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 Name
Famous quotes containing the word names:
“No, no! I don’t, I don’t want to know your name. You don’t have a name, and I don’t have a name, either. No names here. Not one name.”
—Bernardo Bertolucci (b. 1940)
“In a time of confusion and rapid change like the present, when terms are continually turning inside out and the names of things hardly keep their meaning from day to day, it’s not possible to write two honest paragraphs without stopping to take crossbearings on every one of the abstractions that were so well ranged in ornate marble niches in the minds of our fathers.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)