Naming System
- Given names
A child is given a first name chosen by their parents but approved by the godparents of the child (the godparents rarely object to the parents' choice). The given name comes first, the surname last, e.g. "Željko Ivković", where "Željko" is a first name and "Ivković" is a family name. Female names end with -a, e.g. Ivan -> Ivana. Popular names are mostly of Croatian (Slavic), Christian (Biblical), Greek and Latin origin. Croatian: Niko, Ivo, Zoran, Goran,Antun and Željko. Greek: Nikola, Petar and Filip. Biblical: Ivan, Petar, Franjo and Gabrijel. Latin: Marko, Josip, Antonio, Emilijan.
- Surnames
Most Croatian surnames (like Bosniak, Serbian and Montenegrin) have the surname suffix -ić (pronounced Croatian pronunciation: or ). This is often transliterated as -ic or -ici. In English-speaking countries, Croatian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Croats from before the early 20th century: hence Ivan Ivanković is usually referred to as Ivan Ivankovitch. The -ić suffix is a Slavic diminutive, originally functioning to create patronymics. Thus the surname Petrić signifies little Petar, similar to Mac ("son of") in Scottish and Irish, and O' (grandson of) in Irish names. Other common surname suffixes are -ov or -in, which is the Slavic possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, Ivan's son Ivanov and son of son of Pavao would be Pavlović ("Pavlov's son" in Croatian). Those are more typical for Croats from Vojvodina, Bulgaria and minority in central Croatia. The two suffixes are often combined. The most common surnames are Horvat, Marković, Ivanković, Pavlović etc.
Croatian last names are very similar to Serbian ones along with Bosniak, Montenegrin and Slovene. But most Croats had their last name before Serbs and Bosniaks due to Ottoman occupation of Serbia and Bosnia.
Read more about this topic: Croats
Famous quotes containing the words naming and/or system:
“Husband,
who am I to reject the naming of foods
in a time of famine?”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“The professional celebrity, male and female, is the crowning result of the star system of a society that makes a fetish of competition. In America, this system is carried to the point where a man who can knock a small white ball into a series of holes in the ground with more efficiency than anyone else thereby gains social access to the President of the United States.”
—C. Wright Mills (1916–1962)