Serbian name
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This article features the naming culture and names of ethnic Serbs.
Given names
As with most Western cultures, a child is given a first name chosen by their parents. The given name comes first, the surname last, e.g. "Željko Popović", where "Željko" is a first name and "Popović" is a family name.
| Serbian | Derivation | Origin | Meaning | Related (Forms) |
Female |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slobodan Слободан |
Serbian | Free man | Eleftherios, Sloba | Slobodanka | |
| Miroslav Мирослав |
Slavic | Peace and Glory | Mirosław | Miroslava | |
| Vladimir Владимир |
Владимѣръ | Slavic Old Church Slavonic |
Rule in Peace | Vlada, Vlado | Vladimira, Vlada |
| Zoran Зоран |
Slavic | Daybreak | Zoki, Zoća | Zora, Zorana, Zorica | |
| Goran Горан |
Slavic | Highlander, "The tall one" | Gorana | ||
| Aleksandar Александар |
Aléxandros Αλέξανδρος |
Greek | Protector of Man | Aleksa, Saša, Sale | Aleksandra |
| Jovan Jован |
Ioannis Ιωάννης |
Hebrew (Biblical) |
God is gracious | Ivan Jova, Joca, Jole |
Jovana, Ivana |
| Marko Марко |
Marcus | Latin | Maki, Mare | ||
| Nikola Никола |
Nikolaos Νικόλαος |
Greek | Victory of the people | Nidža | Nikoleta, Nikolina |
| Đorđe Ђopђe |
Georgios Γεώργιος |
Greek | Farmer | Đurađ Đuro, Đole, Đoka |
Đorđica, Đurđica |
| Mihailo Михаило |
Mikha'el מִיכָאֵל |
Hebrew (Biblical) |
"Who is like God?" | Mika, Miki, Miha |
Serbian first names largely originate from Slavic roots:
- (e.g. Slobodan, Miroslav, Vladimir, Zoran, Ljubomir, Vesna, Leposava, Radmila, Gordana, Dragan, Milan, Zoran, Goran, Radomir, Miomir, Branimir, Budimir, Slavimir)
For more Slavic names used in Serbia see the article:
or choose the equivalent article below Template:Sr icon:
Some may be non-Slavic but chosen to reflect Christian faith. Names of this nature may often originate from Hebrew for Biblical reasons. Christian names include:
Along similar lines of non-Slavic names among Christians, the origins for many such names are Greek:
- (e.g. Aleksandar, Filip, Jelena, Katarina, Todor)
Latin names include:
Surnames
Most Serbian surnames have the surname suffix -ić (-ић) ([itɕ]). This can sometimes further be transcribed as -ic, but in history, Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch, and;
- Hungary, -ity -ics
- Republic of Macedonia, -ikj (iḱ, иќ)
- Romania, -ici
- Slovenia, -ič
This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to, for historical reasons, as Milutin Milankovitch, and Mileva Marić, born in Vojvodina (then a part of Hungary) has sometimes been rendered as Marity (e.g. in the claim of "Einstein-Marity" theory). When marrying, the woman adopts her husband's family name.
The -ić suffix is a Slavic diminutive, originally functioning to create patronymics. Thus the surname Petrović means the little son of Petar (Petrić signifies the little son of Petra, the widow).
Most Serbian surnames are paternal (father), maternal (mother), occupational, or derived from personal traits.
Other common surname suffixes are -ov, -ev, -in and -ski which is the Slavic possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. The two suffixes are often combined, most commonly as -ović.
It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić. but that some 80%[citation needed] of Serbs carry common surnames that are spread among non-related families.
The most common surnames are Petrović, Popović, Nikolić, and Jovanović.
Name Order
Serbian names are rendered in the Western name order with the surname placed after the given name. Eastern name order may be used when multiple names appear in a sorted list, particularly in official notes and legal documents when the last name is capitalized (e.g. MILOVANOVIĆ Janko).
History
Demetrios Chomatenos (Archbishop of Ohrid from 1216 to 1236) registered the naming culture of the South Slavs in Byzantine lands. In the 11th and 12th century, family names became more common and stable in Byzantium, adapted by the majority of people in Byzantine Macedonia, Epirus and other regions (including women, sometimes even monks), not only aristocrats. The South Slavs, however, maintained the tradition of only giving a personal name, sometimes with a Patronymic. There are only 2 cases of family names used by South Slavs during this time; Bogdanopoulos and Serbopoulos, both Serbian names with the Greek suffix -opoulos (όπουλος, originating in Peloponnese in the 10th century)[1]