100 Croatian Last Names With Meanings And History

Any writer needs to think and understand their character properly before choosing the right name for a character.

A name with a strong and clear meaning makes the character unforgettable. A name can tell a lot about the character and boost the character's importance in a story.

Croatia, or officially, The Republic Of Croatia, is a country in South-Central Europe. Croatian names have complex and unique lettering and naming customs. Most of the Croatian surnames end with -ic. -ic is a diminutive suffix combined with the name or profession of a parent to form patronymic or matronymic surnames. Many of the Croatian surnames are derived from other Slavic languages like Serbian, Bosnian, etc.

For some more Eastern European surnames, take a look at Slavic Surnames and Hungarian Last Names.

The most common Croatian Surnames are patronymic, and a few are matronymic. The most common surname in Croatia is Knežević. Here we provide you with a list of the most common Croatian surnames and meanings.

1. Abramović meaning "Son of Abram". The Croatian surname is associated with Ivana Abramović, a Croatian Tennis Player.

2. Antunović meaning "Son of Antuno". The name is associated with Ivan Antunović, a Croatian writer.

3. Babić, a surname derived from 'baba' meaning "Old Woman". The name is associated with the Croatian painter Ljubo Babić.

4. Bilić derived from the Ikavian word 'bilo' meaning "white". The name is associated with the Croatian football player, Slaven Bilić.

5. Blažević patronymic surname derived from 'Blaž' meaning "Carrier".

6. Bošnjak meaning "people from the region of Bosnia".

7. Božić meaning "Little God".

8. Filipović meaning "Son of Filip".

9. Grgić meaning "Son of Grgur". The name is associated with Zlatko Grgić, a Croatian animator.

10. Horvat derived from 'Hrvat' meaning "Croat, a person from Croatia". It is the last name of the famous Croatian writer and Sailor Joža Horvat,

11. Ivanović meaning "Son of Ivan".

12. Jukić meaning "Son of Juko". The name can be associated with the Bosnian Film Director, Elmir Jukić.

13. Knežević patronymic surname derived from Serbo-Croatian 'kniz' meaning "prince". The name is associated with 'House of Knežević', a Croatian noble Family.

14. Kovačić patronymic surname derived from 'kovač' meaning "blacksmith". The name is associated with the Croatian musician, Bruno Kovacić.

15. Kralj meaning "King". The name is associated with Kralj Tomislav, the first King of Croatia.

16. Lonćar derived from the Serbo-Croatian word 'Lonac' meaning "potter". The name is associated with Zoran Lonćar, a Serbian Politician.

17. Lovrić meaning "Son of Lovro".

18. Mandić matronymic surname meaning "Son of Manda".

19. Marković meaning "Son of Marko".

20. Martinović meaning "Son of Martin". The name is associated with Anica Martinović, the former Miss Croatia, and Miss World Runner up.

21. Matić meaning "Son of Matija".

22.Milić meaning "Son of Mile".

23. Novak derived from Slavic 'Novy' meaning "new". It was used as a name for someone new to the village. The name is associated with the professional Tennis Player Novak Djoković.

24. Pavlović meaning "Son of Pavle".

25. Petrović meaning "Son of Petar". The name is associated with the Serbian poet Zoran Petrović.

26. Šimunović meaning "Son of Šimun". The name is associated with the Croatian writer Dinko Šimunović.

27. Tomić meaning "Son of Tuma". The name is associated with Croatian film director Živorad Tomić.

28. Vidović meaning "Son of Vid".

29. Vuković patronymic surname derived from 'Vuk' meaning "Wolf".

30. Zorić meaning "Son of Zora". The name is associated with Luka Zorić, a Croatian Basketball Player.

Certain surnames are catchy and stand out from the rest. Check out this list of a few of the most popular last names in Croatia.

31. Adamić meaning "Son of Adam".

32. Antić meaning "Son of Anto or Ante". The surname is associate with Mika Antić, a Yugoslav poet and film director.

33. Bogdanić meaning "Son of Bogdan".

34. Branković meaning "Son of Branko".

35. Ćurković derived from the word 'curak' meaning "fur coat". The name is associated with Serbian footballer Ivan Ćurković.

36. Davidović meaning "Son of David". It is associated with Dalibor Davidović, a Croatian musicologist.

37. Franjić meaning "Son of Franjo".

38. Graovac is derived from the word 'Graovo', usually used to refer to someone from Graova. The surname is associated with the Croatian scientist Ante Graovac.

39. Grbić meaning "hunchback". Derived from 'grb' meaning "hump".

40. Hadžić derived from the word 'hadži', referring to pilgrims to Mecca or Jerusalem. The surname is associated with Osman Hadžić, a Bosnian Singer.

41. Ilić meaning "Son of Ilja". The surname is associated with the Serbian poet Vojislav Ilić.

42. Ivanković meaning "Son of Ivanko".

43. Jakovljević meaning "Son of Jakov".

44. Josipović meaning "Son of Josip". The surname is associated with Ivo Josipović, the former President of Croatia.

45. Jugovac derived from 'jug' meaning "South".

46. Jurković patronymic surname from the given name Jurko. The surname is associated with Igor Jurković, a Croatian Kickboxer.

