Bosnian Last Names

Five surnames of Bosnia and Herzegovina per press, each with the name, old title or word it is built on.

Bosnian Last Names

VukomanovićFrom vuk, a wolf, and the ending -ović.
ArslanovićFrom the first name Arslan and the ending -ović.
MulićFrom mula (“mullah”) and the ending -ić.
SmajlovićFrom the name Ismael and the ending -ović.
AlispahićFrom Turkish Ali Sipahi, the name Ali with the word sipahi, and the ending -ić.

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How it works

These 103 Bosnian last names are surnames of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their own spelling, as Hodžić. Each card names the first name, old title, trade or place it is built on, as a dictionary or encyclopedia gives it.

Read the full guide

What a Bosnian surname is built on

The dropdown, Built on, keeps the 54 names from a first name (Hasanović, from Hasan), the 24 from an old title or rank (Begović, from beg, a chieftain or lord), the 18 from a trade or everyday word (Terzić, from terzija, a tailor) or the 7 from a place or people (Sarajlić, from the city of Sarajevo).

Endings

Under More filters, Ending keeps the 54 names in -ović or -ević, the 41 in -ić alone or the 8 with another ending, such as Kovač, Dizdar and Bošnjak.

Tips

Bošnjak began as an old word for a person from Bosnia; Bošnjaković adds -ović to it.
Šećerović is built on šećer, the word for sugar.

Questions and answers

Why do Bosnian last names end in -ić?

The ending -ić is a Slavic diminutive that makes a surname from a parent’s name or a word. Wikipedia’s article on Alić reads it as the little son of Ali. Many names put -ov or -ev first, as Hasanović and Kovačević do.

What do Bosnian last names mean?

About half of these are built on a first name: Hasanović on Hasan, Mehmedović on Mehmed, Ilić on Ilija. Others come from a trade or a word: Kovačević from kovač, a blacksmith, and Sokolović from sokol, a falcon.

Which Bosnian last names come from old titles?

Begović comes from beg, a chieftain or lord, Kapetanović from kapetan, a captain, Dizdarević from dizdar, the commander of a castle, and Spahić from spahija, a cavalryman. Most of these titles date from Ottoman times.

Are these real Bosnian surnames?

Yes. Each has an article among Wikipedia’s surnames of Bosnian origin, and its root comes from that article or from a dictionary entry. Many are also carried in Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro.

