Croatian names follow complex and unique lettering, structuring, composition, and naming customs that have considerable similarities with most other European name systems and with those of other

Slavic peoples The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, Southeast ...

in particular. Upon the Croatian populace's arrival on what is currently modern-day continental Croatia in the early 7th century,

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 ...

used

Slavic names Given names originating from the Slavic languages are most common in Slavic peoples, Slavic countries. The main types of Slavic names: * Two-base names, often ending in mir/měr (''Ostromir/měr'', ''Tihomir/měr'', ''Niemir, Němir/měr''), * ...

and corresponding naming customs. Naming customs have been a part of Croatian culture for over 500 years, with the earliest dating back to the 12th century. With modernization and globalization in the 20th century,

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

s and

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

s have expanded past typical Slavic traditionalism and have included borrowed names from all over the world. However, although given names vary from region to region in Croatia and can be heavily influenced by other countries' names, surnames tend to be Slavic. Croatian names usually, but not always, consist of a given name, followed by a

family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

; however certain names follow naming customs that diverge from the norm. Historically, Croatian royalty were all given traditional titles of nobility designating them with certain privileges and social standing; the titles were usually followed by the full name or simply their surname. In modern-day society, families all over the country use

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

titles and surname when speaking to family members who are older or as a sign of general respect. Traditionally, only close friends or direct family members address each other by their first names.

Style and form of address

Nobility

During 925 - 1102, the Kingdom of Croatia's nobility had various titles and forms of address that varied from region to region and position to position. The King of Croatia was afforded the right of choosing his royal handle, for example in 1941, Prince Adimone, Duke of Aosta, took the name of King Tomislav II upon his succession to the Croatian throne. Titles were exclusive to members of the King's High Court and included the Queen consort and the following: # Duke (the highest ranking a noble could receive in his majesty's court) # Marquess (a lineage rank through European peerage) # Count (a successive rank to the Marquess) # Baron (title of honor bestowed on a civilian whose actions warranted the title) The titles were usually followed by the full name or more commonly by their surname.

Government

The

Government of Croatia The Government of Croatia (), formally the Government of the Republic of Croatia (), commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government (), is the main executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the Prime Minister of Croatia, president o ...

, which includes its

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

and

parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, employ selected titles usually corresponding to position or powers. Titles are also bestowed on members of the Croatian Judiciary.

Prime ministerial style

# Predsjednik Vlade ( Prime Minister (PM) of Croatia; the title is usually followed by the name of the incumbent) # His or Her Excellency (For the preface of the PM on foreign travel or amidst diplomatic work) # Premijer (unofficial; this title is also usually followed by the name of the incumbent)

Presidential style

# Predsjednik (

President of Croatia The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...

; the title is also usually followed by the surname of the incumbent)

Parliamentary style

# Predsjednik Sabora (

Speaker of the Croatian Parliament The speaker of the Croatian Parliament (, literally the president of the Croatian Parliament) is the Speaker (politics), presiding officer in the Croatian Parliament, Croatia's legislative body. Under Article 97 of the constitution of Croatia, ...

; title followed by full legal name) # Mister or Madam Speaker (as for )

Judicial style

# His or Her Honor (For judges on the Judiciary of Croatia and

Constitutional Court of Croatia The Constitutional Court of the Republic of Croatia () is an institution that acts as the interpreter and guardian of the Croatian Constitution and which monitors the conformity of laws with the Constitution as well as protection of human rights ...

)

Honorific titles

It is common etiquette in Croatia to address members of society with honorific titles as a sign of respect and societal distance. It is only with close friends or direct family members that first names are used. Honorific titles include the following and are usually followed by the surname of the addressed. # Gospodin (corresponding to Mr. or Sir in English and Monsieur in French) # Gospođa (corresponding to Ms. or Mrs. in English and Madame in French) # Gospođica (corresponding to Miss in English and Mademoiselle in French)

Croatian given names

History

Since their 7th century arrival in today's homeland,

have used Slavic names. Through the following centuries, foreign names were also accepted (mainly Roman and less Greek), especially those that mark

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

faith. According to the analysis of the anthroponyms of the Dalmatian city-states

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

(and Poljica) and

Trogir Trogir () is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 10,107 (2021) and a total municipal population of 12,393 (2021). The historic part of the city is situated on a small island ...

