Serbian given names combine Slavic compounds with Christian names transmitted through Church Slavonic. Traditional Slavic forms often use elements such as Mil-, Rad-, Drag-, Vlad-, Bog-, -slav, and -mir, producing names like Miroslav, Vladislav, Radomir, Dragana, and Milena. Many feminine names end in -a, while masculine names commonly end in -o or -an, as in Marko, Miloš, Goran, and Milan. Diminutive or familiar formations appear with suffixes like -ko, -ka, and -ša (Branko, Ljubinka, Saša).
Orthodox Christian influence is strong, with Serbian forms of saints’ names such as Jovan, Nikola, Stefan, and Jelena. The language’s phonology is visible in names with č, ć, š, ž, and đ, and the letter j marking the y sound, as in Jovana or Dejan. Modern usage mixes international biblical names (Luka, Ana) with revived Slavic choices (Vuk, Zoran), and orthographic variants reflect both Cyrillic and Latin scripts.
| Name | Meaning | Origins | Gender | Popularity (last 10y) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maja | Diminutive of Maria (from Hebrew Miryam - often interpreted as 'bitter' or 'beloved') or a form of Maia (goddess of spring), associated with motherhood, spring and renewal. | Croatian, German, Polish, Scandinavian, Serbian, Slavic, Slovenian | Girl | 696 #1 | |
| Aleksandar | Defender of men | Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | 313 #2 | |
| Zana | Fairy; lily | Albanian, Bosnian, Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Serbian | Girl | 290 #3 | |
| Zoran | Dawn, daybreak | Croatian, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | 209 #4 | |
| Mihailo | Who is like God? | Greek, Hebrew, Serbian | Boy | 71 #5 | |
| Aleksa | Defender of men | Greek, Serbian | Boy | 68 #6 | |
| Vasilije | Kingly, royal | Serbian, Slavic | Boy | 43 #7 | |
| Mato | Slavic diminutive of Matthew: "gift of God"; Lakota: "bear". | Croatian, Serbian | Boy | 39 #8 | |
| Dimitrije | Devoted to Demeter (follower of the earth-goddess) | Serbian | Boy | 18 #9 | |
| Stana | Stand, become | Croatian, Proto-Slavic, Serbian, Slavic | Girl | 8 #10 | |
| Djordje | Farmer, earth-worker | Serbian | Boy | 5 #11 | |
| Gavrilo | God is my strength | Serbian, Slavic | Boy | 5 #12 | |
| Serafim | 'Burning ones' or 'fiery ones' (angelic beings); figuratively 'ardent' or 'fiery' | Bulgarian, Hebrew, Romanian, Serbian, Spanish | Boy | 5 #13 | |
| Andjelina | Angel; angelic messenger | Italian, Serbian, Slavic | Girl | 3 #14 | |
| Aca | Diminutive of Aleksandar (Alexander) - 'defender of men'. | Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Acim | God will establish / God raises up | Serbian, Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Adonija | My lord is Yahweh (the Lord is my God) | Hebrew, Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Agnija | Born of fire; pure | Greek, