The original family surname SPOTKOWSKY has been handed down by oral tradition (transcribed by Waldo Hayflich). It is an anglicized version of the original Eastern European surname SPITKOWSKI. The name could refer to a place of origin and the -ski ending implies Polish origin.

The following surnames with similar pronunciation have been found in the JewishGen databases: Shpitkovskij, Spidkovskij, Spitkovskij, Svatkovski. A search of the "Deych database of Jewish Religious Personnel in the Russian Empire 1853-1854" contained the following hit: Shpitkovskii, Naftula; gubernia=Kiev; listing #007; synagogue town location= Yasnogorodka.

There are two modern towns called Yasnogorodka, Ukraine: (1) ~28 k. N of Kiev and (2) ~15 k. WSW of Kiev.