lastnamegenerators

Croatian Last Names

These Croatian last names are real family names from across Croatia and its diaspora, listed A to Z with their meanings. Most end in -ić, but the list also includes -ec names from the north and short words like Novak, Kos and Vuk.

264 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

  • Andrić

    Son of Andrija (Andrew)

  • Anić

    Son of Ane (Anthony)

  • Antić

    Son of Ante (Anthony)

  • Antunović

    Son of Antun (Anthony)

B

  • Babić

    From baba, grandmother or old woman

  • Barić

    Son of Bare (Bartholomew)

  • Barišić

    Son of Bariša (Bartholomew)

  • Bartolić

    Son of Bartol (Bartholomew)

  • Bartulović

    Son of Bartul (Bartholomew)

  • Bašić

    Son of the headman, from Turkish baş

  • Begić

    Son of a bey

  • Benković

    Son of Benko (Benedict)

  • Bertić

    Son of Berto (Albert or Robert)

  • Bilić

    Possibly from bil, white; fair one

  • Blažević

    Son of Blaž (Blaise)

  • Blažić

    Son of Blaž (Blaise)

  • Boban

    Possibly from bob, bean

  • Bogdan

    God-given

  • Bošnjak

    Bosnian

  • Božić

    Christmas; son of Božo

  • Brajković

    Son of Brajko, from brat, brother

  • Brkić

    Son of the moustached one (brk)

  • Brozović

    Son of Broz (Ambrose)

  • Bubalo

    Buffalo; clumsy one

  • Budimir

    From Budimir, awakened peace

  • Bukovac

    Of the beech grove

C

  • Car

    Emperor, tsar

  • Čilić

    Possibly from čil, lively

  • Čolak

    One-armed, from Turkish çolak

  • Ćorić

    Son of the one-eyed one (ćorav)

  • Ćosić

    Son of the beardless one (ćosa)

  • Crnković

    Son of Crnko, dark one

  • Ćurić

    Possibly from ćurka, turkey

  • Cvitanović

    Son of Cvitan, from cvit, flower

  • Cvitković

    Son of Cvitko, from cvit, flower

D

  • Đaković

    Son of a church clerk (đak)

  • Delić

    Possibly from deli, daring one

  • Dominković

    Son of Dominko (Dominic)

  • Dragičević

    Son of Dragica, dear one

  • Dujmović

    Son of Dujam (Domnius)

E

  • Ercegović

    Son of a duke (herceg)

F

  • Fabijanić

    Son of Fabijan (Fabian)

  • Filić

    Son of Filip (Philip)

  • Filipović

    Son of Filip (Philip)

  • Franić

    Son of Frane (Francis)

  • Franjić

    Son of Franjo (Francis)

  • Frankopan

    Counts of Krk, who adopted the name of the Roman Frangipani

G

  • Galić

    Possibly from gal, dark-haired

  • Gašparić

    Son of Gašpar (Caspar)

  • Gavranović

    Son of the raven (gavran)

  • Glavaš

    Big-headed one (glava)

  • Glavina

    Big head

  • Golub

    Dove, pigeon

  • Gorski

    Of the mountain, highlander

  • Grbić

    Son of the hunchback (grba)

  • Grgić

    Son of Grgo (Gregory)

  • Grgurić

    Son of Grgur (Gregory)

  • Grubišić

    Son of Grubiša, rough one

  • Gundulić

    Ragusan noble family, Italian form Gondola; origin uncertain

H

  • Herceg

    Duke

  • Horvat

    Croat

  • Horvatić

    Son of a Croat; little Croat

  • Hrvat

    Croat

I

  • Ilić

    Son of Ilija (Elijah)

  • Ivančić

    Son of Ivanac (John)

  • Ivanić

    Son of Ivan (John)

  • Ivanišević

    Son of Ivaniš (John)

  • Ivanković

    Son of Ivanko (John)

  • Ivić

    Son of Ivo (John)

  • Ivković

    Son of Ivko (John)

J

  • Jakovljević

    Son of Jakov (Jacob)

  • Jakšić

    Son of Jakša (Jacob)

  • Jambrović

    Son of Jambro (Ambrose)

  • Janković

    Son of Janko (John)

  • Jelačić

    Possibly from jelen, deer

  • Jelić

    Possibly from Jela or jelen, deer

  • Jerković

    Son of Jerko (Jerome)

  • Josipović

    Son of Josip (Joseph)

  • Jozić

    Son of Jozo (Joseph)

  • Jukić

    Son of Juko, possibly a pet form of Juraj (George)

