In light of the publication of the last volume of the onomasticon “Polish Anthroponymy of 16th–18th Century”, the authors reflect on the inspiration for the dictionary. They highlight the role of Professor Aleksandra Cieślikowa in shaping the concept of the volume and present stages of its creation and publication, as well as indicating the importance of describing anthroponymic phenomena in a historical and sociocultural context. The authors discuss the structure of each entry and of the whole dictionary and the sources used. The uniqueness of the onomasticon, owing to the variety of textual data referred to in the dictionary, is emphasised. The authors believe that “Polish Anthroponymy” may be a good starting point for further syntheses for other researchers.