Are you wondering what are the most common Serbian names today? Let’s get to know more about that in this exclusive Ling App guide we prepared for you today. After all, learning about names can be a good thing since it reflects your culture, your family’s beliefs, and even your religion. For this reason, discussing this with other people can be truly fun! If learning this sits well with you, then let’s begin!
50 Most Common Serbian Names You Need To Know
This is going to be like the evergreen list, and later on, we are going to check some other popular names today.
But for now, let’s just check this list of names and also their meaning. The interesting fact is the true frequency of these names. The first from the list you are about to see has a frequency of 1:51, which means that one of 51 people has that name. The last name from the list has a frequency of 1:476 and there are about 15,000 people in Serbia with this name. We won’t talk about the frequency of every single name from the list, but these facts are based on serious records and resources.
- Dragan – It is the boys’ name and it literally means beloved or sweetheart. At the beginning of this name ‘drag’ means darling.
- Zoran – It’s a very popular Serbian name, especially among the older generation. It is derived from the word ‘Zora’ which means dawn, and this word particularly can be a ladies name.
- Ljiljana – Very popular girls’ name and is derived from the word ‘Ljiljan’ which is the name for the beautiful flower Lily.
- Gordana – It is a very popular old Slavic name in all the countries of former Yugoslavia. The meaning of this name is ‘The one that is dignified’
- Milan – This international name, very popular in other European countries and the rest of the world. It is actually an Italian name and it represents someone who is from the city of Milano.
- Goran – The meaning of this name is ‘The one among the herd’, and it belongs to the group of very popular Slavic names.
- Aleksandar – Or Alexander, a very popular name in the whole world. It’s the Serbian version of the Greek name and the meaning is ‘The protector’ or the one who protects.
- Radmila – The very beginning of this name ‘Rad’ means work, and ‘mila’ means kind.
- Jelena – This is also a Greek name, and also very popular Serbian name. The meaning of this name is ‘The sunlight’.
- Vesna – The female name Vesna originates from the old Slavic language group, and it is assumed that the name originated from the name of the Slavic goddess of spring Vesna.
- Mirjana – ‘Mir’ means peace, and the true meaning of this name is the person who brings peace.
- Slobodan – The literal translation of this name is ‘Free’, but it only relates to the male gender.
- Zorica – It is the diminutive of the name ‘Zorana’, or at least they have similar lines. It literally means the little dawn.
- Nada – Very beautiful name and it means the ‘Hope’.
- Petar – It is the Hebrew word for the stone.
- Marija – this is the Christian name and the Serbian variant of Maria.
- Vera – ‘Faith‘
- Snežana – ‘Snowhite’
- Dušan – ‘Duša’ means ‘The spirit’ and this is a very powerful name, and one of my favorites. There was a ‘Tsar Dušan Silni’, who was the greatest Serbian Emperor of all time.
- Jovan – The Serbian variant of John, the person who baptized Jesus Christ.
- Nikola – The famous bearer of this name is the person from the Christian world, better say Orthodox Saint, and someone who is represented like ‘Santa Claus’, but it is not polite to call this Saint like that. This name is derived from the popular word of the Greek Goddess ‘Nika’ or as you all may probably know ‘Nike’ like the popular brand.
- Ljubica – Serbian name derived from the popular flower ‘Violet’.
- Dragica – It is the Serbian name for ladies and it is the diminutive of the name ‘Draga’, and that means the one who is beloved.
- Biljana – The name with the meaning for the one who is always ‘Young and beautiful’.
- Tomislav – The variant of the name ‘Toma’ with the true meaning of someone who is ‘Ruler’.
- Miodrag – ‘Mio’ and ‘Drag’, two words with the almost same meaning. The ‘Mio’ is the Slavic word for someone who is very likable, and the second word also.
- Milica – This name definitely belongs to the group of the most popular female names in Serbia. It is quite an olf with a huge tradition. The Serbian name for someone who is also very ‘likable’, but in feminine form.