in the 11th century, it is estimated that 25% of upper class and 50% of citizens of Split had Slavic/Slavicized names, while both in Pojica and Trogir were predominantly Slavic/Slavicized. By the 13th century, 64% of names in Zadar had Slavic origin. The common Slavic given names, including Slavicized names of Roman or Christian origin, at the time were: Črnja/Črnje, Črneha, Črno, Dabro, Desa (< Desimir, Desina), Dobralj, Dobro/Dobre, Dobronja, Dobroša, Drago, Dragovit, Grčina, Kočina, Mihač, Mihe, Mirča/Mirče, Odoljen, Petronja, Prodan, Prvo (< Prvoneg), Sema, Valica, Vitača, Vlčina Zune (masculine); Biula, Bonica, Brana, Dobra, Dobrača, Dobrica/Dabrica, Godača, Kastrica/Kostrica, Katena, Mirača, Nemira, Stana, Veranica (feminine); Bela, Bogobojša, Gravalana, Hrl(a)c, Hudi, Kozlina, Kozonog, Krnja, Mačica, Naplata, Neslana, Platihleb, Platimisa, Poluduša, Treskalo, Tvrdouhati, Uzdiša, Zveronja (nicknames).

Petar Šimunović Petar Šimunović (19 February 1933 – 5 August 2014) was a Croatian linguist, onomastician, dialectologist, lexicographer, and academic member of HAZU. He was considered as the most prominent Croatian Onomastics, onomastician (since the second ...

also noted many Croatian names in Roman cities of Dubrovnik, Kotor, Split, Trogir, Zadar, Rab, Osor, Krk in the 11th and 12th century.

remained dominant almost until the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

(1545–63) when the

Catholic church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

decided that every Christian should have Christian name instead of native one. This lasted until the 19th century, when Croats again started to use neglected traditional names—especially those of mediæval Croatian kings and

dukes Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. More recently, as a result of globalization, unusual and exotic names of various cultures have also gained in wide spread popularity.

Frequency

According to 2011 Census in Croatia, the most frequent male names are

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

, Marko,

Josip Josip () is a male given name largely found among Croats and Slovenes, a cognate of Joseph. In Croatia, the name Josip was the second most common masculine given name in the decades up to 1959, and has stayed among the top ten most common ones thr ...

Stjepan Stjepan is a Croatian masculine given name, variant of Stephen. Historically it was found among ijekavian South Slavs, and it was also used as a honorific. In Croatia, the name Stjepan was among the top ten most common masculine given names in th ...

and Tomislav, and the most common female names include Marija, Ana and

Ivana Ivana is a feminine given name of Slavic origin that is also popular in southern Ireland, France, French-speaking Canada, the Mediterranean and Latin America. It is the feminine form of the name Ivan, which are both the Slavic cognates of the n ...

. The 2011 census data by decade of birth shows other common given names depending on the decade, including

Željko Željko (), sometimes written Zeljko, is a South Slavic masculine given name. In Croatia, the name Željko was among the most common masculine given names in the decades between 1950 and 1979, and was the most common name in the 1960s. Notable pe ...

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

Ivica Ivica is a Slavic masculine given name, a diminutive form of Ivan. The direct English equivalent of the name is Johnny, while the equivalent of its augmentative Ivan is John. It is one of the frequent male given names in Croatia, and is also pre ...

, Luka,

Franjo Franjo is a Croatian masculine given name. The name Franjo is of German origin and has a very long history. Franjo comes from the word "Frank", which means "brave and free man". The name Franjo was initially borne by men from the tribe of the Frank ...

, Ante, Damir for males and

Kata ''Kata'' is a Japanese word ( 型 or 形) meaning "form". It refers to a detailed choreographed pattern of martial arts movements. It can also be reviewed within groups and in unison when training. It is practiced in Japanese martial arts ...

, Dragica, Nada, Ljubica, Vesna, Mirjana for females.

Traditional Croatian names

Some common Croatian names of Slavic origin include:

Feminine

* Berislava * Blaga * Blagica *

Bogdan Bogdan (Cyrillic: Богдан) is a Slavic masculine name that appears in the South Slavic languages and in Polish, Romanian and Moldovan. It is derived from the Slavic words ''Bog'' (Cyrillic: Бог), meaning 'god', and ''dan'' (Cyrillic: ...

a * Bogomila, Bogumila * Borka * Borislava *

Bożena Bożena () is a Polish feminine given name, originally appearing as ''Bożana'' and ''Bożechna''. It is derived from the word "Bóg" (God). This Slavic name is equivalent to Božena in Czech, Slovak and other Slavic languages. Individuals ...

