At the moment, listings for the most common names are unavailable for Albania. However the most common names include the following:
Common names denoting profession. Of these, religious professional names have been particularly widespread, including Hoxha (a Muslim priest, Sunni or Bektashi, with its variant Hoxhaj), Prifti (a Christian priest, Catholic or Orthodox), Shehu (a Bektashi priest) and Dervishi (Bektashi clergy). Bektashi itself is also a common surname. Ironically, Hoxha was the surname of Enver Hoxha, the leader of Communist Albania who banned all religions. There are numerous other professional names which are not as common. Begu also denotes a former ruler and also the surname(s) Gjoni or Gjonaj.
Common names which originated as patrinomials. Common names of this sort include Leka or Lekaj (Alex), Gjoni or Gjonaj (John), Murati (Murad), Mehmeti (Mehmed), Hysi (typically short for Hussein), Gjika/Gjoka (short for Jacob, cf Jake), Marku (Mark), Kola/Kolla/Nikolla (Nicholas), Hasani (Hassan), Kristi/Kristo, Luka (Lucas), Brahimi (Abraham, from Turkish), Sinani, Thanasi (Athanasius), Halili (Halil), and Abazi (Abbas). Albanians of Muslim background often bear Christian last names (denoting former Christian origin), and those with Christian often bear Muslim last names (which many in Northern regions adopted thinking it would lead to better treatment from the Ottoman authorities), although the holders of Bektashi surnames are usually actually of Bektashi background
Common names which originated as place names. May denote former residence, or, if the bearer has a Muslim patrilineal background, that their ancestors ruled the place. Common places used as surnames include Dibra, Laci, Shkodra, Prishtina, Delvina, Koroveshi and Permeti, as well as the famous Frasheri surname of the Frasheri family. Additionally common some names indicate regional origins: Gega/Gegaj (for one of Gheg origin), Tosku/Toskaj (signifying Tosk origin) and Chami (for Cham origin).
Some common names are Northern Albanian clan names that double as place names such as Kelmendi and Shkreli. Other notable clan-origin names include Berisha, Krasniqi and Gashi. These sorts of names are very common in far Northern Albania and in Kosovo.
Colors: of which Kuqi (red) and Bardhi (white) are the most commonly used as surnames.
The forty-one most common surnames in Austria as published in 2006 are shown below beside the approximate percentage of the Austrian population sharing each surname.[2]
Belgium is a European nation composed of three main regions: Flemish Region (Flanders), Walloon Region (Wallonia), and Brussels-Capital Region. Flanders has a Dutch-language tradition, while Wallonia has a French-language tradition. The Brussels-Capital Region is a mix of both Dutch- and French-language influences, with a large influx of foreign names. These different linguistic backgrounds are reflected in differing frequencies of surnames, as shown in the table below. On 31 December 1997 there were 316 295 different surnames in Belgium (total population: 11,521,238).
Note — the following table contains the ten most common surnames in each of the three federal regions as of 1 January 2021.[5][6]
Nineteen of the twenty most common Danish surnames as of 1 January 2022 are patronymic ending in Norse -sen ('son of'), the only exception being Møller (Miller).[16]
The 20 most common surnames in the Faroe Islands as published in 2017 are shown below beside the number of people of the Faroese population sharing each surname.[17]
Most of the names on this list are typical examples of surnames that were adopted when modern surnames were introduced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the romantic spirit, they refer to natural features: virta 'river', koski 'rapids', mäki 'hill', järvi 'lake', saari 'island' — often with the suffix -nen added after the model of older, mainly eastern Finnish surnames such as Korhonen and Heikkinen. Hämäläinen literally means 'an inhabitant of Häme'. The suffix -nen is an adjective ending.
The majority of Greek names are patronymic. There are also several names derived from professions (Samaras, Σαμαράς 'saddle maker', Papoutsis, Παπουτσής 'shoe maker'), area of (former) residence (Kritikos, Κρητικός 'from Crete', Aivaliotis, Αϊβαλιώτης 'from Ayvalık'), nicknames relating to physical or other characteristics (Kontos, Κοντός 'short', Mytaras, Μυταράς 'large-nosed', Koufos, Κουφός 'deaf') and more.
The patronymic suffix varies between dialects; thus Giannidis, Giannakos, Giannatos, Giannopoulos, Giannelis, Giannioglou all mean 'son of Giannis'.[27]
As of 2011, 2,095,788 individuals (21% of the population) bear the most common 20 names, and 3,347,493 individuals (33.5%) bearing the top 100 names.[28][29] 25 most common surnames in Hungary as of January 2019:[30][29]
While the vast majority of Icelanders do not use regular surnames but rather patronyms or matronyms, around 4% of Icelanders have proper surnames. See also Icelandic names.
