100 Croatian Last Names or Surnames with Meanings

A person’s last name is a part of their identity. It tells the world about the origins of the person and their family. A strong surname also makes a person unforgettable, by having people remember them for their last name. Every country has surnames or last names that depict its culture and history. Thus, certain surnames can say a lot about the country and cultural background to which the person belongs, and the history associated with them.

Croatia, or the Republic of Croatia, is a country located in South-Central Europe, and is known for its unique surnames. Most Croatians started using family names from the 12th century onwards. Croatian family names have five different origins – professional names, given names, toponyms, nicknames, and ethnic designation.

Croatian family names are unique and complex: they have different structuring, composition, and lettering, and follow a naming system similar to most European naming systems. Most Croatian surnames were formed by adding a diminutive suffix ‘ic’, and combined with the profession or name of the parent.

Popular Croatian last names are often Slavic names of Serbian or Bosnian origins. However, globalization and modernization taking place throughout the last century have paved the way for typical Slavic names to assimilate with surnames from all over the world into Croatian culture.

Common Croatian Surnames Or Family Names

Below are the common Croatian surnames with their meanings and origins:

1. Abramovic

Abramovic is a Croatian surname meaning ‘son of Abram’. The name has both Croatian and Serbian origins.

2. Adamovic

This patronymic name meaning son of Adam is derived from ‘Adam’, meaning ‘to the ground’ or ‘to earth’. It is of Croatian and Serbian origins.

3. Andric

This Croatian surname means ‘son of Andrija’. The name became popular due to Nikola Andric, a writer and philologist from Croatia.

4. Antic

Antic is a Croatian surname, which means ‘son of Ante or Anto’.

5. Antunovic

This surname is a Croatian-origin variation of ‘Antonius’ meaning ‘son of Antuno’.

6. Arapovic

Arapovic is a Croatian surname derived from the Turkish word ‘Arap’, which means ‘Arab’.

7. Babic

This Croatian surname is of Polish and Russian origins, and comes from ‘Baba’ meaning ‘old woman’.

8. Berislavic

Berislavic is a Croatian last name derived from two words, ‘birati’ and ‘slava’, meaning ‘to take’ and ‘glory’ respectively. The surname has its origins from the 15th and 16th century Croatian noble family of the same name.

9. Bilic

This Croatian last name is derived from the word ‘bilo’ meaning ‘white’.

10. Blazevic

Blazevic is the Croatian variation of ‘Blaise’ meaning ‘son of Blaz’. This surname refers to ‘blag’, a South Slavic element meaning ‘good, pleasant, and sweet’.

11. Bolic

This last name of Croatian and Serbian origins is derived from the word ‘bol’, which means ‘ache or pain’.

12. Bosnjak

Bosnjak is a toponymic Croatian surname referring to the people belonging to the region of Bosnia. This surname also has its presence in Bosnian Muslims.

13. Bozic

This Croatian surname meaning ‘little God’ also means ‘Christmas’.

14. Bozikov

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘bozikovina’, meaning ‘holly’.

15. Broz

Broz is derived from the word ‘Ambrozije’, which means ‘immortal’.

16. Bukvic

Bukvic is a Croatian surname originated from the word ‘Bukva’, meaning ‘beach’.

17. Bulic

This Croatian surname is of Ottoman origin. It is derived from the word ‘bula’, meaning ‘a married woman’.

18. Bumba

This Croatian last name is derived from the Latin word ‘Bombus’, which is an occupational name for an artilleryman. Another variant of the surname is Bomba.

19. Butkovic

Butkovia is a habitational last name that refers to a native of the Butkovic region in Croatia.

20. Celar

Celar is a Croatian last name, with both Croatian and Serbian origins, which is an occupational surname referring to a beekeeper.

21. Celik

This Croatian surname is derived from the word ‘celik’ meaning ‘steel’. The name is of Turkish origin.

22. Cerkez

This Croatian surname is of Turkish origin and is derived from the word ‘cerkez’ meaning ‘Circassian’.

23. Cizmadija

This surname is derived from Croatian word ‘cizma’ meaning ‘boot’.

24. Corluka

Corluka is a popular Croatian surname derived from the Turkish word ‘korluk’ meaning ‘blindness’.

25. Crnkovic

This Croatian surname is derived from the element ‘crn’, which means ‘black’. The last name refers to a person who is dark-skinned, or from the Crna Gora or ‘Black mountain’ region.

26. Curkovic

Curkovic is a Croatian surname derived from the word ‘curak’ meaning ‘fur coat’.

