I've run across a phrase that loosely translates (I think) to 'A man is born once'.

This is the phrase: 'Raz maty ród ludzie'. I cannot translate 'maty'.

Is this correct? If no, what is the Polish equivalent of 'A man is born once'?

I think there is a typo in the Polish translation. It should be : "Raz mamy ród ludzie" (mamy rather than maty). Another translation for "A man is born once" might be "Człowiek rodzi się tylko raz".

I have never heard "Raz mamy ród ludzie", it sounds like some kind of an archaic phrase, but doesn't sound real, at least for me.

About "A man is born once", I think the best translation (not a literal one) is "Raz się żyje" which is a phrase use quite often in contemporary Polish.

The phrase does ring me a bell...

I think it's not a Polish saying, actually it isn't correct. I should be:

Raz maty rodiła or Raz maty rodyła

and it is an Ukrainian (Cossack) one (but it is sometimes used in Poland)

maty=mother. The meaning is the same I think. Raz się żyje is good translation IMHO. Literaly it means: Raz matka (u)rodziła.

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b_o_b

maty=mother (archaic)
ród ludzie=borns people (arhaic)