The 20 most common surnames in the Iceland as published in 2017 are shown below beside the number of people of the Icelandic population sharing each surname.[31]
Names starting with O' and Mac/Mc were originally patronymic. Of the names above, with the exception of Smith and Walsh, all originally began with O' or Mac/Mc but many have lost this prefix over time. Mac/Mc, meaning Son, and Ó, meaning Little (or Descendant), are used by sons born into the family. In the case of a daughter being born into the family she would use Ní/Nic, for example Ó Muireadhaigh becomes Ní Mhuireadhaigh. A woman who marries into the family and takes her husband's name uses Uí/Mic- e.g. Uí Mhuireadhaigh.[36][37]
patronymic; descendant of Shaban (name of the eight month in the Islamic Calendar)
Macedonian surnames inflect through grammatical cases (in this case, gender). It is common for male surnames to end in -ski and -ov, while female ones end in -ska and -va.
Polish names which end with -ski or -cki or -dzki have both male and female forms – Kamiński/Kamińska, Wielicki/Wielicka, Zawadzki/Zawadzka etc. This needs to be considered when taking a count by, for instance, scanning a telephone book. Historically, -ski, -cki and -dzki, cognate with English -ish and French -esque, was a particle of nobility, like German von.
The 50 most frequent surnames in Portugal are listed below.[53][54][55] A number of these surnames may be preceded by of/from (de, d') or of the/from the (do, da, dos, das) as in de Sousa, da Costa, d'Oliveira. Those elements are not part of the surname and are not considered in an alphabetical order.
Those Russian surnames that end with -ov/-ev or -in/-yn are originally patronymic or metronymic possessive adjectivals with the meaning 'son of' or 'daughter/wife of' (the feminine is formed with the -a ending – Smirnova, Ivanova, etc.). In older documents such surnames were written with the word syn 'son', for example, Ivánov syn 'John's son' or Il'yín syn 'Elijah's son'; the last word was later dropped. Such names are roughly equivalent to the English or Welsh surnames Richardson or Richards.
The Russian equivalent of 'Smith', 'Jones', and 'Brown' (that is, the generic most often used surnames) are Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov, or 'Johns', 'Peters', and 'Isidores', although Sidorov is now ranked only 66th.[58]
Note: The most common surnames in Slovakia are a mixture of Indo-European and the Ugric roots reflecting the 900-year-long coexistence of the Indo-European Slovaks and speakers of other Indo-European languages with Ugric Hungarians and the Croatians, under Hungarian assimilation pressure throughout the 19th century (see Magyarization, see History of Slovakia). In 1910 Hungarians made up one-third of the population of the present-day territory of Slovakia.[62] Hungarians are currently an 8% minority[61] in Slovakia.[63] (see Demographics of Slovakia). While ethnic Hungarians are relatively few in Slovakia, their large presence on the list of most common names reflects the intra-lingual frequency of the frequent names in Hungary.
The top ten surnames cover about 20% of the population, with important geographical differences. The regional distribution of surnames within Spain was homogenized mostly through internal migrations, especially since 1950. Names typical of the old crown of Castile have become the most common all over the country. Most of the common Spanish patronymic surnames were introduced in Spain during the fifth to seventh centuries by the Visigoths.
Many of the surnames use the same root but different suffixes, or even different roots of the same meaning, depending on the part of Ukraine the person hails from.[70]
↑ The Lithuanian language has different endings for surnames for men and women. The ending of a woman's surname indicates whether she is married or not. Last names of married women end in -ienė while those of unmarried girls end in -ytė, -iūtė, -utė, -aitė.[citation needed]
Related Research Articles
Surname conventions and laws vary around the world. This article gives an overview of surnames around the world.
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather, or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic.
A surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person.
Kovač, meaning "blacksmith" in South Slavic languages, is a common surname in Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia and Serbia.
Kovačić, alternatively spelled Kovačič in Slovene and Slovak, Kovacsics in Hungarian, or transliterated as Kovacic/Kovacich/Kovachich in English, is one of the most common surnames in Croatia, Slovenia, as well as Hungary and Serbia. Etymologically it is a patronymic derivative of the surname Kovač, which is a Slavic cognate of the English surname Smith, and as such is closely related to the similar surname Kovačević.
Horváth is a common Hungarian surname. "Horváth" is the 2nd or 4th most common surname in Hungary as well as the most common in Slovakia. It's thought to derive from Hungarian horvát ("Croat") spelled without the final h in old orthography. The related Croatian surname Horvat, which is derived from an older version of the noun "Hrvat" ("Croat"), is the most common surname in Croatia or the Croatian diaspora. Members of this family can be found across the world, and are most numerous in the United States. Variations of the name include Horvat, Horvaty, Hrvat, Chorbadi, Orbath, Orvath, Orvat. The spelling of Horváth is of exclusive Hungarian origin.
Kovács or Kovacs, meaning blacksmith, is one of the most common Hungarian family names.
Williams is a common patronymic form of the name William that originated in medieval England, Wales, France, and Italy.
The Bulgarian name system has considerable similarities with most other European name systems, and with those of other Slavic peoples such as the Russian name system, although it has certain unique features.
A name in the Italian language consists of a given name, and a surname ; in most contexts, the given name is written before the surname, although in official documents, the surname may be written before the given name or names.
Ivan is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name Iōánnēs from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן Yôḥānnān meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the Bulgarian Saint Ivan of Rila.
This article features the naming culture of personal names of ethnic Serbs and the Serbian language. Serbian names are rendered in the "Western name order" with the surname placed after the given name. "Eastern name order" may be used when multiple names appear in a sorted list, particularly in official notes and legal documents when the last name is capitalized.
Heritable family names were generally adopted rather late within Scandinavia. Nobility were the first to take names that would be passed on from one generation to the next. Later, clergy, artisans and merchants in cities took heritable names. Family names (surnames) were still used together with primary patronyms, which were used by all social classes. This meant that most families until modern times did not have surnames. Scandinavian patronyms were generally derived from the father's given name with the addition of a suffix meaning 'son' or 'daughter' or by occupation like Møller - naming tradition remained commonly used throughout the Scandinavian countries during the time of surname formation. Forms of the patronymic suffixes include: -son, -sen, -fen, -søn, -ler, -zen, -zon/zoon, and -sson,'datter'.
A Slavic name suffix is a common way of forming patronymics, family names, and pet names in the Slavic languages. Many, if not most, Slavic last names are formed by adding possessive and other suffixes to given names and other words. Most Slavic surnames have suffixes which are found in varying degrees over the different nations. Some surnames are not formed in this way, including names of non-Slavic origin. They are also seen in North America, Argentina, and Australia.
Brozović is a Croatian surname. Etymologically it is derived from the surname Broz, by means of possessive suffix -ov and a patronymic-forming suffix -ić.
This article contains lists of the most common surnames in some of the countries of Asia, in alphabetical order of the country.
Yatsko is a Slavic surname that can be found in Poland, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, the United States, Moldova and some other countries. In English speaking countries it is pronounced with the first syllable stressed [ˈjɑːtskoʊ] and has other less common variants of spelling: 'Iatsko', 'Jaczko'. The surname is rather rare and hasn't been listed among the most common surnames in the above-mentioned countries.
By the 18th century almost all Ukrainians had family names. Most Ukrainian surnames are formed by adding possessive and other suffixes to given names, place names, professions and other words.
Stanev is a Bulgarian, Ukrainian and Russian surname which is derived either from Stan or Stane – both diminutives of the male given name Stanislav – by adding the east Slavic patronymic suffix -ев (-ev). Notable people with the surname include:
↑ Bowne, Heather (16 January 2005). "What's in a name?". ABC of Czech. Český rozhlas 7 – Radio Praha. Retrieved 28 January 2008. The most common surname in the Czech Republic is Novák, which is closest to the English "Newman".
↑ Rank and percentage of population from: Kunze, Konrad (2004). Namenkunde, Vor- und Familiennamen im deutschen Sprachgebiet, 4th edn (series: dtv-Atlas). München, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 255 pp.
↑ Heterograph: Schmitt. In southernmost Germany, the alternative form 'Schmid' is the most common. All forms taken collectively would be #1 surname. The standard German form for 'blacksmith' is 'Schmied'.
↑ Heterographs: Meier, which is common to the north, like Meyer, and Mayer, which is commoner to the south. All forms taken collectively would be #2 surname
↑ Triandafilidis, Manolis (1995). Τα οικογενειακά μας ονόματα (Our Family Names). Athens: Manolis Triandafilidis Foundation. p.288. ISBN9789602310106.
↑ "Születési családnevek 2019". Közigazgatási és Elektronikus Közszolgáltatások Központi Hivatala. Archived from the original(XLSX) on 17 September 2019. Retrieved 17 September 2019.
↑ Agjencia e Statistikave të Kosovës, 2017, p. 12. "Names and Surnames in Kosovo"(PDF). Retrieved 20 October 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
↑ "Latvians". li.lv. 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2009.
↑ Os 100 Apelidos mais frequentes da População PortuguesaArchived 28 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine Perhaps the numbers in this reference are for the population of Portuguese-speaking countries. The total number of people with these common names (10.4 million) already exceeds the population of Portugal in 2014 (10.3 million).
↑ Károly Kocsis (DSc, University of Miskolc) – Zsolt Bottlik (PhD, Budapest University) – Patrik Tátrai: Etnikai térfolyamatok a Kárpát-medence határon túli régióiban, Magyar Tudományos Akadémia (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) – Földrajtudományi Kutatóintézet (Academy of Geographical Studies); Budapest; 2006.; ISBN963-9545-10-4, CD Atlas
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