How it works
These 290 Bulgarian last names are real: the ten most common of 2018, 126 more that have an encyclopedia article and 154 from a dictionary. Each card gives the Cyrillic spelling and the woman's form, as Ivanov and Ivanova.
Read the full guide
What a Bulgarian surname is built on
The dropdown, Built on, keeps the 42 names from a first name (Georgiev, from Georgi), the 92 from a trade or an office (Dermendzhiev, from the word for a miller) or the 61 from a thing, a plant or an animal (Karpuzov, from the word for a melon).
Endings and women's forms
Under More filters, Ending keeps the 148 names in -ov, the 132 in -ev or the 10 in -ski. A woman's form adds -a: Ivanov and Ivanova, Georgiev and Georgieva. A name in -ski changes to -ska.
Tips
- 82 cards give no root; a card prints one only where the dictionary or the name's own article states it plainly.
- Starts with reads the Latin spelling, so K finds Kovachev and Kostadinov.
Questions and answers
What is the most common Bulgarian last name?
Ivanov, with Ivanova for women. Georgiev, Dimitrov, Petrov and Nikolov follow in the 2018 figures of Bulgaria's National Statistical Institute, then Hristov, Stoyanov, Todorov, Iliev and Angelov.
Why do Bulgarian last names end in -ov or -ev?
The endings make a possessive form of a first name, the way a patronymic is made: Ivanov is Ivan's, Georgiev is Georgi's. The next most common ending, -ski, can also mark where a family came from.
What is the female form of a Bulgarian last name?
It ends in -a. Ivanov becomes Ivanova, Georgiev becomes Georgieva and a name in -ski becomes -ska. Every card on this list prints both forms.
Are these real Bulgarian surnames?
Yes. All but Iliev, which comes from the 2018 table, have a Bulgarian surname entry in an open dictionary with the Cyrillic spelling, and 136 have an encyclopedia article. The dictionary-only names are built on trades and everyday words; unkind nicknames were left out.