Most Popular Croatian Names of the Last 80 Years

Nisam lingvist have published animated maps of Croatia showing the most common and popular Croatian names of the last eighty years, according to data from the Central Bureau of Statistics.

According to the maps, up until the 1960’s there was not much creativity with names in Croatia. In all regions of the country the name Marija was the hands down the most popular. From the 1960’s Marija was knocked off its perch, first around the Zagreb area, then in the Istria and Kvarner region. The 1980’s was dominated by the name Ivana, being the most popular name in all counties of the country.

When it came to male names, the most popular name in the last eighty years in Croatia was Ivan, followed by Josip. Ivan was the most common name in most regions of Croatia, except Dalmatia, where Ante held the number one spot. The 1960’s saw a diversion from the norm, with Željko taking the top spot in a number of regions during the decade. The names Damir and Milan also started to appear near the top of lists from the 1960’s. In the 1970’s Mario was the most common name, with Igor the most popular in the northern Adriatic. From the 2000’s a name which had never before featured made its appearance as the most popular name – Luka. You can see all the maps here.