27. Cvek

This Croatian surname is derived from the word ‘Zwecke’, a German origin name meaning ‘nail’.

28. Davidovic

This elegant Croatian surname is derived from David, and means the ‘son of David’.

29. Dedić

Dedic is a Croatian surname which means ‘Duke’ or ‘successor’.

30. Divjak

This last name is of both Croatian and Serbian origins and means ‘savage’.

31. Domagojevic

This Croatian last name means ‘son of Doamgoj’. Doamgoj is the native dynasty that ruled Croatia in the late 800s.

32. Drobnjak

Drobnjak is a unique Croatian surname, which refers to a historical tribe, and also a region in Montenegro. The surname refers to a person belonging to that tribe or living in that region.

33. Dundovic

This patronymic surname is the Croatian version of ‘dundo’, a Ragusan-origin word meaning ‘gentleman’ or ‘uncle’. The surname has also its origins in ‘Dominus’, a Latin word meaning ‘master or sir’.

34. Faraguna

Faraguna is an ornamental last name derived from ‘fara guna’, an Istro-Romanian word meaning ‘without a shepherd’s goat-skin cloak’.

35. Galovoc

This toponymic Croatian surname refers to a person who lives in the village, castle, or near a lake by the same name.

36. Golubic

Golubic, meaning ‘little pigeon’, is derived from the word ‘Golub’ meaning ‘pigeon’.

37. Graovac

This toponymic Croatian surname refers to a person belonging to a village Graova of Croatia. The surname is also derived from the word ‘Graovo’.

38. Grbic

Grbic is derived from ‘grb’, a Croatian word that means ‘hump’. This Croatian surname means ‘hunchback’.

39. Gusic

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘Guska’, a Croatian word meaning ‘goose’. Gusic is a noble surname, as it was the last name of one of the noble families of Croatia.

40. Hadzic

This Croatia surname is derived from ‘hadzi’, a word referring to pilgrims going to Mecca or Jerusalem.

41. Haluzan

This popular Croatian surname refers to a person belonging to the Haloze region in Croatia. This last name also has its origins in Slovene region.

42. Harambasic

Harambasic is a Croatian surname meaning ‘bandit leader’. The surname originates from the word ‘Harambasa’.

43. Hercigonja

This occupational Croatian surname is derived from ‘Herzogin’, a German-origin word meaning ‘duchess’.

44. Hladika

Hladika is a unique Croatian surname derived from ‘hladno’, a Croatian word meaning ‘cold’.

45. Horvat

This Croatian surname is derived from the word ‘Hrvat’ meaning ‘Croat,’ referring to a person from Croatia.

46. Hrzenjak

This habitational Croatian surname refers to the inhabitants or residents of Croatian regions starting from ‘Hrzen-‘.

47. Ibricic

Ibricic is a Croatian surname from Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian origins. The surname means ‘son of Ibro’.

48. Jablanovic

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘Jablan’, a Croatian word meaning ‘poplar tree’.

49. Jezic

This Croatian surname is derived from the word ‘Jez’, which means a ‘hedgehog’.

50. Josipovic

This popular Croatian surname means the ‘son of Josip’. The surname was made popular by the former Croatian president, Ivo Josipovic.

51. Jukic

Jukic is a Croatian surname meaning ‘son of Juko’.

52. Kacic

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘Kaca’, a Croatian word meaning ‘snake’. This is one of the surnames of Croatian noble families.

53. Kadijevic

This Croatian occupational surname is derived from ‘kadija’, which means ‘Qadi’, referring to a Sharia court judge.

54. Kapetanovic

This occupational Croatian surname is derived from the Croatian word ‘kapetan’, which means ‘captain’.

55. Kasun

Kasun is a Croatian last name derived from ‘kazati’, a Slavic-origin word meaning ‘to command or to order’. Another variation of the surname is Kasunic.

56. Kenzevic

This Croatian patronymic last name is derived from ‘knia’, a Serbo-Croatian word meaning ‘prince’.

57. Kis

This is a short Croatian surname, meaning ‘winter’, from the Turkish word ‘kis’. The surname also has its origins in Hungarian language, and can mean ‘small’.

58. Kokotovic

Kokotovic is a Croatian surname of Slavic origins, meaning ‘rooster’.

59. Kolovrat

This Croatian surname is derived from a Slavic symbol resembling a Swastik, referring to a ‘spinning wheel’.

60. Koprivica

Koprivica is a Croatian surname meaning ‘nettle’. This last name is the diminutive form of ‘kopriva’.

