100 Slavic Surnames With Meanings And History

Finding the perfect name for your story’s characters is not always easy.

You have to ensure that the surname adds meaning and purpose to your character’s background. The name should also suit your character’s demeanor.

There are several Slavic surnames that belong to different countries in the region. Each surname carries its own unique meaning and indicates which land the person belongs to. Common Slavic last names often include patronymics (names developed using your father's name), familial names, and even pet names. These last names are formed by adding suffixes to given names and other words.

For more naming ideas, take a look at these Slavic baby names and these Bulgarian names.

Croatian last names commonly end with –ić or -ich to indicate a diminutive suffix that combines with either the father’s name or the person’s profession. You will see that a lot of these last names often just indicate “son of” or where the person belongs to.

1. Adamić (Croatian origin) – meaning “son of Adam”

2. Antić (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Anto” or “son of Ante”

3. Babić (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “of old woman”

4. Bogdanić (Croatian origin) – meaning “son of Bogdan”

5. Broz (Croatian origin) – a diminutive of Ambrozije

6. Crnčević (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning "the color black"

7.  Dragović (Croatian origin) – meaning “son of Drago”

8. Filipović (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Filip”

9. Franić (Croatian origin) – another variation of Franjić

10. Franjić (Croatian origin) – this is one of the old Slavic names meaning “son of Franjo”

11. Grbić (Croatian, Serbian and Slovene origin) – meaning ‘hunchback’

12. Grgić (Croatian origin) – meaning “son of Grgur”

13. Horvat (Croatian and Slovene origin) – meaning “person from Croatia”

14. Ilić (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Ilija”

15. Ivanović (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Ivan”

16. Janković (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Janko”

17. Kovačić (Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian origin) – patronymic Slavic name from South Slavic which means “blacksmith”

18. Lončar (Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian origin) – meaning “potter” or “pot”

19. Marković (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Marko”

20. Nikolić (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Nikola”

21. Novak (Croatian, Slovene, and Serbian origin) – name given to someone new to the village

22. Perko (Croatian and Slovene origin) – ancient last name derived from “Peter”

23. Petrić (Croatian origin) – meaning “son of Petar”

24. Stankić (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Stanko”

25. Stjepanić (Croatian origin) – meaning “son of Stjepan”

26. Stojanović (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Stojan”

27. Tomić (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Toma”

28. Vinković (Croatian origin) – meaning “son of Vinko”

29. Vlahović (Croatian and Serbian origin) – patronymic derivative of Vlah, meaning “Romanian”

30. Zorić (Croatian and Serbian origin) – meaning “son of Zora”

Ukrainian and Russian surnames often hold a variety of different meanings, and are also indicative of a person’s place of origin. These Ukrainian and Russian surnames are good inspiration for characters with Slavic roots and heritage.

31. Aksamit (Polish, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Czech origin) – meaning “velvet”

32. Archaki (Polish and Ukrainian origin) – meaning “lord” or “ruler”. The name is derived from Greek.

33. Barno (Ukrainian, Russian, French, Aramaic, and Italian origin) – a surname that is often associated with people from Tuscany, Italy.

34. Bomba (Ukrainian, Czech, Slovak, and Spanish origin) – this surname is often used to describe people with a short temperament. It can also be used as an occupational surname for an artilleryman.

35. Bilyk (Ukrainian origin) – meaning “white” in Ukrainian

36. Cherkasskiy (Ukrainian origin) – meaning “Circassian”

37. Chernenko (Ukrainian and Russian origin) – In both Russian and Ukrainian languages, this name means the color “black”

38. Cherneski (Ukrainian origin) – derived from “cherno” or “charno”.

39. Datsyuk (Ukrainian and Russian origin) – meaning “to offer or provide a service”

40. Ganus (Russian and Ukrainian origin) – the surname is derived from the Russian word for the anise plant, or the Turkish name for “spring” or “source”.

41. Gogol (Ukrainian and Polish origin) – means “common goldeneye”, which is a type of duck.

42. Gutnik (Ukrainian, Russian, and Yiddish) – This name is derived from Yiddish to mean “glassworker”

43. Ivanova (Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian origin) – meaning “daughter of Ivan”. It is a feminine surname often given to girls.

44. Kalashnik (Ukrainian origin) – means “maker of kalaches”, which is a type of bread found in the Slavic regions

45. Kazan (Ukrainian and Belarusian origin) – derived from the Turkish word meaning “kettle, boiler, or furnace”

46. Kocur (Ukrainian origin) – translating to “tom cat” or “male cat”

47. Lomachenko (Ukrainian origin) – derived from the word ‘lam’, which means “scrap” in the Ukrainian language

48. Malaya (Russian and Ukrainian origin) – in both Russian and Ukrainian languages, this word means “small” or "little”

49. Molchan (Russian and Ukrainian origin) – meaning “silent”. The surname originated from a common nickname given to people who are soft-spoken

50. Panchenko (Ukrainian origin) – common surname meaning “fisher”

51. Poroshenko (Ukrainian origin) – translating to ‘gunpowder’ or ‘dust’, this occupational name was given to someone who sold gunpowder

52. Rosya (Ukrainian and Russian origin) – a shortened variant of ‘Rossiya’, which is the namesake word for Russia in the language. Alternatively, it can mean “rose".

