Slavic Last Names

These Slavic last names are real family names from Poland, Russia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia, listed A to Z with meanings. Many describe a trade, a place, an animal or a father, like Kowalski, Novák and Petrović.

300 real surnames with meanings, A to Z.

A

Abramov Абрамов

Son of Abram (Abraham)

Russian
Adamczyk

Son of Adam

Polish
Adámek

Little Adam

Czech
Adamski

Son of Adam, or from Adamy

Polish
Afanasiev Афанасьев

Son of Afanasy (Athanasius)

Russian
Aleksandrov Александров

Son of Aleksandr (Alexander)

Russian
Alekseev Алексеев

Son of Aleksey (Alexis)

Russian
Aleksić Алексић

Son of Aleksa (Alexis)

Serbian
Andreev Андреев

Son of Andrey (Andrew)

Russian
Andrić Андрић

Son of Andrija (Andrew)

Serbian
Anisimov Анисимов

Son of Anisim (Onesimus)

Russian
Antić Антић

Son of Anta (Anthony)

Serbian
Antonov Антонов

Son of Anton (Anthony)

Russian
Antunović

Son of Antun (Anthony)

Croatian
Arsić Арсић

Son of Arsa (Arsenius)

Serbian
Artemiev Артемьев

Son of Artemy (Artemius)

Russian

B

Bąk

Bittern bird, or horsefly

Polish
Baran

Ram

Polish
Barić

Son of Bare (Bartholomew)

Croatian
Barišić

Son of Bariša (Bartholomew)

Croatian
Bartczak

Son of Bartek, Bartholomew

Polish
Bartoš

From Bartoloměj (Bartholomew)

Czech
Bednář

Cooper, barrel maker

Czech
Bednarz

Cooper, barrel maker

Polish
Belkin Белкин

Squirrel

Russian
Belousov Белоусов

White-moustached

Russian
Belov Белов

White; fair-haired

Russian
Beneš

From Benedikt (Benedict)

Czech
Beran

Ram (male sheep)

Czech
Bilić

Possibly from bil, white; fair one

Croatian
Blagojević Благојевић

Son of Blagoje, blessed one

Serbian
Bláha

Possibly from Blažej or blahý, blessed

Czech
Blažek

From Blažej (Blaise)

Czech
Blažević

Son of Blaž (Blaise)

Croatian
Blinov Блинов

Pancake; pancake maker

Russian
Bobrov Бобров

Beaver

Russian
Bogdanović Богдановић

Son of Bogdan, God-given

Serbian
Bolshakov Большаков

Big one; eldest son

Russian
Bondar Бондар

Cooper, barrel maker

Ukrainian
Bondarenko Бондаренко

Son of a cooper, barrel maker

Ukrainian
Borisov Борисов

Son of Boris

Russian
Borkowski

From a place named Borki, forest

Polish
Bošnjak

Bosnian

Croatian
Boyko Бойко

Boyko highlander; also lively, brave one

Ukrainian
Brabec

Sparrow

Czech
Brkić

Son of the moustached one (brk)

Croatian
Bukowski

From a place named Bukowo, beech

Polish
Bureš

Possibly from the given name Burian

Czech

C

Čech

Czech

Czech
Čermák

Redstart (bird); reddish one

Czech
Černý

Black, dark-haired

Czech
Chmielewski

From a place named Chmielewo, hops

Polish
Cieślik

Little carpenter

Polish
Ćirić Ћирић

Son of Ćira (Cyril)

Serbian
Čížek

Siskin (bird)

Czech
Cvetković Цветковић

Son of Cvetko, from cvet, flower

Serbian
Czarnecki

From a place named Czarnca, black

Polish
Czerwiński

From a place named Czerwin, red

Polish

D

Dąbek

Little oak

Polish
Dąbrowski

From a place named Dąbrowa, oak grove

Polish
Davydov Давыдов

Son of Davyd (David)

Russian
Demchenko Демченко

Son of Demko (Demian)

Ukrainian
Didenko Діденко

Son of the grandfather (did)

Ukrainian
Dimitrijević Димитријевић

Son of Dimitrije (Demetrius)

Serbian
Dmitriev Дмитриев

Son of Dmitry (Demetrius)

Russian
Đokić Ђокић

Son of Đoka (George)

Serbian
Doležal

One who lay about; idle person

Czech
Đorđević Ђорђевић

Son of Đorđe (George)

Serbian
Dostál

One who stood firm or kept his word (dostát)

Czech
Drozdov Дроздов

Thrush bird

Russian
Dudek

Hoopoe bird, a simpleton

Polish
Đukić Ђукић

Son of Đuka (George)

