Macedonian Surnames

In 1944, the Yugoslav Communist Party introduced a plan to give all Macedonian surnames the suffix -ski (feminine -ska), allegedly to weaken their sense of identity. If someone refused to change their name, they were not entitled to any benefits from Socialist Macedonia. Many accepted this in order to conform to the new ideology but others, in particular the communists, were willing to risk imprisonment and even execution in order to retain their own ethnic identity. Some Macedonian surnames did originally end in -ski (feminine -ska) but only those derived from an adjective, trade or place of origin. Most had the endings -ov/-ova or -ev/-eva. Surnames in the Serbian area were given the suffix -ich, first names and surnames in Aegean Macedonia were usually given the -is or -os suffixes.

This collection of names was compiled by Kate Monk and is ©1997, Kate Monk.

Copies may be made for personal use only.