Given Names
As with most Western cultures, a child is given a first name chosen by their parents or is chosen by godparents. 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 | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slobodan Слободан |
Serbian | Free man | Eleftherios, Sloba | Slobodanka | |
| Miroslav Мирослав |
Slavic | Peace and Glory | Mirosław, Mirko | Mira, Miroslava | |
| Vladimir Владимир |
Владимѣръ | Slavic |
Rule in Peace | Vlada, Vlado | Vladimira, Vlada |
| Vukašin Вукашин |
Slavic | Son of the wolf, younger wolf | Vuki, Vuk, Vule, Vučko, Vukosav | Vuka, Vukica | |
| Zoran Зоран |
Slavic | Daybreak | Zoki, Zoća | Zora, Zorana, Zorica | |
| Goran Горан |
Slavic | Woodsman, Highlander "The tall one" |
Gorana | ||
| Aleksandar Александар |
Aléxandros Αλέξανδρος |
Greek | Protector of Man | Aleksa, Saša, Sale | Aleksandra, Saša, Saška |
| Jovan Jован |
Ioannis Ιωάννης |
Hebrew |
God is gracious | Ivan Jovo, Jovica, Joca, Jole |
Jovana, Ivana, Ivanka, Iva |
| Marko Марко |
Marcus | Latin | Maki, Mare | ||
| Nikola Никола |
Nikolaos Νικόλαος |
Greek | Victory of the people | Nidža, Niko | Nikoleta, Nikolina |
| Đorđe Ђopђe |
Georgios Γεώργιος |
Greek | Farmer | Đurađ Đuro, Đole, Đoka, Đorđa, Đorđo |
Đorđica, Đurđica, Đurđina |
| Mihailo Михаило |
Mikha'el מִיכָאֵל |
Hebrew |
"He 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, Goran, Radomir, Miomir, Branimir, Budimir, Slavimir)
For more Slavic names used in Serbia see the article:
- Slavic names
or choose:
- List of given names of Slavic origin (Serbian Wikipedia).
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:
- (e.g. Nikola, Ivan, Jovan, Marija, Ana, Đorđe, Petar, Pavle, Mihailo)
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:
- (e.g. Marko, Antonije)
Read more about this topic: Serbian Given Names
Famous quotes containing the word names:
“I have known a German Prince with more titles than subjects, and a Spanish nobleman with more names than shirts.”
—Oliver Goldsmith (1728–1774)
“We rarely quote nowadays to appeal to authority ... though we quote sometimes to display our sapience and erudition. Some authors we quote against. Some we quote not at all, offering them our scrupulous avoidance, and so make them part of our “white mythology.” Other authors we constantly invoke, chanting their names in cerebral rituals of propitiation or ancestor worship.”
—Ihab Hassan (b. 1925)