- Slavica – This name belongs to the group of Christian names and it is derived from the word ‘Slava’ which is the ‘Saint Patron’s Day’.
- Miroslav – ‘Mir’ and ‘Slava’, this name is derived from these two words. Translated to the English language they have the meaning of ‘Peace’ and ‘Saint Patron’s Day’.
- Predrag – The male name for someone who is beloved or let’s better say ‘the most beloved’.
- Nenad – This Serbian male name is derived from the word ‘Iznenada’ which is the Serbian name for the ‘suddenly’.
- Ljubiša – ‘Ljubiti’ means kissing someone, so this would be the someone who is being kissed very commonly.
- Vladimir – Another Russian name is very popular. The first part of this name ‘Vlad’ means to rule and ‘Mir’ is the Serbian word for peace. So we can say it means the ‘Ruler of peace’ or someone who rules with peace.
- Dragana – The female name, or better said female version of ‘Dragan’.
- Branislav – The defender of honor.
- Olga – The feminine form of the Saint. This is actually derivated from the Swedish name ‘Helga’.
- Ana – The one who will be reborned.
- Dejan – Someone who likes to work.
- Milorad – Serbian male name for someone who likes to work.
- Branko – The ‘Defender’.
- Svetlana – The origin of this name is from mother Russia. So another Russian name, very popular in Serbia and it has the meaning of ‘Someone who illuminates’. So that’s how my wife illuminated me, hmm…
- Nebojša – Someone who is not afraid of anything.
- Saša – The origin of this name is Aleksandar, and it is a very common nickname for someone who is named like that, or let’s better say a short form of it. It is also a name by itself, but it is much more popular in Russia. In Serbia, it’s unisex and it can be used for both males or females.
- Verica – The diminutive of the name ‘Vera’.
- Jasmina – Jasmin is the popular flower, and it is the feminine form of the name ‘Jasmin’. I think it is quite international.
- Milena – The same name as the name Milica.
- Radovan – ‘To Rejoice‘ or someone who is rejoiced.
- Ružica – The diminutive of the flower ‘Rose’. So it’s like ‘The little Rose’.
- Ljubinka – The same meaning as the male name ‘Ljubiša’.
- Olivera – ‘Olive branch‘.
Okay, so you saw the list right? And you probably think ‘Okay bro, but how do I know which one is the name for the males and which one for the ladies?’ So here’s the little trick. All the ladies’ names have the phonetic ending. Or let me get more clear, they all have ‘a’ at the end. And that’s like in 90% of cases.
But not all girl names have those kinda ending. There are many such names that have a phonetic ending like Nikola, Ljubiša, or Luka so don’t get too confused about it. ‘Saša’ has a phonetic ending also but it is not as popular as the previous name. There are also some unisex names like ‘Vanja’. It is a beautiful Russian name, also very popular in my country Serbia and it can be given both for ladies and gentlemen. Although, the vast majority of this name goes to the hand of the prettier gender.
Serbian Baby Names: Are There Any Non-Slavic Names?
So why is this topic singled out from the last one? It’s because tradition has changed and the Serbian baby names have also changed. We can say that there are a lot of non-Slavic names which became very popular, but on the other hand, the list of some old Slavic names is now getting more popular below are some examples:
Top 11 Most Popular Boy Names In Serbia
So this is the least of the most common Serbian boys names, or let’s better say, the most popular ones in the past few years. Let’s check them out below.
- Relja
- Mateo
- Noa
- Emil
- Leon
- Teo
- Matija
- Filip
- Nikola
- Danijel
- Luka
The list is longer but I just wanted to share this with you so you could check the difference between some traditional names and these Serbian names which are more popular nowadays. These new names sound more like they are some Roman God kinda guys, right?
Top 11 Most Popular Girls Names In Serbia
As you may saw from the previous topic, it is pretty much the same with the Serbian Girl Names nowadays. They are all quite short, and there is a lot of difference if you’ve checked the list of those traditional Serbian names.
