1988) and Ewa Jakus-Borkowa (1987), encyclopedia “Polskie nazwy własne” [“Polish proper names”] (1998), the compendium “Słowiańska onomastyka” [“Slavic onomastics”] (2002–2003) and selected articles published in the journal “Onomastica”. The second part of the article presents the history, scope and definitions of the term ethnonym // ethnic name (based on selected compendia, monographs and contributory studies), paying attention to the types of names it covers. In addition, a preliminary structure of an entry in the terminological dictionary has been outlined, including such elements as: the term, its definition, variability // equivalent term, origin // explanation, its English equivalent, examples // usage, context of use, and additional aspects.

The authors discuss the main premises of the project “The most popular surnames in Poland — past and present. E-dictionary” which has been in development since July 2014 in IJP PAN in Krakow. They also present its basic aims and functions, progress already made and they compare it with other dictionaries of surnames. The authors describe several aspects of the dictionary related to IT and computers but also those concerned with onomastics and lexicography. Additionally, they pay particular attention to the information contained in specific parts of each entry.