Serbian
Đurić Ђурић

Son of Đura (George)

Serbian
Dušek

Little soul (duše)

Czech
Dvořák

Manor worker or courtier (dvůr, court)

Czech

E

Efimov Ефимов

Son of Efim (Euthymius)

Russian
Egorov Егоров

Son of Egor (George)

Russian
Emelyanov Емельянов

Son of Emelyan (Aemilianus)

Russian
Ermakov Ермаков

Son of Ermak (Hermes)

Russian

F

Fedorenko Федоренко

Son of Fedir (Theodore)

Ukrainian
Fedorov Фёдоров

Son of Fyodor (Theodore)

Russian
Fedotov Федотов

Son of Fedot (Theodotus)

Russian
Fiala

Violet (flower)

Czech
Filatov Филатов

Son of Filat (Theophylact)

Russian
Filipović Филиповић

Son of Filip (Philip)

Serbian
Frolov Фролов

Son of Frol (Florus)

Russian

G

Gajić Гајић

Son of Gajo, a pet name

Serbian
Galić

Possibly from gal, dark-haired

Croatian
Galkin Галкин

Jackdaw

Russian
Gavrilov Гаврилов

Son of Gavrila (Gabriel)

Russian
Gavrilović Гавриловић

Son of Gavrilo (Gabriel)

Serbian
Górski

From the mountain, hill dweller

Polish
Grabowski

From a place named Grabów, hornbeam

Polish
Grgić

Son of Grgo (Gregory)

Croatian
Grigoriev Григорьев

Son of Grigory (Gregory)

Russian
Grujić Грујић

Son of Gruja (Gregory)

Serbian
Grzegorczyk

Son of Grzegorz

Polish
Gusev Гусев

Goose

Russian

H

Hájek

Little grove (háj)

Czech
Hanák

Person from the Haná region

Czech
Hanuš

From Jan (John)

Czech
Havlíček

Little Havel (Gallus)

Czech
Havrylyuk Гаврилюк

Son of Havrylo (Gabriel)

Ukrainian
Hnatyuk Гнатюк

Son of Hnat (Ignatius)

Ukrainian
Honchar Гончар

Potter

Ukrainian
Honcharenko Гончаренко

Son of a potter

Ukrainian
Horák

Highlander, hill dweller (hora)

Czech
Horvat

Croat

Croatian
Hrubý

Coarse, big, rough

Czech
Hruška

Pear

Czech
Hrytsenko Гриценко

Son of Hryts (Gregory)

Ukrainian
Hudec

Fiddler, musician

Czech

I

Ignatiev Игнатьев

Son of Ignaty (Ignatius)

Russian
Ilić Илић

Son of Ilija (Elijah)

Serbian
Ilyin Ильин

Son of Ilya (Elijah)

Russian
Isaev Исаев

Son of Isay (Isaiah)

Russian
Ivančić

Son of Ivanac (John)

Croatian
Ivanenko Іваненко

Son of Ivan (John)

Ukrainian
Ivanković

Son of Ivanko (John)

Croatian
Ivanov Иванов

Son of Ivan (John)

Russian
Ivanović Ивановић

Son of Ivan (John)

Serbian
Ivić

Son of Ivo (John)

Croatian

J

Jabłoński

From a place named Jabłonna, apple tree

Polish
Jakovljević Јаковљевић

Son of Jakov (Jacob)

Serbian
Jakubowski

From a place named Jakubów

Polish
Janda

From Jan (John)

Czech
Janik

Son of Jan

Polish
Janković Јанковић

Son of Janko (John)

Serbian
Jankowski

From a place named Janków

Polish
Jasiński

From a place named Jasień, ash tree

Polish
Jaworski

From a place named Jawor, sycamore

Polish
Jelínek

Little deer (jelen)

Czech
Jerković

Son of Jerko (Jerome)

Croatian
Jevtić Јевтић

Son of Jevta (Euthymius)

Serbian
Jirásek

Little Jiří (George)

Czech
Josipović

Son of Josip (Joseph)

Croatian
Jovanović Јовановић

Son of Jovan (John)

Serbian
Jović Јовић

Son of Jovo (John)

Serbian
Jozić

Son of Jozo (Joseph)

Croatian
Jóźwiak

Son of Józef

Polish
Jukić

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

Croatian
Jurić

Son of Jure (George)

Croatian
Jurišić

Son of Juriša (George)

Croatian
Jurković

Son of Jurko (George)