53. Soroka (Ukrainian and Jewish origin) – meaning “magpie”

54. Vengerov (Ukrainian and Russian origin) – meaning “Hungarian”

55. Zbirak (Ukrainian and Polish origin) – derived from the Polish word ‘zbierac’, which means to collect or gather

Here are some last names from Czech Republic along you should consider for your character.

56. Adamík (Czech Republic origin) – derived from the name Adam

57. Bárta (Czech origin) – derived from the name Bartoloměj

58. Beneš (Czech origin) – from the given name Benedikt

59. Beran (Czech origin) – meaning “ram”

60. Čech (Czech origin) – translates to “Czech”

61. Čermák (Czech origin) – meaning “redstart”, which is a type of bird

62. Černý (Czech origin) - a last name meaning “black”

63. Chalupník (Czech origin) – derived from the Czech word “chalupa”, meaning “cottage”. The name was given to peasant farmers who owned very little land.

64. Chmela (Czech origin) – meaning “hops”, derived from the name given to the person who grew beer hops

65. Chvátal (Czech origin) – a derivate of the word “chvátat”, which means “to hurry”

66. Doležal (Czech origin) – a surname that originated from a common nickname given to a lazy person, meaning “to lie down”

67. Doubek (Czech origin) – meaning “small oak” or “oak”

68. Fiala (Czech origin) – meaning “violet flower”, derived from the name given to someone who lived near violet gardens

69. Holub (Czech and Ukrainian origin) – meaning “dove” or “pigeon” in both languages

70. Horáček (Czech origin) – derived from the Czech word “hora”, meaning “mountain”

71. Hrubý (Czech origin) – A Czech word meaning “coarse” or “crude”

72. Hruška (Czech origin) – meaning “pear”. It’s a common surname given to people who reared or grew pear fruits

73. Jedlička (Czech origin) – derived from the Czech word “jedle”, meaning “fir tree”

74. Jehlička (Czech origin) – derived from the Czech word “jehla”, meaning “needle”. It is a common surname given to tailors

75. Jelen (Czech origin) – derived from a nickname, meaning “stag” in Czech

76. Kudrna (Czech origin) – meaning “curl”. It is derived from a common nickname given to someone with curly hair

77. Kyselý (Czech origin) – meaning “sour”

78. Máselník (Czech origin) – derived from the Czech word “máslo” meaning butter. A common last name for someone who sold butter or buttermilk

79. Mlynář (Czech origin) – meaning “miller”

80. Navrátil (Czech origin) – meaning “returned”, derived from “navrátit”, which means “to return”

81. Nedbálek (Czech origin) – derived from the word “nedbalý”, meaning “careless”

82. Podsedník (Czech origin) - meaning “one who sits behind”

83. Pokorný (Czech and Slovak origin) – meaning “humble” in both languages

84. Polák (Czech origin) – meaning “Pole”, as in “Person from Poland” in Czech

85. Řezník (Czech and Slovak origin) – meaning “butcher” in both languages. The surname is given to someone who works as a butcher

86. Růžička (Czech origin) – meaning “little rose”

87. Ryba (Czech and Polish origin) – meaning “fish” in both languages. It is a surname given to someone who works as a fisher

88. Skála (Czech origin) – meaning “rock”

89. Slavík (Czech origin) – meaning “nightingale”

90. Tesař (Czech origin) – meaning “carpenter” in Czech. The surname was derived from the Slavic work “tesla”, meaning “adze”.

91. Veselý (Czech origin) – meaning “cheerful”

92. Žitnik (Czech, Slovene origin) – derived from Slavic word “žito”, meaning “rye”. It is a common surname for a person who deals in rye or bakes bread.

Like Czech surnames, last names in Poland also often have a variety of meanings and can relate to the occupation of the person, their family, or even nicknames. A lot of surnames in Poland end in “-ski”, which means “of”.

93. Andrysiak (Polish origin) – meaning “son of Andrzej”

94. Bartosz (Polish origin) – derived from the name “Bartosz”

95. Bosko (Polish and Slovak origin) – derived from the Slavic word “bosu”, which means “barefoot”

96. Dubanowski (Polish origin) – a surname used to indicate a person belonging to the town of Dubinowo

97. Dziedzic (Polish origin) – meaning “land owner”

98. Gomółka (Polish origin) – derived from the Polish word “gomółka”, which is a type of round cheese

99. Kamiński (Polish origin) – meaning “stone”. It is a surname given to someone who works as a stonecutter

100. Ślusarski (Polish origin) – an occupational name given to a locksmith, derived from the word “ślusarz”, which has Germanic origins

Kidadl has lots of great names articles to inspire you. If you liked our suggestions for Slavic surnames then why not take a look at the Polish names for girls, or for something different take a look at these Russian names for boys.