Slovak name

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Slovak names consist of a given name and surname. Slovakia uses the Western name order with the given name being listed before surname. However, there is a historical tradition to reverse this order, especially in official contexts including administrative papers and legal documents, as well as on gravestones and memorials.

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Most Slovaks do not have a middle name. The family name forms for males and females are distinct in Slovakia, making it possible to identify gender from the name alone. As of 2003 there were 185,288 different family names in use among 5.4 million Slovaks, or one family name for every 29 citizens. There is an estimated 90,000 lineages in Slovakia. [1] With marriage, the bride typically adopts the bridegroom's surname. Slovak names are very similar to Czech names.

Given names

Given names in Slovakia are called baptismal names (Slovak : krstné mená) despite being completely different from the Christian baptismal names. Proper baptismal names given during infant baptism are still common in the countryside, yet they are only seldom used within the official name (if they are, they form the person's middle name). Generally, names in Slovakia can be of several distinct origins:

Most common given names in Slovakia (as of 2010) [2]
Male namesTotal peopleFemale namesTotal people
Jozef175,593Mária225,471
Ján174,949Anna161,812
Peter158,593Zuzana88,276
Martin87,283Katarína88,001
Štefan80,647Eva85,952
Milan78,781Jana85,518
Michal78,548Helena66,898
Miroslav78,093Monika48,667
Tomáš59,653Marta47,586
Ladislav58,927Martina44,738

Surnames

Surnames differ according to gender. Normally, the feminine form is created by adding suffix "ová" to the masculine form (e.g. Bača would be Bačová). If the surname is derived from adjectives, the ý suffix is replaced with á. Because Slovakia also has people with Hungarian, German, and other ancestors, some surnames in Slovakia will follow the convention of those languages and not conform to these norms. [3]

Some popular surnames include: [4]

See also

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References

  1. "Najčastejšie priezviská na Slovensku" [Most common family names in Slovakia]. Geni.sk (in Slovak). 10 January 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. "Najčastejším menom, ktorým rodičia pomenovali svoje dieťa v roku 2010, je Jakub" [The most common name given by parents in 2010 is Jakub]. Slovak Ministry of Interior (in Slovak). Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  3. Hrabovská Francelová, Nina (31 July 2020). "Ová and out: Slovak women dropping female suffix from surnames". The Slovak Spectator . Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  4. "Slovak surnames". The foreigner's guide to Slovakia. 23 November 2007. Archived from the original on 20 August 2008.