Croatian

K

Kaczmarczyk

Son of the innkeeper

Polish
Kaczmarek

Son of the innkeeper

Polish
Kadlec

Weaver

Czech
Kalina

Guelder rose

Czech
Kalinowski

From a place named Kalinowo, viburnum

Polish
Kamiński

From a place named Kamień, stone

Polish
Kania

Kite, bird of prey

Polish
Kapustin Капустин

Cabbage

Russian
Karpenko Карпенко

Son of Karpo (Carpus)

Ukrainian
Kašpar

From Kašpar (Caspar)

Czech
Kasprzak

Son of Kasper

Polish
Katić

Son of Kata (Catherine)

Croatian
Kazakov Казаков

Cossack

Russian
Kharchenko Харченко

Son of Kharko (Chariton)

Ukrainian
Kharitonov Харитонов

Son of Khariton (grace)

Russian
Kiselev Киселёв

Kissel; a sour fruit jelly

Russian
Klarić

Possibly son of Klara

Croatian
Klíma

From Kliment (Clement)

Czech
Klimov Климов

Son of Klim (Clement)

Russian
Klymenko Клименко

Son of Klym (Clement)

Ukrainian
Knežević Кнежевић

Son of a knez, prince

Serbian
Kohout

Rooster

Czech
Kolar

Wheelwright

Croatian
Kolář

Wheelwright

Czech
Kolarić

Son of a wheelwright

Croatian
Kolesnikov Колесников

Wheelwright

Russian
Kołodziejczyk

Son of the wheelwright

Polish
Kolomiyets Коломієць

Person from Kolomyia

Ukrainian
Kondratiev Кондратьев

Son of Kondrat (Conrad)

Russian
Konečný

Final; one living at the end

Czech
Konstantinov Константинов

Son of Konstantin

Russian
Kopecký

Of the hillock (kopec)

Czech
Korolev Королёв

King

Russian
Kostenko Костенко

Son of Kost (Constantine)

Ukrainian
Kostić Костић

Son of Kosta (Constantine)

Serbian
Kostyuk Костюк

Son of Kost (Constantine)

Ukrainian
Kovačević Ковачевић

Son of a smith (kovač)

Serbian
Kovačić

Son of a smith; little smith

Croatian
Koval Коваль

Smith

Ukrainian
Kovalchuk Ковальчук

Son of a smith

Ukrainian
Kovalenko Коваленко

Son of a smith (koval)

Ukrainian
Kovalev Ковалёв

Blacksmith (from Ukrainian koval)

Russian
Kovář

Smith

Czech
Kovářík

Little smith

Czech
Kowalczyk

Son of the smith

Polish
Kowalewski

From a place named Kowalewo, smith

Polish
Kowalik

Little smith, or nuthatch bird

Polish
Kowalski

Smith, from kowal

Polish
Kozlov Козлов

Goat

Russian
Kozłowski

From a place named Kozłów, goat

Polish
Krajewski

From a place named Krajewo, border

Polish
Král

King

Czech
Krasnov Краснов

Red; beautiful

Russian
Kratochvíl

Pastime, amusement

Czech
Kravchenko Кравченко

Son of a tailor (kravets)

Ukrainian
Kravchuk Кравчук

Son of a tailor

Ukrainian
Kravets Кравець

Tailor

Ukrainian
Krawczyk

Son of the tailor

Polish
Krawiec

Tailor

Polish
Krejčí

Tailor

Czech
Kříž

Cross

Czech
Król

King

Polish
Krstić Крстић

Son of Krsta; from krst, cross

Serbian
Krzemiński

From a place named Krzemień, flint

Polish
Kubát

From Jakub (Jacob)

Czech
Kubiak

Son of Kuba, Jacob

Polish
Kubíček

Little Jakub (Jacob)

Czech
Kubicki

From a place named Kubice, Jacob

Polish
Kubik

Little Jakub

Polish
Kučera

Curly-haired one

Czech
Kucharski

Cook, from kucharz

Polish
Kudryavtsev Кудрявцев

Curly-haired one

Russian
Kurek

Little rooster

Polish
Kushnir Кушнір

Furrier

Ukrainian
Kuzmenko Кузьменко

Son of Kuzma (Cosmas)

Ukrainian
Kuzmin Кузьмин

Son of Kuzma (Cosmas)

Russian
Kuznetsov Кузнецов

Son of the blacksmith

Russian
Kwiatkowski

From a place named Kwiatków, flower

Polish
Kyrylenko Кириленко

Son of Kyrylo (Cyril)

Ukrainian

L

Lazarević Лазаревић

Son of Lazar (Lazarus)