- Mia
- Ema
- Mila
- Ela
- Lara
- Lina
- Sofija
- Hana
- Ana
- Lea
- Natalija
Common Serbian Name Combinations
Such a diverse country, with such an amazing history of naming, but it’s not that diverse when it comes to combination names and surnames. Listed below are the most common combinations used by the locals.
First, we will check the ladies’ group:
- Milica Jovanović
- Milica Petrović
- Jelena Jovanović
- Milica Đorđević
- Marija Jovanović
Now, boys:
- Dragan Jovanović
- Zoran Jovanović
- Dragan Petrović
- Aleksandar Petrović
- Aleksandar Jovanović
8 Serbian Name Variants Based On International Names
John
The famous Christian Saint, the Baptizer of Jesus Christ. The Serbian Variant of this name is ‘Jovan’, it belongs to the group of boy names, and the female variant would be ‘Jovana’. For both versions, the nickname is the same and it is ‘Joca’/Jotza/ and it’s much easier to remember. It is a quite popular name in Serbia. This is also a very popular name in the English language also.
Nicolas
We have mentioned this one also. The most popular ‘Saint Patron’s Day’, and one of the most popular Saints in Christian Orthodoxy. The Serbian version is ‘Nikola’/Nicola/ and the interesting fact about this name is the nickname, or better said the short form of it. It’s Johny, and it doesn’t make any sense for anyone who is not born in this region.
Philip
There is nothing to say a lot around here. Philip or ‘Filip’ how Serbs say, is pronounced the same and it also has the same meaning. It was a traditional Greek name composed of two words. The first one is ‘Philos’ and it is the Greek word for friend and ‘hippos’, is the word for a horse. The famous bearer of this name was king Philip the father of Alexander the Great.
Markus
Markus or Marko, both of them are quite international although Marko is more popular in European countries while the first variant is more like an English name or even German and Scandinavian. In Serbia, there is a legend of Marko Kraljević who was fighting with the Turks all by himself. Also one of the most common surnames in Serbia is Marković and as you may see it is derived from the name of Marko.
Alexander
Alexander the Great, one of the biggest emperors of all time. The meaning of this name is also the emperor, and this famous person is called ‘Aleksandar Veliki’ right here in Serbia. So you see the Serbian variant of this name and also the feminine form is ‘Aleksandra’. There is a lot of nicknames for this name like ‘Aca’, ‘Saša’, ‘Sale’ and many others…
Sarah
Sarah or Sara, how Serbs pronounce it is not that popular but it is spread all across the world. It has a Hebrew origin and it is also a Hebrew word for the ‘Lady Ruler or Emperor’. It is also very popular in the Arab world and it is also mentioned in ‘Kuran’. In the Hebrew world, Sarah was the mother God of all Jews.
Maria
Maria or Marija is a very popular name in Serbia. We all know who ‘Santa Maria’ was, and for the ones who don’t it was the mother of Jesus. It is the Latin form of the popular Hebrew name ‘Mirjam’, so that’s where its origin comes from.
Stephan
Stephan or Stefan is a very spread name not just in Serbia but in some other countries also. Stefan Nemanja was the Serbian king and famous emperor and historical person. The first variant, Stephan is more popular in other countries like Germany, Sweden, Norway, Austria, and others.
Learn More Serbian Names And Words With Ling App
So this was a pretty long lecture, and I hope you found something interesting. So we’ve gone through some of the Serbian names, Serbian baby names, and even the most common surnames, and also the most common combinations of name and a family name that you can also hear in real life and the mainstream media.
You may see the difference between some older names with Slavic elements and some more popular ones nowadays. There is a lot more we’ll be talking about Serbia and its culture, so stay tuned for more. But for now, there is nothing more that I can recommend than checking out my most recommended language learning application: Ling app developed by Simya Solutions! Download it today and start learning Serbian for free!