61. Kosar

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘kos’,meaning ‘basket’. The last name refers to a person who sells or makes a basket.

62. Kotarac

This toponymic Croatian surname refers to a person who is a resident or belongs to Kotar or a district.

63. Kovacic

Kovacic is a patronymic last name derived from the word ‘kovac’, meaning a ‘blacksmith’.

64. Kralj

This unique Croatian surname, meaning ‘king’, is of Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian origins. This was the first name of the first Croatian king, Kralj Tomislav.

65. Kravar

Kravar is a Croatian-origin occupational name referring to a cow herder.

66. Kupina

Kupina is a Croatian last name meaning ‘blackberry’, and refers to the burning bush incident from the Book of Exodus.

67. Levic

Levic is a Croatian-origin last name derived from ‘levo’, which means ‘left’.

68. Lisic

This Croatian surname is derived from the Albanian word ‘lesh’, meaning ‘fur’.

69. Loncar

Loncar is a surname derived from ‘lonac’, a Serbo-Croatian element meaning ‘potter’.

70. Loncarevic

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘Loncar’ meaning ‘potter’. Loncarevic means ‘the son of a potter’.

71. Lucic

Lucic is a Croatian patronymic surname derived from ‘Luka’, a personal name meaning ‘from Lucania’.

72. Maric

This Croatian surname means ‘son of Marija’.

73. Mecava

This Croatian last name means a ‘snowstorm’.

74. Medved

Medved is a Croatian surname meaning ‘bear’. This name is a popular Slavic personal name, too.

75. Mestrovic

Mestrovic is a Croatian surname derived from ‘mestar’, a Croatian-origin rare word for ‘master’.

76. Milan

This habitational last name refers to people originating from Milan, a city in Italy.

77. Misic

Misic is a patronymic surname meaning ‘son of Miso’. The name refers to a muscular person.

78. Mogorovic

This surname is one of the surnames of the noble families of Croatia, and refers to the ‘son of Mogor’.

79. Moslavac

This habitational surname refers to a person from Moslavina, a region in Croatia.

80. Nelipic

Nelipic is a surname meaning ‘son of Nelipac’. The surname has its origins in medieval Croatian history.

81. Novak

This surname, meaning ‘new’, is derived from ‘Novy’, a Slavic origin word. It refers to a person who is new to the place or village.

82. Novosel

This name is derived from ‘nov’ and ‘selo’, meaning ‘new’ and ‘village’. It refers to a newcomer to a village.

83. Orlic

Orlic is a surname originating from ‘oroa’, an element meaning ‘eagle’.

84. Pasalic

This last name is derived from ‘pasa’, which means ‘Pasha’, referring to a high ranking officer.

85. Perovic

This Croatian surname means ‘son of Pero’.

86. Popovic

This patronymic last name refers to the ‘son of a priest’.

87. Radosevic

This last name of Croatian and Serbian origins refers to ‘son of Rados’.

88. Ribar

This occupational surname of Croatian origin means ‘fisherman’.

89. Ruzic

Ruzic is a popular Croatian surname derived from ‘ruza’, an element meaning ‘rose’.

90. Serder

This occupational surname meaning ‘leader’ is the Turkish word ‘Sardar’.

91. Slavica

Slavica is a last name derived from ‘slava’, a Slavic element meaning ‘glory’.

92. Sokic

This surname is derived from ‘Sokak’, a Turkish word meaning ‘street’. It also refers to the people living in Cernik region.

93. Tripimirović

This surname means ‘sons of Tripimir’. The name comes from the ruling dynasty of Croatia.

94. Vincek

This surname is derived from a Croatian name ‘Vincent’, meaning ‘to conquer’.

95. Vitezić

Vitezic is a Croatian surname meaning ‘son of a knight’.

96. Vuković

This patronymic last name is derived from the word ‘Vuk’, meaning ‘wolf’.

97. Zadravec

This surname of Croatian and Serbian origins refers to a person who lives near the Drava river.

98. Zidaric

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘zidar’, meaning a ‘stonemason’ or ‘bricklayer’.

99. Zrinski

Zrinski is a Croatian surname meaning ‘people from Zrin’, and is of Hungarian origin.

100. Zubcic

This Croatian surname is derived from ‘zubic’, a word meaning ‘small tooth’.

Croatian surnames are beautiful, meaningful, and have been in use for centuries. Most names have their origins in Croatia, and have some roots in other European countries. The country’s culture and history are reflected in each name’s origin, roots, and meaning.