* Božica * Božidarka * Branimira *

Branka Branka ( sr-cyr, Бранка) is a Serbo-Croatian female given name derived from the Slavic root ''bran'' – the same as in Branislav and Branimir – with the meaning "to defend or protect". It can also be a version of the Portuguese name '' ...

* Buga * Cvita * Cvijeta * Danica * Davorka * Divna * Dragana * Dragica * Dragomirka *

Dragomir Dragomir () is a Slavic masculine name, mostly found in Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Russia, and Ukraine as well as Romania. It is composed of the Slavic words '' drag'' (dear, precious) and ''mir'' (peace), both very comm ...

a * Draginja * Dragina * Draga * Draženka * Dražena * Dubravka * Dunja * Hrvoja or Hrvojka * Jasenka * Jasna * Ljuba * Ljubica * Mila * Milica * Miljenka * Mislava *

Mira Mira (), designation Omicron Ceti (ο Ceti, abbreviated Omicron Cet, ο Cet), is a red-giant star estimated to be 200–300 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Cetus. ο Ceti is a binary stellar system, consisting of a vari ...

* Mirjana * Mirka * Misirka *

Mirna Micro ribonucleic acid (microRNA, miRNA, μRNA) are small, single-stranded, non-coding RNA molecules containing 21–23 nucleotides. Found in plants, animals, and even some viruses, miRNAs are involved in RNA silencing and post-transcri ...

* Mojmira * Morana * Nada * Neda * Nediljka * Nevenka * Ognjenka * Ranka * Rašeljka * Ratka * Ruža * Ružica * Sanja * Slava * Slavica * Slavenka * Smilja, Smiljana * Spomenka * Srebrenka * Stanislava * Stana * Stanka *

Snežana Snežana (Cyrillic: Снежана), also transliterated Snezhana, is a Slavic, Circassian, and Lithuanian feminine given name, possibly derived from ''sneg'' ("snow"). One of interpretations is that Snežana is a name of folk origin, derived f ...

, Snješka, Snježana * Sunčana * Sunčica * Tjeha * Tihana * Tihomila * Tuga * Vedrana *

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

Verica Verica (early 1st century AD) was a British client king of the Roman Empire in the years preceding the Claudian invasion of 43 AD. From his coinage, he appears to have been king of the probably Belgic Atrebates tribe and a son of Commius. T ...

* Vjera * Vesna * Vjekoslava * Vlasta * Vlatka * Zdenka * Zlata * Zora, Zorica, Zorka * Zrinka * Zrina * Zvjezdana * Zvonimira, Zvonka *

Željka Željka () is a feminine given name, the feminine form of Željko Željko (), sometimes written Zeljko, is a South Slavic masculine given name. In Croatia, the name Željko was among the most common masculine given names in the decades between 19 ...

* Živka

Masculine

* Berislav * Berivoj * Blago *

* Bojan * Boris * Borislav * Borna * Božetjeh * Božidar * Božo * Brajko * Branimir * Branko * Braslav * Bratislav * Bratoljub * Budimir * Časlav * Cvitko * Cvjetko *

Czesław Czesław, (, , ) is an old given name derived from the Slavic elements ''ča'' (to await) and ''slava'' (glory). Feminine form: Czesława/Česlava. The name may refer to: * Ceslaus, Christian Saint * Czesław Białobrzeski, Polish physicist * ...

* Častimir * Čedomir * Dalibor * Damir * Darko * Davor * Desimir * Dobroslav * Dobrovit * Domagoj *

Dragan Dragan (, sr-Cyrl, Драган) is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic masculine given name derived from the common Slavic languages, Slavic element ''-drag, drag'' meaning "dear, beloved". The feminine form is Dragana (given name), Dragana. ...

