The article is devoted to a quantitative and qualitative analyses of surnames of contemporary Chelm inhabitants, containing names of animals and plants. Due to the cultural, ethnic and linguistic borderline position of the town, East Slavonic and Germanic elements can be found in the surnames there. The authoress is conducting the research on Chelm's anthroponomy due to her onomastic and linguistic specializations; also the present home address and emotional bonds connect her with the Chelm region. The sources of the article are surnames gathered mainly from the telephone book of the Chelm region for the year 1998 and by the direct exploration of the area. Because of lack of historical material, methods of synchronic Word formation have been used here. Fauna and flora find rich representation in the names. The article offers 331 examples of surnames derived from anthroponomical appellatives chich belong to the semantic field of fauna and flora. They are almost 10% of the researched material
