According to the professor of the University of Gdańsk, Jerzy Treder, the name Żelistrzewo consists of two parts: "Żeli" and "Stryjewo" and it is listed for the first time in 1277 as Zelistryewo (then Z was not marked with a dot, although Z was pronounced). Professor A. Bruchner in the Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language writes: In the fifteenth century, and even in the sixteenth century, there was still a "gel" - regret, "regret" - a widower mourning his wife. There may also be "żalinki" - cemeteries, places where regrets were revealed. Perhaps there was an ancient pre-Slavic cemetery in Żelistrzewo or near the village; "Regret" also means the same as an urn (regret - embers). "Uncle" means a relative after the father. Already in the 16th century, the coat of arms became important in our country. Ancestral solidarity was expressed in the "brothers-nobles", especially on the part of the uncles. In biblical language: uncle, strikers, strics. The favorable wind and the forest were also called uncle when it became a refuge in the last need. There are remnants of ancient forests around the Ironwood. Perhaps, then, there was "Żelnik" - a cemetery, or "gel" where urns with ashes were stored in pagan times, and the cemetery was hidden in the nearby forests.