* Drago * Dragoslav * Dragutin *

* Dražen * Držiha * Držislav * Godzimir, Godemir * Gojko * Gojislav * Gojslav * Goran * Grubiša * Hrvatin * Hrvoje, Hrvoj * Hrvoslav * Kazimir, Kažimir * Jasenko * Klonimir * Krasimir, Krešimir * Krševan * Lavoslav *

Ljubomir Lubomir, Lyubomir, Lyubomyr, Lubomír, Ľubomír, or Ljubomir is a Slavic given name meaning lub (love) and mir (peace, world). Feminine forms are: Lubomira and Ljubica. Nicknames Lubor, Luboš, Luborek, Lubošek, Borek, Lubo, Ľubo, Ljubo ...

* Ljudevit *

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

Mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

Milivoj Milivoj () is an old Slavic origin given name derived from elements: ''milo'' ("gracius, favour") + ''voj'' ("soldier, war"). Popular primarily in South Slavic states. The name may refer to: * Milivoj Ašner (1913–2011), a former police chief ...

Milovan Milovan ( sr-Cyrl, Милован) is a Slavic name derived from the passive adjective ''milovati'' ("caress"). It is recorded in Serbia since the Late Middle Ages. Variants include Milovanac and Milovanče. Given name * Milovan Bojić (born 1955) ...

* Miljenko *

Mihael Mihael is a masculine given name with the same etymology as Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * he He ..., a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given nam ...

* Mihovil * Mirko * Miroslav * Miroš * Mislav * Mladen * Mojmir * Mutimir * Nediljko * Nedjeljko * Nenad * Ognjen * Ostoja * Ozren * Predrag * Pribislav * Prvan * Prvoslav * Prvoš * Radimir, Radomir * Radoš * Rajko * Ranko * Ratimir * Ratko * Rato * Radovan * Radoslav *

Slaven Slaven may refer to: * Slaven (given name) * Slaven (surname) Slaven is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernie Slaven (born 1960), Scottish-born Irish football player * Mick Slaven (born 1961), Scottish musician See also * ...

* Slaviša *

Slavoljub Slavoljub or Slavolub (Cyrillic script: Славољуб) is a masculine given name derived from the Slavic names, Slavic elements: ''slava'' "glory, famous" and ''ljub'' "favour, love, to like". Nicknames: Slava, Slavko, Ljuba. Other form: Ljubo ...

Sławomir Sławomir () is an Old Polish male given name of Slavic origin consists of two parts: "sława/slava" - glory, fame and "mir" - world, peace, prestige. Cognates include Slavomir, Slavomír. Feminine form is: Sławomira/Slavomira. Nicknames: Sław ...

, Slavomir * Smiljan * Spomenko * Srebrenko * Srećko * Stanislav *

Stanko Stanko or Stańko () is a variation of the Slavic masculine given name Stanislav (given name), Stanislav. Nicknames in . Notable people with the name include: Given name: *Stanko Abadžić (born 1952), Croatian photographer and photojournalist *Sta ...

* Strahimir * Svetoslav,

Sviatoslav Sviatoslav (, ; , ) is a Russian and Ukrainian given name of Slavic origin. Cognates include Svetoslav, Svatoslav, , Svetislav. It has a Pre-Christian pagan character and means "one who worships the light" (likely in reference to the sun). In C ...

* Tihomil * Tihomir * Tješimir * Tomislav * Tomo * Tvrtko * Trpimir * Vatroslav * Većeslav * Vedran *

Velimir Velimir ( sr-cyr, Велимир) is a Serbo-Croatian masculine given name and sometimes a surname, a Slavic name derived from elements ''vele'' "great" and ''mir'' "peace, prestige". It may refer to: * Velimir Ilić (born 1951), politician * Vel ...

* Veselko * Vidoslav * Vjekoslav * Vjenceslav *

Višeslav Višeslav ( sr-Cyrl, Вишеслав) is a Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Mo ...

* Vitomir * Vjeran * Vladimir *

Vladislav Vladislav ( (', '); , ; Russian language, Russian, Ukrainian language, Ukrainian, Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, Macedonian language, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав, ) is a male given names, given name of Slavs, Slavic origin. Variatio ...

, Vlado *

Vlatko Vlatko () is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin. Notable people with the name include: * Vlatko Andonovski (born 1976), football manager * Vlatko Blažević (born 1994), Croatian football player *Vlatko Čančar (born 1997), Slovenia ...

* Vojmil * Vojnomir * Vuk * Zdenko * Zdzisław, Zdeslav * Zdravko * Zorislav *

Zoran Zoran ( sr-Cyrl, Зоран) is a common South Slavic name, the masculine form of Zora, which means ''dawn, daybreak''. The name is especially common in Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia and to some degree in Slovenia. Notable people with this g ...