47. Klisanin, a toponymic surname for someone from Klis.

48. Košar derived from the word 'koš' meaning "basket". Used as a surname for someone who made or sold baskets.

49. Lucić meaning "Son of Lukas". The name can be associated with Mirjana Lucić, a Croatian Tennis Player.

50. Marić meaning "Son of Marija". The name can be associated with Marcela Marić, the Croatian Olympic Diver.

51. Mornarić meaning "Child of Sailor".

52. Nikolić meaning "son of Nikola". The name can be associated with the House of Nikolic, a Serbian noble Family.

53. Perović meaning "son of Pero". The name is associated with Ana Perović, a former Serbian Basketball Player.

54. Radosević meaning "Son of Rados". The name is associated with the Croatian Footballer Josip Radosević.

55. Stankić meaning "Son of Stanko".

56. Stjepanić meaning "Son of Stjepan".

57. Vlatković meaning "Son of Vlatko".

58. Vujić meaning "Son of Vuja". The name is associated with Antun Vujić, a Croatian politician and philosopher.

59. Zagorac meaning "someone from beyond the mountain". The name is associated with Danijel Zagora, a Croatian Footballer.

60. Živković meaning "Son of Živko". The surname is associated with Zoran Živković, the former Prime Minister of Serbia.

Having unique names is exciting. Anyone would remember a character with a unique and rare name. Check out this unique and rare Croatian surnames list that we found.

61. Andrić meaning "Son of Andrija". The surname is associated with Nikola Andrić, a Croatian writer and philologist.

62. Arapović derived from the Turkish word 'Arap' meaning "Arab".

63. Broz derived from Ambrozije meaning "Immortal". The surname of the Yugoslavian dictator, Josip Broz Tito.

64. Bukvić derived from the word 'Bukva' meaning "beach".

65. Cvek (German Origin) derived from the German word 'Zwecke' meaning "nail".

66. Dedić meaning "Successor" or "duke". The surname is associated with Arsen Dedić, a Croatian Footballer.

67. Golubić meaning "little pigeon". Derived from the word 'Golub' meaning "pigeon".

68. Harambašić derived from the word 'Harambaša' meaning "bandit-leader". The name is associated with August Harambašić, a Croatian writer and poet.

69. Ignjatić meaning "Son of Ignjat". It is associated with the fictional character names Nina and Škoro Ignjatić, from the historical novel, 'The Scent of Rain in The Balkans'.

70. Janković meaning "Son of Janko".

71.Ježić derived from the word 'Jež' meaning "hedgehog". The name is associated with Slavko Ježić, a Croatian writer.

72. Kapetanović meaning "Son of Captain". It is associated with Aret Kapetanović, a British Singer-songwriter.

73. Kasun derived from the Slavic word 'Kazati' meaning "to order" or "to command".

74. Kokotović derived from the Slavic word 'Kokoto' meaning "rooster" or "cock". The name can be associated with Dragan Kokotović, a footballer.

75. Kos meaning "blackbird".

76. Lonćarević meaning "Son of the potter". The surname is associated with Ilija Lončarević, a Croatian Football Coach.

77. Mećava meaning "Snowstorm". The name is associated with Mile Mećava, a Yugoslavian Partisan, and hero from World II.

78. Medved meaning "Bear".

79. Orlić derived from the word 'orao' meaning "Eagle". The name is associated with the Croatian Musician, Tihomir Orlić.

80. Popović a patronymic surname meaning "Son of Priest". The name is associated with Petar Popović, a former Croatian Basketballer.

81. Ribar meaning "Fisherman."

82. Rudić derived from the word 'Rud' meaning "ore."

83. Rukavina derived from the Serbo-Croatian word ' Rukav' meaning "Sleeve". The name is associated with Josip Rukavina, a Croatian Chess player.

84. Šakić derived from the word 'saka' meaning "Fist".

85. Šegrt meaning "apprentice". The name is associated with Rade Šegrt, a Bosnian-Serb author.

86. Stojanović meaning "Son of Stojan".

87. Vinković meaning "Son of Vinko".

88. Vitezić meaning "Son of Knight".

89. Vlahović patronymic surname derived from 'vlah' meaning "Romanian". The name is associated with Helga Vlahović, a Croatian journalist and television personality.

90. Zec meaning "Rabbit". The name is associated with Safet Zec, a Bosnian painter.

A few Croatian Surnames have been evolved or formed from the early Croatian noble family names. Here we share a list of Ancient Croatian Surnames,

91. Berislavic is composed of the two words 'birati' meaning "to take" and 'slava' meaning "glory". It was a prominent Croatian noble family in the 15th and 16th centuries.

92. Crnković derived from 'crn' meaning "black".

93. Domagojević meaning "Son of Doamgoj". It is a native Croatian dynasty that ruled Croatia in the late 800s.

94. Gusić derived from the word 'Guska' meaning "goose". It was one of the twelve noble families of the Kingdom of Croatia.

95. Kačić derived from the word 'Kača' meaning "Snake". It was one of the twelve noble families of Croatia.

96. Mogorović meaning "Son of Mogor". It was one of the twelve noble families of Croatia.

97. Nelipić meaning "Son of Nelipac". It is a medieval Croatian noble family that existed in the 15th and 16th centuries.

98. Radić meaning "Son of Rade".

99. Tripimirović meaning "Sons of Tripimir". It was the Ruling dynasty of Croatia, named after Tripimir I, the founder.

100. Zrinski (Hungarian Origin) meaning "people from Zrin". It is an Old Croatian noble family in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for Croatian Last Names then why not take a look at Ukrainian Last Names, or for something different take a look at Tiefling Last Names.