  • Jurak

    From Juraj (George)

  • Jurčić

    Son of Jurac (George)

  • Jurić

    Son of Jure (George)

  • Juričić

    Son of Jurica (George)

  • Jurin

    From Jure (George)

  • Jurišić

    Son of Juriša (George)

  • Jurjević

    Son of Juraj (George)

  • Jurković

    Son of Jurko (George)

K

  • Kalinić

    Son of Kalin

  • Karlović

    Son of Karlo (Charles)

  • Katić

    Son of Kata (Catherine)

  • Kirin

    From Kirin, a form of Quirinus or Cyril

  • Klarić

    Possibly son of Klara

  • Klobučar

    Hat maker

  • Knežević

    Son of a knez, prince

  • Kokot

    Rooster

  • Kolar

    Wheelwright

  • Kolarić

    Son of a wheelwright

  • Kos

    Blackbird

  • Kovač

    Smith

  • Kovačević

    Son of a smith (kovač)

  • Kovačić

    Son of a smith; little smith

  • Kozina

    Goatskin; goat meat

  • Kralj

    King

  • Kraljević

    Son of the king; prince

  • Kramarić

    Son of a peddler (kramar)

  • Kranjčević

    Son of a Carniolan (Kranjac)

  • Kranjec

    Carniolan, Slovene

  • Krznarić

    Son of a furrier (krznar)

  • Kuzmić

    Son of Kuzma (Cosmas)

L

  • Lacković

    Son of Lacko (Ladislaus)

  • Lazić

    Son of Lazar (Lazarus)

  • Ljubić

    Son of Ljubo, beloved one

  • Ljubičić

    Son of Ljubica; violet, love

  • Lončar

    Potter

  • Lončarić

    Son of a potter

  • Lovreković

    Son of Lovrek (Lawrence)

  • Lovren

    From Lovro (Lawrence)

  • Lovrić

    Son of Lovro (Lawrence)

  • Lučić

    Son of Luka (Luke)

  • Lukač

    From Luka (Luke)

  • Lukačić

    Son of Lukač (Luke)

  • Lukić

    Son of Luka (Luke)

M

  • Magdić

    Son of Magda (Magdalene)

  • Majer

    Steward, tenant farmer, from German Meier

  • Majstorović

    Son of a master craftsman

  • Mandić

    Possibly son of Mande, a pet name

  • Marić

    Son of Mara or Mare

  • Marinić

    Son of Marin

  • Marinović

    Son of Marin

  • Marjanović

    Son of Marjan

  • Marković

    Son of Marko (Mark)

  • Martić

    Son of Marto (Martin)

  • Martinović

    Son of Martin

  • Marušić

    Son of Maruša (Mary)

  • Matanović

    Son of Matan (Matthew)

  • Matas

    From Mate (Matthew)

  • Matešić

    Son of Mateša (Matthew)

  • Matić

    Son of Mate (Matthew)

  • Matijević

    Son of Matija (Matthias)

  • Matković

    Son of Matko (Matthew)

  • Matulić

    Son of Matul (Matthew)

  • Mažuranić

    Possibly from mažuran, marjoram

  • Međimorec

    Person from Međimurje

  • Medved

    Bear

  • Mesar

    Butcher

  • Mesarić

    Son of a butcher (mesar)

  • Meštrović

    Son of a master (meštar)

  • Mihalić

    Son of Mihal (Michael)

  • Mihaljević

    Son of Mihalj (Michael)

  • Mikić

    Son of Miko (Nicholas)

  • Mikulec

    From Mikula (Nicholas)

  • Mikulić

    Son of Mikula (Nicholas)

  • Miletić

    Son of Mileta, dear one

  • Milić

    Son of Mile, dear one

  • Mišković

    Son of Miško (Michael)

  • Mlinar

    Miller

  • Mlinarić

    Son of a miller (mlinar)

  • Modrić

    Possibly from modar, blue

  • Mrak

    Darkness, dusk

N

  • Nemet

    German, from Hungarian német

  • Nikolić

    Son of Nikola (Nicholas)

  • Novak

    Newcomer

  • Novaković

    Son of Novak, newcomer

  • Novosel

    New settler

O

  • Orešković

    Possibly from orah, walnut

  • Orlić

    Son of the eagle (orao)

  • Oršolić

    Son of Oršola (Ursula)

P

  • Pašalić

    Son of a pasha

  • Pavelić

    Son of Pavao (Paul)

  • Pavić

    Son of Pave (Paul)

  • Pavičić

    Son of Pavić (Paul)