Serbian
Lazić Лазић

Son of Lazar (Lazarus)

Serbian
Lebedev Лебедев

Swan

Russian
Levchenko Левченко

Son of Lev (lion)

Ukrainian
Lewandowski

From a place named Lewandów

Polish
Lis

Fox

Polish
Lisowski

From a place named Lisów, fox

Polish
Lončar

Potter

Croatian
Lončarić

Son of a potter

Croatian
Lovrić

Son of Lovro (Lawrence)

Croatian
Lukáš

From Lukáš (Luke)

Czech
Lukić Лукић

Son of Luka (Luke)

Serbian
Lysenko Лисенко

Son of the fox (lys)

Ukrainian
Lytvyn Литвин

Lithuanian

Ukrainian
Lytvynenko Литвиненко

Son of a Lithuanian

Ukrainian

M

Mach

From Matěj or Matouš (Matthew)

Czech
Maciejewski

Son of Maciej, or from Maciejów

Polish
Majewski

From a place named Majewo, May

Polish
Makarenko Макаренко

Son of Makar (Macarius)

Ukrainian
Makarov Макаров

Son of Makar (blessed)

Russian
Maksimov Максимов

Son of Maksim (Maximus)

Russian
Maksimović Максимовић

Son of Maksim (Maximus)

Serbian
Malinowski

From a place named Malinowo, raspberry

Polish
Malý

Small

Czech
Malyshev Малышев

Little one; small child

Russian
Marchenko Марченко

Son of Marko (Mark)

Ukrainian
Marciniak

Son of Marcin

Polish
Marek

Mark

Polish
Mareš

From Marek (Mark)

Czech
Marinković Маринковић

Son of Marinko

Serbian
Marinović

Son of Marin

Croatian
Marjanović Марјановић

Son of Marjan

Serbian
Marković Марковић

Son of Marko (Mark)

Serbian
Martinović

Son of Martin

Croatian
Martynyuk Мартинюк

Son of Martyn (Martin)

Ukrainian
Marušić

Son of Maruša (Mary)

Croatian
Mašek

From Matěj or Matouš (Matthew)

Czech
Matić Матић

Son of Mata (Matthew)

Serbian
Matijević

Son of Matija (Matthias)

Croatian
Matković

Son of Matko (Matthew)

Croatian
Matoušek

Little Matouš (Matthew)

Czech
Matuszewski

From a place named Matuszewo, Matthew

Polish
Matveev Матвеев

Son of Matvey (Matthew)

Russian
Mazur

Person from Masovia

Polish
Mazurek

Little Masovian

Polish
Medvedev Медведев

Bear

Russian
Melnychuk Мельничук

Son of a miller

Ukrainian
Melnyk Мельник

Miller

Ukrainian
Michalak

Son of Michał

Polish
Michalski

Son of Michał

Polish
Mihailović Михаиловић

Son of Mihailo (Michael)

Serbian
Mihajlović Михајловић

Son of Mihajlo (Michael)

Serbian
Mihaljević

Son of Mihalj (Michael)

Croatian
Mikhailov Михайлов

Son of Mikhail (Michael)

Russian
Mikulić

Son of Mikula (Nicholas)

Croatian
Milanović Милановић

Son of Milan, dear one

Serbian
Milenković Миленковић

Son of Milenko, dear one

Serbian
Milić Милић

Son of Mile, dear one

Serbian
Miljković Миљковић

Son of Miljko, dear one

Serbian
Milojević Милојевић

Son of Miloje, dear one

Serbian
Milosavljević Милосављевић

Son of Milosav, dear glory

Serbian
Milošević Милошевић

Son of Miloš, dear or gracious one

Serbian
Milovanović Миловановић

Son of Milovan, dear one

Serbian
Milutinović Милутиновић

Son of Milutin, dear one

Serbian
Mirković Мирковић

Son of Mirko, from mir, peace

Serbian
Mironov Миронов

Son of Miron (myrrh)

Russian
Mitić Митић

Son of Mita (Demetrius)

Serbian
Mitrović Митровић

Son of Mitar (Demetrius)

Serbian
Mladenović Младеновић

Son of Mladen, young one

Serbian
Mlinarić

Son of a miller (mlinar)

Croatian
Moravec

Moravian

Czech
Moroz Мороз

Frost

Ukrainian
Morozov Морозов

Frost

Russian
Moskalenko Москаленко

Son of a Muscovite or soldier

Ukrainian
Mráz

Frost

Czech
Mucha

Fly, small restless person

Polish
Musil

One who had to; one forced

Czech

Generate random slavic surnames

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Results (6)