All 103 last names

Bosnian last names 103

Ademović From the first name Adem and the ending -ović.
Adilović From the first name Adil and the ending -ović.
Aganović From the Ottoman title aga and the ending -ović.
Ahmetović From the first name Ahmet and the ending -ović.
Alagić From the name Alaga and the ending -ić.
Alibegović From Turkish Ali Bey, the name Ali with the title bey, and the ending -ović.
Alić From the first name Ali and the ending -ić.
Alihodžić From Turkish Ali Hoca, the name Ali with the title hoca, and the ending -ić.
Alispahić From Turkish Ali Sipahi, the name Ali with the word sipahi, and the ending -ić.
Amidžić From amidža, a father’s brother, and the ending -ić.
Arnautović From Arnaut, the Ottoman Turkish name for an Albanian, and the ending -ović.
Arslanović From the first name Arslan and the ending -ović.
Avdić From the first name Avdo and the ending -ić.
Bajić From the name Bajo and the ending -ić.
Bajraktarević From bajraktar, from a Turkish word for a flag-bearer, and the ending -ević.
Bajramović From the name Bajram and the ending -ović.
Bajrović From the first name Bajro and the ending -ović.
Balašević From the first name Balaš and the ending -ević.
Bećirović From the name Bećir and the ending -ović.
Bećirspahić From the name Bećir and the Turkish term sipahi and the ending -ić.
Beganović From the name Began and the ending -ović.
Begić From the title beg, Turkish bey, and the ending -ić.
Begović From beg, from an Ottoman Turkish word for a chieftain or lord, and the ending -ović.
Bičakčić From bičakčija (“knifesmith”) and the ending -ić.
Bilbija From bilbil, from the Turkish word bülbül, a nightingale.
Biščević From the place name Bihać and the ending -ević.
Bosnić From the place name Bosna (Bosnia) and the ending -ić.
Bošnjak From Bosna (Bosnia) and the ending -jak.
Bošnjaković From Bošnjak and the ending -ović.
Bukvić From bukva, a beech, and the ending -ić.
Buljubašić From an Ottoman military rank, boluk-bashi, and the ending -ić.
Ćatić From ćato (“scribe”) and the ending -ić.
Čaušević From čauš, Turkish çavuş, a term for an officer in the early Ottoman period, and the ending -ević.
Čelebić From Turkish çelebi, roughly “gentleman”, and the ending -ić.
Demirović From the name Demir and the ending -ović.
Dizdar From the Ottoman title dizdar.
Dizdarević From dizdar, a castellan, the commander of a castle, and the ending -ević.
Dragović From the name Drago and the ending -ović.
Džaferović From the Turkish personal name Cafer and the ending -ović.
Ekmečić From ekmečija, a bread maker or bread seller, and the ending -ić.
Elezović From the name Elez and the ending -ović.
Fazlić From the first name Fazli and the ending -ić.
Golubić From the word golub, a pigeon, and the ending -ić.
Graovac From the place name Graovo.
Hadžić From the word hadži (hajji), for a pilgrim to Mecca, and the ending -ić.
Hajradinović From the Arabic name Khair ad-Din and the ending -ović.
Halilović From the name Halil and the ending -ović.
Handanović From the name Handan and the ending -ović.
Hasanović From the name Hasan and the ending -ović.
Hodžić From hodža, a loanword from Turkish hoca, and the ending -ić.
Ibrahimović From the first name Ibrahim and the ending -ović.
Ilić From the first name Ilija and the ending -ić.
Imamović From the word imam and the ending -ović.
Isaković From the first name Isak and the ending -ović.
Jahić From the first name Jahja and the ending -ić.
Janjić From the name Janja and the ending -ić.
Jašarević From the name Jašar and the ending -ević.
Junuzović From the first name Yunus and the ending -ović.
Kalajdžić From the trade of the kalajdžija, a tinker, and the ending -ić.
Kapetanović From kapetan, a captain, and the ending -ović.
Karabegović From the Turkish words kara, black, and beg, lord, and the ending -ović.
Karišik From the Turkish word karışık, “mixed”.
Kljajić From the name Kljajo and the ending -ić.
Kolar From the word kolar, a wheelwright.
Kovač From the word kovač, a blacksmith.
Kovačević From kovač (“blacksmith”) and the ending -ević.
Kovačić From kovač (“blacksmith”) and the ending -ić.
Marijanović From the first name Marijan and the ending -ović.
Marjanović From the first name Marjan and the ending -ović.
Mehić From the first name Meho and the ending -ić.
Mehmedović From the name Mehmed and the ending -ović.
Memić From Memed, a variant of the name Mehmed, and the ending -ić.
Mešić From the first name Meša, a short form of Mehmed, and the ending -ić.
Mišić From the first name Mišo, or from a word for a small mouse, and the ending -ić.
Muharemović From the name Muharem and the ending -ović.
Mujezinović From mujezin (“muezzin”) and the ending -ović.
Mujić From Mujo, a short name for Mustafa or Muhamed, and the ending -ić.
Mulić From mula (“mullah”) and the ending -ić.
Muratović From the name Murat and the ending -ović.
Osmanović From the first name Osman and the ending -ović.
Pašalić From the Ottoman Turkish title pasha and the ending -ić.
Petrić From the first name Petar and the ending -ić.
Predojević From the old name Predoje and the ending -ević.
Salihović From the name Salih and the ending -ović.
Samardžić From samardžija, a saddle maker, and the ending -ić.
Sarajlić From the city of Sarajevo and the ending -ić.
Šećerović From šećer (“sugar”) and the ending -ović.
Seferović From the name Sefer and the ending -ović.
Selimović From the name Selim and the ending -ović.
Šimunović From the name Šimun and the ending -ović.
Smajić From the name Ismail and the ending -ić.
Smajlović From the name Ismael and the ending -ović.
Sokolović From the word sokol, a falcon, and the ending -ović.
Spahić From spahija, Turkish sipahi, a cavalryman, and the ending -ić.
Spaho From Ottoman sipahi, in Serbo-Croatian spahija.
Tahirović From the name Tahir and the ending -ović.
Terzić From the word terzija, a tailor, and the ending -ić.
Topčagić From topčaga, the commander of an artillery unit, and the ending -ić.
Toskić Perhaps from Toska, a short form of Teodosija and Teodora, and the ending -ić.
Vukašinović From the first name Vukašin and the ending -ović.
Vukomanović From vuk, a wolf, and the ending -ović.
Vuković From the name Vuk and the ending -ović.
Zahirović From the name Zahir and the ending -ović.

How this list was compiled

Built on 3 October 2026 from public pages read that day. A name is listed when it has an article in English Wikipedia's category 'Surnames of Bosnian origin' (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Surnames_of_Bosnian_origin, 281 pages that day) and one of two sources states what it is built on: the etymology of its Serbo-Croatian surname entry in English Wiktionary (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Serbo-Croatian_surnames, CC BY-SA 4.0; 39 cards) or the opening of its own Wikipedia article (64 cards; on four of them, Amidžić, Čaušević, Kapetanović and Spahić, the Serbo-Croatian word is the one the name's dictionary entry gives). The card gives that first name, title or word in our own short wording and adds nothing the source does not say; a gloss is printed only where the source prints one. Left out as our own call: names whose stated root is an unkind word, a bodily trait or a weapon, names whose root the source names without a meaning, most names with two rival explanations (Mišić and Toskić stay, with the source's own “or” and “perhaps” on the card), one name best known for one family and one carried mostly outside Bosnia. The sorting by what a name is built on is ours, read from the source's words: a first name; an old title or rank (most of them from Ottoman times, some of them titles of religious office, given here as the source names them); a trade or everyday word; a place or a people. No card says who carries a name; many of these surnames are also carried in Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro. The line on the ending -ić is from the opening of Wikipedia's article on Alić. A root is what a dictionary or encyclopedia records for the surname in general, not for any one family. English Wikipedia's 'List of most common surnames in European countries' gives no single count for Bosnia and Herzegovina, so no card carries a rank. Counted on 3 October 2026, by spelling with accents ignored: 40 of 103 names (38.8 in 100) also stand in another list of this site (cap 40); 28 on the Serbian list, 19 on the Croatian list, 13 on the Slovenian list. Licence: Drawn from English Wiktionary and English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The selection, the sorting and the wording of the cards are our own work.