  • Pavletić

    Son of Pavle (Paul)

  • Pavlić

    Son of Pavao (Paul)

  • Pavličić

    Son of Pavlica (Paul)

  • Pavlović

    Son of Pavao (Paul)

  • Pejić

    Son of Pejo (Peter)

  • Perić

    Son of Pero (Peter)

  • Perišić

    Son of Periša (Peter)

  • Perković

    Son of Perko (Peter)

  • Petković

    Son of Petko (Peter)

  • Petrić

    Son of Petar (Peter)

  • Petričević

    Son of Petrica (Peter)

  • Petrović

    Son of Petar (Peter)

  • Pintar

    Cooper, barrel maker

  • Pintarić

    Son of a cooper (pintar)

  • Plavšić

    Son of the blond one (plav)

  • Poljak

    Pole; or field dweller (polje)

  • Popović

    Son of a priest

  • Posavec

    Person from Posavina

  • Pranjić

    Son of Pranjo (Francis)

  • Prelog

    Clearing, plot of land

  • Primorac

    Person from the coast (primorje)

  • Prosinečki

    Possibly from prosinac, December

  • Puljić

    Possibly from Pulja, Apulia

R

  • Radić

    Son of Rade, glad one

  • Radošević

    Son of Radoš, glad one

  • Rajić

    Son of Rajo, from raj, paradise

  • Rakitić

    Possibly from rakita, willow shrub

  • Ribar

    Fisherman

  • Ribarić

    Son of a fisherman

  • Rimac

    Roman, from Rim, Rome

  • Rogić

    Son of the horned one (rog)

  • Rukavina

    Possibly from rukav, sleeve, or rukavac, river branch

S

  • Sabolić

    Son of a tailor (Hungarian szabó)

  • Šafarić

    Son of a steward (šafar)

  • Šarić

    Son of the spotted or motley one

  • Sever

    North

  • Šimić

    Son of Šime (Simon)

  • Šimunić

    Son of Šimun (Simon)

  • Šimunović

    Son of Šimun (Simon)

  • Sokol

    Falcon

  • Soldo

    Soldier; from soldo, pay

  • Šoštarić

    Son of a shoemaker (šoštar)

  • Špoljarić

    Son of a špoljar, outer servant or guard

  • Srna

    Roe deer

  • Sršen

    Hornet

  • Stanić

    Son of Stane

  • Stanković

    Son of Stanko

  • Starčević

    Son of the old man (starac)

  • Stipanović

    Son of Stipan (Stephen)

  • Stipić

    Son of Stipe (Stephen)

  • Stojanović

    Son of Stojan, steadfast one

  • Subašić

    Son of a subaša, local overseer

  • Šuster

    Shoemaker, from German Schuster

T

  • Tadić

    Son of Tade (Thaddeus)

  • Tišljar

    Joiner, from German Tischler

  • Tkalčić

    Son of a weaver (tkalac)

  • Tkalec

    Weaver

  • Tolić

    Son of Tole, a pet name

  • Tomac

    From Tomo (Thomas)

  • Tomašević

    Son of Tomaš (Thomas)

  • Tomić

    Son of Tomo (Thomas)

  • Tomičić

    Son of Tomica (Thomas)

  • Tomljanović

    Son of Tomljan (Thomas)

  • Tomšić

    Son of Tomša (Thomas)

  • Tonković

    Son of Tonko (Anthony)

  • Tuđman

    Possibly from tuđ, stranger

  • Turk

    Turk

  • Turković

    Son of a Turk

U

  • Udovičić

    Son of a widow (udovica)

V

  • Valentić

    Son of Valent (Valentine)

  • Varga

    Shoemaker, from Hungarian

  • Vidaković

    Son of Vidak (Vitus)

  • Vidović

    Son of Vid (Vitus)

  • Vinković

    Son of Vinko (Vincent)

  • Vlahović

    Son of a Vlach

  • Vlašić

    Son of a Vlach or of Vlaho (Blaise)

  • Vranješ

    Raven-dark one (vran)

  • Vrbanić

    Son of Vrban (Urban)

  • Vrdoljak

    Possibly from a place name Vrdol

  • Vučković

    Son of Vučko, wolf cub

  • Vuk

    Wolf

  • Vukelić

    Son of Vukel, from vuk, wolf

  • Vukić

    Son of Vuk (wolf)

  • Vuković

    Son of Vuk (wolf)

  • Vuletić

    Son of Vule, from vuk, wolf

Z

  • Žagar

    Sawyer

  • Zagorac

    Person from Zagorje

  • Zec

    Hare

  • Živković

    Son of Živko, living one

  • Zorić

    Son of Zora (dawn)

  • Zrinski

    From Zrin

  • Župan

    Village headman, county chief

Generate random croatian surnames

Filter by first letter, length and rarity, add a first name to preview the full name, then copy or save your favorites.

