Macedonian Surnames: What Your Family Name Means

Most Macedonian surnames come from a father’s or grandfather’s first name, a job, a nickname or a place. The ending -ski (for men) or -ska (for women) is added. So Petrovski means “of Petar’s family” and Popovski means “of the priest’s family”. The ending can also tell you roughly which part of Macedonia your family came from.

Many of us grew up hearing our surname mispronounced at school roll call in Footscray, Rockdale or Wollongong. Here is what that name actually says about your family.

The -ski and -ska ending

The ending -ski (Cyrillic -ски) is a possessive ending. It means “belonging to” or “of the family of”. It works a bit like “-son” in English names such as Johnson.

In Macedonian, the ending changes with gender:

• -ski for men and boys: Stojanovski
• -ska for women and girls: Stojanovska
• Older -ov / -ev surnames work the same way: Nikolov for a man, Nikolova for a woman

So a brother and sister in Bitola will have slightly different surnames. That is normal, not a spelling mistake.

-ovski, -oski, -ov: what the ending says about your region

Most surnames are built in two steps. First, a possessive ending (-ov or -ev) is added to a name. Then -ski is added on top. For example, Mile + -ev + -ski gives Milevski.

In everyday speech, the middle “v” often drops out. That gives the shorter -oski and -eski forms, such as Naumoski or Risteski. The table below is based on the most common surnames in each statistical region, as listed on Wikipedia’s page on Macedonian onomastics.

Ending	Example	Where it is most common
-oski / -eski	Naumoski, Petreski, Risteski	South-west and Pelagonia: Ohrid, Struga, Kičevo, Prilep, Bitola areas
-ovski / -evski	Jovanovski, Trajkovski, Krstevski	Skopje and the north-east (Kumanovo area)
-ov / -ev	Stojanov, Mitev, Atanasov	East, south-east and the Vardar region: Štip, Strumica, Kavadarci, Veles areas

This is a pattern, not a rule. Families moved, and you will find every form in every town. Pelagonia also has plenty of -ovski/-evski names, like Petrovski and Talevski.

Why families from Aegean Macedonia and Pirin may differ

Many Macedonian-Australian families came from villages that are now in northern Greece (often called Aegean Macedonia) or in the Pirin region of Bulgaria. Their surnames often look different.

• Pirin families usually have -ov or -ev surnames, recorded the Bulgarian way.
• Families from northern Greece often had their names written in Greek forms in official papers. These might end in -is, -as or -ou. At home and in church, the family may still have used a Macedonian form such as -ov or -ski.

So one family can have two or three versions of the same surname across passports, ship lists and church books. When you research, search for all of them.

Surnames from a father’s name

The biggest group by far are patronymic surnames. These come from the first name of a father or forefather. Stable family surnames only became common in the 1800s and early 1900s. So the person behind your surname may have lived only five or six generations ago.

• Petrovski: from Petar (Peter)
• Jovanovski: from Jovan (John)
• Stojanovski: from Stojan
• Nikolovski: from Nikola (Nicholas)
• Ilievski: from Ilija (Elijah)

Many of these first names are saints’ names. If your surname comes from one, your ancestor probably celebrated that saint’s feast as his name day. Look it up on our name days page.

Surnames from a job

Some surnames record what an ancestor did for a living. Several use Turkish loanwords from Ottoman times, ending in -džija (-џија).

• Popovski: from pop, a priest. Orthodox village priests can marry, so a priest’s children could carry this name.
• Kovačevski: from kovač, a smith or blacksmith.
• Terziski: from terzija, an old word for a tailor.
• Bojadžiev / Bojadžievski: from bojadžija, a dyer of cloth.

Nicknames and place names

Other surnames started as a nickname for an ancestor. They might describe his looks, his habits or where he came from. Over time the nickname replaced the old family name.

Place-based surnames are also common. A family that moved from one village to another was often named after the old village. These names usually end in -ski too, just like the adjective form of a place, for example Ohridski (“from Ohrid”). If your surname looks like a town or village name, check the heritage map to see if a place of that name exists.

Common Macedonian surnames and their roots

These are some of the most common surnames, with the word or name they come from. Meanings of first names are the traditional ones; scholars sometimes debate the older roots.

Surname	Cyrillic	Root	Meaning of the root
Petrovski	Петровски	Petar	Peter, from Greek for “rock”
Jovanovski	Јовановски	Jovan	John
Stojanovski / Stojanov	Стојановски	Stojan	A traditional Slavic name linked to “stand firm, endure”
Nikolovski / Nikolov	Николовски	Nikola	Nicholas
Trajkovski	Трајковски	Trajko	A traditional name linked to “to last”
Ristevski / Risteski	Ристевски	Risto	Short for Hristo, from Christ
Krstevski	Крстевски	Krste	From krst, the cross
Spasovski	Спасовски	Spase	From Spas, the Saviour
Ilievski	Илиевски	Ilija	Elijah
Naumoski	Наумоски	Naum	Saint Naum of Ohrid
Milevski	Милевски	Mile	A pet name linked to mil, “dear”
Mitev	Митев	Mite	A short form of Dimitar (Demetrius)
Atanasov	Атанасов	Atanas	Athanasius, from Greek for “immortal”
Talevski	Талевски	Tale	A short form of a first name
Popovski	Поповски	pop	Priest
Kovačevski	Ковачевски	kovač	Smith, blacksmith
Terziski	Терзиски	terzija	Tailor
Bojadžiev	Бојаџиев	bojadžija	Dyer of cloth

Is your surname missing? Send it to us with the village your family came from, and what your family says it means. We will add more names to this list over time.

Why the spelling changed in Australia

Macedonian is written in Cyrillic, and the Latin spelling uses letters such as č, ž and š. English forms in the 1950s, 60s and 70s had no room for these. So names were changed at the port, on the job or in the bank.

• Letters dropped: Kovačevski became Kovacevski, or Kovachevski with “ch”.
• -ski became -sky: some officials wrote the ending the way it looked in Russian or Polish names.
• Women’s -ska disappeared: in Australia many wives and daughters were recorded with the men’s -ski form.
• Names were shortened: some families dropped the ending, or took an English-sounding name for work.

None of these changes affect what the name means. They do matter when you search old records, so note every spelling you find.

How to find out more

1. Ask the oldest relatives what the family was called in the village. Many families also had a nickname for their whole clan.
2. Find the family’s first Australian papers, like naturalisation files and ship lists. Our guide to tracing your Macedonian village explains where to look.
3. Look for books on Macedonian surnames. The 1994 Dictionary of Surnames among Macedonians lists where each surname was recorded.
4. Ask at your local parish. Our churches page lists Macedonian churches across Australia, and older parishioners often know family histories.

Frequently asked questions

What does -ski mean in a Macedonian surname?

It means “of” or “belonging to”. Petrovski means of the family of Petar. Women use -ska.

Why do some families spell it -oski and others -ovski?

The -oski form is a spoken short form that is most common around Ohrid, Struga, Kičevo, Prilep and Bitola. Both mean the same thing.

Is Popovski a priest’s family?

Yes, the root pop means priest. An ancestor was probably a village priest, as Orthodox priests can marry.

Why does my surname end in -ov instead of -ski?

The -ov and -ev forms are older and are most common in eastern Macedonia, the Pirin region and among families from northern Greece.

Why is my sister’s surname different from mine?

Macedonian surnames change with gender. A man is Stojanovski and a woman is Stojanovska. In Australia many women were recorded with the men’s form.

Further reading: Macedonian onomastics (Wikipedia)

Прочитајте на македонски: Македонски презимиња: што значи вашето презиме