List of Bulgarians

Last updated June 02, 2025

This is a list of famous or notable Bulgarians throughout history.

Bulgarian monarchs

Performing arts

Directors

Models

Dancers

Journalists

Television

Literature

Authors

Music

Visual arts

Architects

Sculptors

Others

Annie Ivanova, arts curator
Christo Vladimirov Javacheff, along with Jeanne-Claude
Peter Lazarov, graphic artist
Alex Maleev, cartoonist
Toma Tomov, graphic artist

Business

State

Voivodes

Academics

Stephan Angeloff, microbiologist
Krassimir Atanassov, mathematician
Angel Balevski, inventor
Petar Beron, educator
Veselin Beshevliev, classicist
Georgi Bliznakoff, chemist
Kiril Bratanov, biologist
Ljubomir Chakaloff, mathematician
George Chaldakov, vascular biologist
Stamen Grigorov, physician
Asen Hadjiolov, biologist
Anastas Ishirkov, human geographer
Christo Ivanov, organic chemist
Assen Jordanoff, airplane constructor
Rostislaw Kaischew, physical chemist
Ludmil Katzarkov, mathematician
Georgi Kitov, archaeologist
Boicho Kokinov, cognitive scientist
Boris Komitov, astronomer
Mimoza Konteva, geographer
Georgi Lozanov, psychologist
Georgi Manev, physicist
Stefan Marinov, dissident physicist
Marco Mincoff, literary scholar
Nikola Mollov, organic chemist
Georgi Nadjakov, physicist, discovered the external photoeffect
Nikola Obreshkov, mathematician
Dimiter Orahovats, physiologist
Dimitar Paskov, pharmacist and chemist
Angel Penchev, neurologist
Peter Petroff, prolific inventor
Ivan Atanassov Petrov, neurologist
Stefka Petrova, nutritionist
Dimitar Sasselov, astrophysicist
Blagovest Sendov, mathematician
Ivan Stranski, physical chemist, proposed the mechanism of Stranski-Krastanov growth
Elka Todorova, social psychologist
Venelin Tsachevsky, economist
Evgeny Vatev, physicist, inventor
Asen Zlatarov, chemist
Vasil Zlatarski, historian
Dimitar Kalev, humanities scholar, oncologist, poet

Economists

Philosophers

Sports

Athletics

Rostislav Dimitrov, triple jumper
Yordanka Donkova, world record holder and one world title in hurdling (1988)
Stefka Kostadinova, world record holder and two world titles in high jump (1987, 1995)
Tereza Marinova, triple jumper
Khristo Markov, 1988 Olympic triple jump champion
Petya Pendareva, sprinter
Iva Prandzheva, long jumper and triple jumper

Boxing

Georgi Kostadinov, boxer, won the Olympic Flyweight gold medal at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games for Bulgaria
Daisy Lang, boxer, world champion in three different weight categories
Ivailo Marinov, boxer, won the Olympic Flyweight gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, among others
Kubrat Pulev, boxer
Tervel Pulev, boxer
Svilen Rusinov, boxer
Dimitar Shtilianov, boxer
Serafim Todorov, boxer, won the Olympic Featherweight Silver medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games

Chess

Ivan Cheparinov, chess player
Antoaneta Stefanova, Women's World Chess Champion (2004)
Silvio Danailov, chess player and manager
Veselin Topalov, World Chess Champion (2005)

Volleyball

Tennis

Other sports

Blagoy Blagoev, silver medalist in Olympic Games (1980) and all-time senior world record holder in snatch (195.5 kg, competing at 90 kg)
Nikolay Bukhalov, two Olympic and five world titles in canoeing
Albena Denkova, World Figure Skating Champion in ice dancing (pairs) (2006, 2007)
Vasil Etropolski (born 1959), Olympic and world champion sabre fencer
Georgi Georgiev, two world titles in Sambo (2003, 2006)
Maria Gigova, three rhythmic gymnastics world titles (1969, 1971, 1973), Guinness World Records
Mariya Grozdeva, sport shooter
Ivan Ivanov, Olympic weightlifter
Tanyu Kiryakov, pistol shooter
Dan Kolov, wrestler
Kaloyan Mahlyanov (Kotooshu), sumo wrestler
Maria Petrova, three rhythmic gymnastics world titles (1993, 1994, 1995), Guinness World Records
Hristo Prodanov, mountaineer
Evgeniya Radanova, speed skater and racing cyclist
Neshka Robeva, rhythmic gymnast
Alexander Rusev, wrestler, rower and powerlifter
Valentin Yordanov, two Olympic, seven world and seven European titles in wrestling
Yordan Yovchev, world champion and six-time Olympic gymnast

