It's not a given name. Only if someone's name is Jaroslav, Jaromir, etc, you can call him Jarek [YA-rek].
― Anonymous User 1/19/2006
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Saying that Jarek is not a name by itself is like saying anyone who was named Sam or Alex or Jet/t (as their full names) were not given a proper name. There are a LOT of people who will/have named their children shortened versions of names (like the examples I have given), as well as people whose full names are shortened versions of other names. Jarek is a name in its own right.** Sam = Samuel, Samantha, other names with the prefix of Sam; Alex = Alexander, Alexis, Alexandra, and other names with the prefix of Alex; Jet/t = this is a name in itself as well as a shortened version of Jethro and other names with the prefix or suffix of Jet/t.