Tolstoy

Толстой

Stout; fat; noble literary family

Russian
Dragutinović

Драгутиновић

Son of Dragutin, dear one

Serbian
Pasternak

Parsnip

Polish
Marinković

Маринковић

Son of Marinko

Serbian
Dačić

Дачић

Son of Dača, a pet name

Serbian
Tarasenko

Тарасенко

Son of Taras

Ukrainian

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The Slavic last names that top each country

Each Slavic country has its own leaders, yet they tell a similar story. Nowak in Poland, Novák in the Czech Republic and Novak in Croatia and Slovenia all mean new man, a newcomer to the village. Poland's other top names include Kowalski (from a smith's place), Wiśniewski (from a place named for cherries), Wójcik (son of the village headman) and Kowalczyk (smith's son). Czech favourites include Svoboda (freedom), Novotný (the new one), Dvořák (manor farmer) and Černý (black).

In Russia, Ivanov, Smirnov, Kuznetsov and Popov are among the most familiar. Smirnov comes from smirny, quiet or meek, Kuznetsov from kuznets, smith, and Popov from pop, priest. Ukraine's leaders include Melnyk (miller), Shevchenko (shoemaker's son) and Kovalenko (smith's son). In Serbia, patronymics in -ić dominate, with Jovanović, Petrović and Nikolić near the top, while in Croatia Horvat, meaning Croat, and Kovačević, son of the smith, lead most lists.

Smiths, millers and other shared meanings

Because the Slavic languages share so much vocabulary, one trade can appear in half a dozen forms. The smith gives Kowalski and Kowalczyk in Polish, Kuznetsov in Russian, Koval and Kovalenko in Ukrainian, Kovář in Czech and Kovačević in Serbian and Croatian. The miller gives Młynarz, Melnikov, Melnyk and Mlynář. The tailor gives Krawiec and Krawczyk in Polish, Kravets and Kravchenko in Ukrainian and Krejčí in Czech. Searching the list for one root often brings up its cousins.

Animals and birds are another rich source. Polish has Wróbel (sparrow), Sroka (magpie), Gołąb (dove), Zając (hare) and Kot (cat). Russian has Volkov (wolf), Medvedev (bear), Sokolov (falcon) and Vorobyov (sparrow). Colours and looks appear across the region: Czarny, Černý and Chorny all mean black, while Biały, Bílý and Belov mean white. Plants turn up too, from the Czech Vrba (willow) to Polish names like Rzepka, little turnip, which began as village nicknames.

Tips for letters, scripts and pronunciation

Polish uses letters such as ł, ś, ż, ą and ę, and Czech adds ř, ě and č. English records often strip these marks, so Wiśniewski becomes Wisniewski and Dvořák becomes Dvorak. Russian, Ukrainian and Serbian names are written in Cyrillic and transliterated in several ways, which is why the Polish spelling Iwanow and the English Ivanov are the same name. Serbian is written in both Cyrillic and Latin letters, so Petrović and Петровић are equally correct.

A few rules help with pronunciation. In Polish, ł sounds like w, w sounds like v and sz like sh, so Wiśniewski is roughly vish-NYEF-skee. Czech ř is a rolled r mixed with zh, heard in Dvořák. Serbian and Croatian ć is a soft ch. When you choose a name for a character, keep one country in mind, because mixing a Polish first name with a Serbian surname will look odd to readers who know the region.

Frequently asked questions

Which Slavic last names mean the same thing in different languages?

Trade names are the clearest example. Kowalski, Kuznetsov, Kovalenko, Kovář and Kovačević all point to a smith, and Młynarz, Melnyk and Melnikov all point to a miller. Nowak, Novák and Novak all mean newcomer in Polish, Czech and Croatian.

What does Nowak mean?

Nowak comes from nowy, new, and described a newcomer who had settled in a village. It is the most common surname in Poland and has close relatives in Novák in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and Novak in Slovenia and Croatia.

Why are some Serbian names written in Cyrillic?

Serbian officially uses the Cyrillic alphabet, and the Latin alphabet is also widely used in daily life. Each Cyrillic letter has a fixed Latin equivalent, so Петровић is Petrović. Croatian, which is closely related, uses only the Latin alphabet.

How do you pronounce Polish letters like ł and ś?

Ł sounds like the English w, ś is a soft sh, and ż sounds like the s in measure. Cz is ch and sz is sh. So Kowalczyk is ko-VAHL-chik and Wiśniewski is vish-NYEF-skee, with the stress on the second to last syllable.