Bjelica is a Serbian and Montenegrin surname, mostly found in

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, and to a lesser extent in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. The surname is derived from the historical clan region of

Bjelice Bjelice () is a historical region and Tribes of Montenegro, tribe of the Katunska nahija region of Old Montenegro. The tribe was one of the largest traditional tribes of Old Montenegro and one of nine tribes of the Katunska nahija, along with Ce ...

, in

Old Montenegro Old Montenegro ( Montenegrin and sr-Latn-Cyrl, Stara Crna Gora, Стара Црна Гора, separator=" / "), also known as Montenegro proper ( sr-Latn-Cyrl, Prava Crna Gora, Права Црна Гора, separator=" / ", label=none), or ...

. Émigrés from

, in order to preserve their origin, adopted the tribal name as surname instead of their own original family or brotherhood (srb. bratstvo) surname; this took place in the 18th and 19th centuries. The vast majority of bearers of the surname are

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

(

Serbian Orthodox Church The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodox Church#Constit ...

) and declare as ethnic

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

and

Montenegrins Montenegrins (, or ) are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common ancestry, culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Montenegrins are mostly Orthodox Christians; however, the population also includes ...

, although there are some

Muslims Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

(

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

) and

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

(

Croats The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

) with the surname. Most of the Orthodox maintain the tradition of ''slava'' (patron saint veneration) of

St. John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

(''Jovanjdan'') - other slavas are present as well (such as St Paraskevi, i.e. St Petka).

People

* Ana Bjelica (born 1992), Serbian volleyball player * Dimitrije Bjelica (1935–2025), Serbian chess FIDE Master and journalist * Isidora Bjelica (1967–2020), Bosnian-born Serbian prose writer * Milan Bjelica (born 1956), Deputy Chief of Serbian General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces * Milka Bjelica (born 1981), Serbian-born Montenegrin basketball player *

Milko Bjelica Milko Bjelica ( sr-cyr, Милко Бјелица; born 4 June 1984) is a Serbian-born Montenegrin professional basketball player for Saitama Broncos of the B.League. Professional career He began his professional career with Crvena zvezda, whe ...

(born 1984), Serbian-born Montenegrin basketball player *

Nemanja Bjelica Nemanja Bjelica ( sr-Cyrl, Немања Бјелица, ; born 9 May 1988) is a Serbian former professional basketball player who is the head of basketball operations of Bahçeşehir Koleji. He represented the senior Serbian national team in ...

(born 1988), Serbian basketball player *

Nenad Bjelica Nenad Bjelica (; born 20 August 1971) is a Croatian professional Association football, football manager and former player. He was most recently the manager of Croatian club GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb. Club career Born in Osijek, Bjelica st ...

(born 1971), Croatian football manager and former player *

Novica Bjelica Novica Bjelica (; born 9 February 1983) is a Serbian volleyball player, a member of Serbia men's national volleyball team and French club Stade Poitevin Poitiers, a participant of the 2008 Summer Olympics, 2008 Olympic Games, medalist of Men's Eu ...

(born 1983), Serbian volleyball player

References

*Dragutin R. Bjelica, Bjelice, kazivanja o plemenu i bratstvima, Beograd, 1996 *

Jovan Erdeljanović Jovan Erdeljanović (11 November 1874 – 12 February 1944) was a Serbian and Yugoslav ethnologist. Biography Jovan Erdeljanović was born in Pančevo, Austria-Hungary. He studied at the universities of Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig and Prague. In 19 ...

, Stara Crna Gora: Etnička prošlost i formiranje crnogorskih plemena, Beograd, 1978

People

References

See also