I think we once wrote an article on this. Surnames are given to people due to an ancestor with a certain name, or they are named after a place, event etc. Spelling is of the outmost importance.

There is no quick answer to this, you would have to do genealogical research. It is possible that it involves one family that split up into a Christian and Islamic branch. Its also possible they have nothing in comon whatsoever. There are Serbian families with the surname of Djordjevic but also Roma families. They are not related at all, the only comon thing they share is perhaps an ancestor with the name of Djordje.

Some families have "typical" Ottoman names but even than you cannot see what ethnic background this person has without a doubt.

Thanks for the response, Sergej.

Other than the genealogical trace, which poses an extreme difficulty, is there any geopolitical and demographic argument that can be given with respect to such a last name? For instance, one may find in some south-Slavic encyclopedia or archive library that the BORICI-s have moved from a region to another, and have been Turcized, Slavicized, or Albanianized or any combination thereof.

What is your input on this?

A genealogical trace is the key factor in any research. Especially in a region that has been plaged by geopolitical misinterpretations on demographics. I would need to see some more primary sources to give you any advice. Also the timeframe is important. If you want to know if one family has the same roots as they other you need to dig in the archives. Baptismal books, Tefters etc. and see if you can find commonalities. No commonalities means most likely no comon ancestor. Also just as in the rest of Europe most people didn't have surnames before Napoleon.

So unless you give me something concrete the answer is at it is. Hope this helps.

Thank you, Sergej. I will get back to you with more details...

as is my understanding Serbs, Croats, Montenegrins etc using an i at the end of a name such as (Boric) Borici is to designate plurality. for example the boric's. (This may not always be the case). place names in serbia and such related to a surname would use an i to indictate that now or once this region was inhabited by a certain family such as Borici (the Boric's). so the actual surname in serbian would not be Borici but Boric. Albanians on the other hand do use an i at the end of surnames. so maybe if you are looking for the surname Boric look at the Slavic lands if you are looking for the surname Borici look to the albanian lands. However the Borici of Albania might have a Slavic background in themselves as northern Albania was once part of the Serbian kingdom.

Thanks for the info, arsenic.

It seems to be quite difficult to find information in English for the Boric/i surnames. If anyone has additional details, I'd be obliged if it is shared here.

There are some Borics in New Zealand that originated from Dalmatia, from memory, before journeying there if that helps.

They might have more info at the historical society: http://www.dalmatian.org.nz/

Thank you, zubacic, I'll be contacting them to attain more info, if any available!

I'll share related details here if in case other people bump into similar questions.

Hello all,

Is anyone aware of an online Croatian Genealogy Project, equivalent to this one? So far, the clues I have found trace back to Dalmatian (Croatian) roots.

Thanks you.

zubacic Wrote:

I contacted the society and a Boric family got back to me with limited information. Evidently, the had migrated from Croatia to New Zealand, but the information they provided is insufficient pertaining to my goals...

Hi again,

I suspect I'm stuck at this point. Having contacted various people of interest, I seem to have reached a dead end. Is there any archival society in Serbia which I can contact for additional inquiries?

Thanks.

Can you tell me if you got new information or not?
I need to have a town name from which the ancestor came in order to direct you.

Sergej, the new information I attained is as follows:

The New Zealand Borics of Croatian descent sent me the following among other data:

What do you think?

Oh thats easy, Contact the archives in Split and request information.