Results (6)

  • Jakšić

    Son of Jakša (Jacob)

  • Begić

    Son of a bey

  • Franić

    Son of Frane (Francis)

  • Šafarić

    Son of a steward (šafar)

  • Dominković

    Son of Dominko (Dominic)

  • Vlašić

    Son of a Vlach or of Vlaho (Blaise)

Saved names

    Names you save will appear here. They stay in this browser only.

    Open the full generator

    Trades behind many Croatian last names

    Work is one of the richest sources of names in the list. Kovač and Kovačević come from the smith, Lončar from a potter, Kolar from a cartwright, Mlinar from a miller and Pintar from a cooper. Ribar was a fisherman, Mesar a butcher, Klobučar a hatter and Krznarić a furrier. Many of these have both a short form and an -ić form, so Kolar and Kolarić or Mlinar and Mlinarić sit close to each other in the list.

    Several trade words came into Croatian through German or Hungarian, a reminder of the long Habsburg and Hungarian ties in the north. Šuster comes from German Schuster, a shoemaker, Tišljar from Tischler, a joiner, and Majer from Meier, a farm steward. Varga is the Hungarian word for a cobbler. In the Kajkavian speaking north, Šoštarić comes from šoštar, yet another word for shoemaker, and Tkalec from a weaver. Three shoemaker words in one list say a lot about Croatia's mixed history.

    Animals, colors and nicknames in the meanings

    Nature names are short and memorable. Vuk and Vuković come from the wolf, Kos from the blackbird, Sokol from the falcon, Golub from the dove, Medved from the bear and Zec from the hare. Orlić contains orao, the eagle, and Gavranović the raven. Some began as personal names given to protect a child, Vuk above all, while others were nicknames for a quick, sly or gentle person, depending on the animal chosen.

    Nicknames describing looks or habits make up another group. Brkić comes from brk, a moustache, Glavaš from glava, head, suggesting someone with a large one, and Bilić from bil, an old form of the word for white. Crnković comes from crn, black, and Mrak means darkness. These meanings were not always flattering, but they give a name an honest, down-to-earth character and make the list a useful source for writers looking for names with a story.

    Place names, famous bearers and the diaspora

    Some names say where a family came from. Horvat and Hrvat mean Croat and are most common in the north, where Croats lived beside Hungarians and Slovenes. Zagorac points to the Zagorje hills, Primorac to the coast, Posavec to the Sava valley and Međimorec to Međimurje. Turk, Nemet and Bošnjak mark a family once seen by its neighbors as Turkish, German or Bosnian. Names like these were given by other people, which is why they describe origin from the outside.

    Croatian emigrants carried these names worldwide. Dalmatians settled in New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and California, and large communities also grew in Australia, Canada and Germany. In older English records ć and č became ch or ich, so a Rakitić might appear as Rakitich. Today names like Modrić, Rakitić, Perišić and Lovren are known through football and Čilić through tennis. The search box ignores accents, so typing modric finds Modrić just as easily.

    Frequently asked questions

    What are the most common Croatian last names?

    Horvat is usually the most common, followed by names like Kovačević, Babić, Marić, Jurić, Novak, Kovačić, Knežević and Vuković. Most are patronymics ending in -ić or trade names like Kovač, and several are just as familiar in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Serbia.

    What does the -ec ending mean in a name?

    It is a noun ending typical of the Kajkavian dialect of northern Croatia, often marking a person who does something or comes from somewhere. Kranjec means someone from Carniola, Posavec someone from the Sava valley and Tkalec a weaver. These names cluster around Zagreb, Zagorje and Međimurje.

    Which names in the list come from animals?

    Vuk and Vuković (wolf), Kos (blackbird), Sokol (falcon), Golub (dove), Medved (bear), Zec (hare) and Orlić (eagle) are all in the list. Animal names were often given to children as protective or admiring names long before they became inherited family names.

    Were any of these names carried by noble families?

    Yes. Zrinski and Frankopan were among the most powerful Croatian noble families until the 17th century, and Gundulić was a patrician family of Dubrovnik, famous for the poet Ivan Gundulić. Sharing one of these names today does not by itself mean descent from those houses.

    More last name lists