* Zrinko, Zrinoslav * Zlatan, Zlatko * Zvonimir * Zvonimir, Zvonko * Žarko * Želimir *

* Živko

Christian names

Names used commonly in the Christian world were adopted with the spread of the faith, being assimilated into native forms for local use. Some Croatian versions of first names originally associated with saints or important Christian figures are shown below: * Aleksandar (Alexander) * Ana (Anna) * Ante or Antun (Anthony) * Andrija (Andrew) * Danijel (Daniel) * David * Dominik (Dominic) * Edvard (Edward) * Filip (Philip, Phillip) * Franjo (Francis) * Fridrik (Frederick) * Grgur (Gregory) *

Henrik Henrik is a male given name of Germanic origin, primarily used in Scandinavia, Finland, Estonia, Hungary and Slovenia. In Poland, the name is spelt Henryk but pronounced similarly. Equivalents in other languages are Henry (English), Heiki (Estoni ...

(

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

) * Ilija (Elijah) * Ivan (John) * Jakov (Jacob) * Josip (Joseph) * Juraj (George) * Karlo (Charles) * Katarina (Catherine) * Kristofor (Christopher) * Lav (Leo) * Ljudevit (Lewis) * Lovro (Lawrence) * Luka (Luke) * Marko (Mark) * Marija (Mary) * Matej (Matthew) * Mihael, Mihovil, Mihajlo (Michael) * Nikola, Nikša, Niko, Mikula (Nicholas) * Pavao (Paul) * Petar, Pero (Peter) * Rikard (Richard) * Sebastijan (Sebastian) * Silvestar * Šimun (Simon) * Stjepan, Stipan, Stipe (Stephen) * Toma (Thomas) * Vasilije ( Vassilios, Basil) * Vilim (William) * Vinko (Vincent)

Borrowed or foreign names

Due to globalization and remnants of historical significance (i.e. Croatia–Italy relations, Illyrian Provincial nationalism, etc.) many people in Croatia have French, Swedish, Finnish, German, Italian and American, English or Anglophone first names (given names). However, due to the alphabetical limitation of Croatian many names take on new pronunciations, are respelled, or are restructured to comply with the country's naming customs. Uncharacteristic names by nationality of origin include: (

Anglophone The English-speaking world comprises the 88 countries and territories in which English is an official, administrative, or cultural language. In the early 2000s, between one and two billion people spoke English, making it the largest language ...

): Thomas, Charles, Max, Jacob, William, Isabella, Emma, Madison, Matthew, Alexander; (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

): Hans, Peter, Stephan, Gerhard, Edith, Gabriele, Monika, Wolfgang, Dennis; ( French): Jean-Louis, Lucus, Marie, Clément, Camille, Baptiste, Léonie, Julien, Françoise, Jeanne; (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

): Alessandro, Andrea, Alessia, Claudia, Christian, Riccardo, Luca, Matteo, Leonardo, Sofia ...

Croatian family names

Family names started to appear among Croats in the 12th century, and according to

, are the first Slavic nation having surnames. At least since the

, both the given and family names would be written down, particularly for women who until then were mostly without surname. The surnames have various suffixes, mainly ending on "-ić", "-ović", "-ević", "-inić". In comparison to the Serbs who only in the 19th century got permanent surnames, in Croatian culture it is uncommon to use personal or hypocoristic name to refer to someone in official or public speech (for example to

Vuk Karadžić Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the moder ...

simply as "Vuk").

Origins

Croatian family names have five different origins: * Given names,

matronymic A matronymic is a personal name or a parental name based on the given name of one's mother, grandmother, or any female ancestor. It is the female equivalent of a patronymic. Around the world, matronymic surnames are far less common than patrony ...

s and

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

s: Anić, Blažević, Ivanec, Marić, Stipanov ... * Professional or occupational names: Kovač (

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

), Klobučar ( hatmaker), Lončar (

potter A potter is someone who makes pottery. Potter may also refer to: Places United States *Potter, originally a section on the Alaska Railroad, currently a neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, US *Potter, Arkansas *Potter, Nebraska *Potters, New Jerse ...

