An overview of the historical development of onomastics in Croatia

Sažetak

Byzantine emperor and writer Constantine VII Porphyroge­nitus made a comprehensive list of Croatian idioms in his work De Administrando Imperio [On the Governance of the Empire]. In addition to listing the idioms, Constantine VII was the first to explain their etymology, claiming that „Croats are those who own a lot of land“. He was also the first to mention historical traditions of the arrival of Croats in today’s regions, saying they were led by five brothers: Kluka, Klobek, Kosinc, Muklo, Hr­vat and two sisters: Tuga and Buga. Apart from explaining the meaning of the name Hrvat [Croat] in the Slavic language, Po­rphyrogenitus also explains the etymology of many other names assigned to peoples.

Faust Vrančić is rarely mentioned as the first Croatian ety­mologist. In his 1595 Dictionary, he gave an analysis of Hun­garian words belonging to Slavic languages. Vrančić’s follower and the first Croatian onomastician was Pavao Ritter Vitezović (1652‒1713), who relied on folk speech and historical sources. According to Putanec, Vitezović made the largest list of na­mes with their many variations. Furthermore, we will mention Franc Miklošič and Tomo Maretić. Relying on the documents from Dalmatian cities dating back to 9th ‒ 15th century, Konstan­tin Jireček compiled registers of Roman, Greek, Old Christian, and other foreign names, Slavic names in Dalmatian cities from the 10th to the 15th century along with surnames and nicknames in Dalmatian cities from the year of 1000 to 1500, according to Putanec. Finally, of great importance are the works of the following Croatian onomasticians: Valentin Putanec, France Be­zlaj, Antun Mayer, Otto Franck, Petar Skok, Božidar Finka, Blaž Jurišić, Mate Suić, Mate Šimundić, Petar Šimunović, Stjepko Težek, Živko Bjelanović, Stjepan Babić, Dunja Brozović Ron­čević, Anđela Frančić, Domagoj Vidović, and others.