Theology

Antim I
Evtimiy of Tarnovo
Vladislav the Grammarian
Peter Deunov (Master Beinsa Douno), founder of the Universal White Brotherhood

Cuisine

Criminals

Gallery

Saint Clement of Ohrid (840–916), often associated as the creator of the Cyrillic script
Saint Ivan of Rila (876–946), the patron saint of the Bulgarian people
Tsar Ivan-Asen II (1191–1241), led the Second Bulgarian Empire to its largest territorial extent
Saint John Kukuzel (1280–1360), composer, singer and reformer of the Orthodox Church music, known as the "Angel-voiced"
Panayot Hitov (1830–1918), revolutionary, hajduk and voivode, national hero of Bulgaria
Stefan Karadzha (1840–1868), revolutionary, voivode, national hero of Bulgaria
Vasil Levski (1837–1873), revolutionary and national hero of Bulgaria
Hristo Botev (1848–1876), revolutionary and poet, national hero of Bulgaria
Georgi Benkovski (1843–1876), revolutionary and national hero of Bulgaria
Panayot Volov (1850–1876), revolutionary and national hero of Bulgaria
Todor Kableshkov (1851–1876), revolutionary and national hero of Bulgaria
Aleko Konstantinov (1863–1897), writer created one of the most popular Bulgarian works
Metropolitan Nathanael Ohridski (1820–1906), revolutionary and organizer of the Kresna-Razlog Uprising
Gotse Delchev (1872–1903), revolutionary and leader of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees ^[1]^[2]
Ivan Vazov (1850–1921), considered as the best Bulgarian author of all time
Todor Aleksandrov (1881–1924), revolutionary and leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, national hero of Bulgaria
Vladimir Vazov (1868–1945), general and war hero
Elin Pelin (1877–1949), considered as the best Bulgarian narrator
John Atanasoff (1903–1995), Bulgarian-American physicist, inventor of the computer
Christo (left), wrapper of the Reichstag in Berlin, the Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris, the artwork called Running Fence in Sonoma and Marin counties in California and The Gates in New York City's Central Park
Kaloyan Mahlyanov, the only European sumo wrestler who is winner of the Emperor's Cup
Hristo Stoichkov, football player, 1994 FIFA World Cup top scorer and winner of the Golden Shoe and the Golden Ball
Veselin Topalov, 2005–2006 World Chess Champion
Dimitar Berbatov, football player
Ivet Lalova, 12th-fastest woman in the history of the 100 metres
Dilma Rousseff, Bulgarian-Brazilian politician and former President of Brazil
Nina Dobrev, Bulgarian-American actress

Notes

↑ "Even the famous leader of the Macedonian revolutionaries, Gotse Delchev, openly said that "We are Bulgarians" and addressed "the Slavs of Macedonia as ‘Bulgarians’ in an offhanded manner without seeming to indicate that such a designation was a point of contention"; See:The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World, Loring M. Danforth, Editor: Princeton University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-691-04356-6, p. 64.
↑ "…Goce Delchev and the other leaders of the BMORK were aware of Serbian and Greek ambitions in Macedonia. More important, they were aware that neither Belgrade nor Athens could expect to obtain the whole of Macedonia and, unlike Bulgaria, looked forward to and urged partition of this land. Autonomy, then, was the best prophylactic against partition – a prophylactic that would preserve the Bulgarian character of Macedonia's Christian population despite the separation from Bulgaria proper…" See: The Macedoine, (pp. 307-328 in of "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics" by Ivo Banac, Cornell University Press, 1984)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Even the famous leader of the Macedonian revolutionaries, Gotse Delchev, openly said that "We are Bulgarians" and addressed "the Slavs of Macedonia as ‘Bulgarians’ in an offhanded manner without seeming to indicate that such a designation was a point of contention"; See:The Macedonian Conflict: Ethnic Nationalism in a Transnational World, Loring M. Danforth, Editor: Princeton University Press, 1997, ISBN 0-691-04356-6, p. 64.

[2] "…Goce Delchev and the other leaders of the BMORK were aware of Serbian and Greek ambitions in Macedonia. More important, they were aware that neither Belgrade nor Athens could expect to obtain the whole of Macedonia and, unlike Bulgaria, looked forward to and urged partition of this land. Autonomy, then, was the best prophylactic against partition – a prophylactic that would preserve the Bulgarian character of Macedonia's Christian population despite the separation from Bulgaria proper…" See: The Macedoine, (pp. 307-328 in of "The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics" by Ivo Banac, Cornell University Press, 1984)

[1]

[2]