), Tkalčić (

weaver Weaver or Weavers may refer to: Activities * A person who engages in weaving fabric Animals * Various birds of the family Ploceidae * Crevice weaver spider family * Orb-weaver spider family * Weever (or weever-fish) Arts and entertainmen ...

), Stolar (

carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...

) ... * Nicknames: Debeljak, Crnić, Obad ... *

Toponym Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for ...

s: Duvnjak (from

Duvno Tomislavgrad ( Cyrl, Томиславград, ), also known by its former name Duvno ( Cyrl, Дувно, ), is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Tomislavgrad in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosni ...

), Kuprešak (from

Kupres Kupres ( sr-cyrl, Купрес) is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Kupres in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 5,057 inhabitant ...

), Bosanac (Bosnian), Posavec (from

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning fro ...

), Zagorec (from

Hrvatsko Zagorje Hrvatsko Zagorje (; Croatian Zagorje; ''zagorje'' is Croatian language, Croatian for 'backland' or 'behind the hills') is a cultural region in northern Croatia, traditionally separated from the country's capital Zagreb by the Medvednica mount ...

) ... * Ethnic designation: Hrvat, Horvat, Hrvatin, Horvatinčić ... (

Croat 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 ...

), Čerkez (

Circassians The Circassians or Circassian people, also called Cherkess or Adyghe (Adyghe language, Adyghe and ), are a Northwest Caucasian languages, Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation who originated in Circassia, a region and former country in t ...

), Čeh (

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

), Mađar (

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

), Vlahović (

Vlachs Vlach ( ), also Wallachian and many other variants, is a term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate speakers of Eastern Romance languages living in Southeast Europe—south of the Danube (the Balkan peninsula ...

) ...

Frequency

The

2011 Croatian census Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleve ...

registered the following as the most frequent Croatian family names: # Horvat #

Kovačević Kovačević (Serbo-Croatian, sh-Cyrl, Ковачевић), Kovačevič ( Slovene and Slovak; feminine (Slovak): Kovačevičová) or Kovačovič (Slovak; feminine: Kovačovičová), is a Slavic surname meaning " lackmith's son". The surname is de ...

# Babić #

Marić Marić ( sr-Cyrl, Марић, ) is a South Slavs, South Slavic surname. It is the fourth most common surname in Croatia. Notable people with the name include: *Adnan Marić (born 1997), Swedish footballer *Aleks Marić (born 1984), Australian ba ...

Jurić Jurić () is a Croatian surname derived from the masculine name Jure (given name), Jure, Jura (given name), Jura or Juraj with the -ić, patronymic-forming suffix ''-ić''/''-ič''. It is the fifth most common surname in Croatia. It may refer to: ...

Novak Novak (in Serbo-Croatian and Slovene; Cyrillic: ) and Novák (in Hungarian, Czech and Slovak; feminine: Nováková) is a surname and masculine given name, derived from the Slavic word for 'new' (e.g. , / ), which usually translates as 'novice ...

# Kovačić # Knežević #

Vuković Vuković (, ) is a common family name found in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Serbia, of which bearers are either Bosniaks, Croats, Montenegrins or Serbs, as well as medieval families long before idea of national identity ever ap ...

Marković Marković ( sr-Cyrl, Марковић, ) is a common family name in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Austria and Serbia. It is a patronym of ''Marko (given name), Marko'', the local variant of the common European name "Marcus" or "Mark". ...

Naming customs

In the south of the country, although not consistently, the following mechanism was used in naming, one that has been in practice for over four centuries: # The oldest son is named after the father's father. # The oldest daughter is named after the father's mother. # The second oldest son is named after the mother's father. # The second oldest daughter is named after the mother's mother. Other children of the father are either named after favorite aunts or uncles or sometimes, after the saint of the day they were born.

References

;Further reading *

- ''Leksik prezimena Socijalističke Republike Hrvatske'' (1976) *

- ''Naša prezimena – porijeklo, značenje, rasprostranjenost'' (1985) *

- ''Hrvatska prezimena'' (1995) *

- ''Hrvatski prezimenik I-III'' (2008) *

- ''Hrvatska u prezimenima'' (2008) *

- ''Uvod u hrvatsko imenoslovlje'' (2009)

External links

Law about given name in Republic of Croatia

Croatian given names

Meaning of some Croatian family names

Site about Croatian names
{{DEFAULTSORT:Croatian Name

Name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

Names by country Slavic-language names