Surname Dimitrievic - Meaning and Origin
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Dimitrievic: What does the surname Dimitrievic mean?
The last name Dimitrievic is a Slavic-origin surname derived from Dimitrija, the Serbian, Croatian, and Slovenian form of the Greek name Demetrius. The patronymic surname is formed by adding the Slavic suffix -evic or -evich, which literally means "son of". As such, Dimitrievic is a common, patronymic surname indicating an ancestry stemming from a forefather named Dimitrije or Demetrius.
Dimitrievic is a particularly common name in Serbian-speaking parts of the former Yugoslavia and in parts of Eastern Europe. Variations of the surname include Dimitrijevic, Demetrović, Dimitrijevich, Demetrovich, Dimitriyevich, and Demetroff.
Historically, the name has been used to refer to members of the Boyar or noble class. During the 10th century in Serbia, a man named Emmo became the first documented ancestor of the Boyar Dimitrievic family. Later, the Dimitrievic family played an important role in the historic Battle of Kosovo in 1389.
Today, the surname Dimitrievic remains an important part of Serbian and Eastern European history. It is a reminder of the noble Boyar history and of the once powerful Slavic state of Serbia.
Order DNA origin analysisDimitrievic: Where does the name Dimitrievic come from?
The last name Dimitrievic is a very common last name in the Balkans, primarily in Serbia, Montenegro, and Bosnia but to some degree in Croatia, North Macedonia, and Albania. It’s believed to have originated in the region of Montenegro in the 14th century, during the rule of the Nemanjić dynasty.
The earliest record of Dimitrievic dates back to 1325 when Jovan Dimitrievic was a noted warrior and legislator. The Dimitrievic’s are known as the protectors of the dynasty and some believe the surname was given to them by the king at that time.
Today, the Dimitrievic surname is most prolific in Serbia where it’s the 33rd most common name according to the population register. Montenegro ranks 42nd, and Bosnia stands at 595th. In North Macedonia, the Dimitrievic name ranks at 1,746th most common and in Albania, the name stands at 2,756th.
Although it’s not as widely found in these other countries as it is in Serbia and Montenegro, the Dimitrievic last name is still found throughout the Balkans in a variety of forms. Dimitrović, Dimitrić, Mitrović, and Mitrić are all variants of Dimitrievic, as is the more rare Dimitrijević.
The Dimitrievic name is also found in abundance in other parts of the world outside the Balkans, primarily in Eastern European countries such as Russia and Ukraine, the United States, Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere. Though in these countries it’s significantly less common than it is in the Balkans.
Variations of the surname Dimitrievic
The surname Dimitrievic is derived from the given name Dimitrije. It is related to the Greek name Demetrius, which is a Greek form of the Latin name Demetrius, deriving from the goddess Demeter. The variants of Dimitrievic can be Dementrievich, Dimitrijevic, Dimitrievski, and Dimitrijevski.
Dimitrievic is most commonly found in Serbia and Montenegro, but the related surname Dimitrijevic is also found in some parts of Croatia, Slovenia, and Bosnia. The unaccented form of Dimitrievic is Dimitrievich or Dementrievich and it is also found in Russia.
The Dimitrievic surnames can be further modified to accommodate regional which can be spelt differently, such as Demetrovich, Demtrievich, Dmitrievich, and Dmitrijevich, and Dimitrievits, Dimitrievitsa, Dimitrijevits, Dmitrievits, Dimitrievic, and Dimitrijevic.
In some parts of Croatia and Serbia, the Dimitrievic surname has been changed to the more common Dimitrijevic to reflect the regional dialect, as well as to add an even closer relationship to the name Dimitrije.
Dimitrievic and Dimitrijevic both originate from the name Dimitrije and represent a connection to the ancient Greek goddess Demeter. It is a strong and proud Serbian surname that is still found today.
Famous people with the name Dimitrievic
- Filip Dimitriević: Serbian footballer
- Vuk Dimitrijević: politician, linguist, and literary scholar from Serbia
- Predrag Dimitrijević: basketball player from Montenegro
- Vladimir Dimitrijević: handball player from Serbia
- Nenad Dimitrijević: film director from Serbia
- Nemanja Dimitrijević: footballer from Serbia
- Stefan Dimitrijević: volleyball player from Serbia
- Igor Dimitrijević: handball player from Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Jovan Dimitrijević: councillor from Serbia
- Stevan Dimitrijević: cyclist from Serbia
- Boris Dimitrijević: former footballer from Serbia
- Željko Dimitrijević: snowboarder from Serbia
- Momčilo Dimitrijević: philosopher from Serbia
- Nebojša Dimitrijević: water polo player from Serbia
- Slobodan Dimitrijević: Former ambassador to the United Nations from Serbia
- Ljubomir Dimitrijević: principal of the Historical Institute of Serbia
- Blagoje Dimitrijević: former football manager from Montenegro
- Đorđe Dimitrijević: former football (soccer) player from Yugoslavia
- Božidar Dimitrijević: composer and hydroelectric engineer from Serbia
- Dejan Dimitrijević: basketball player from Serbia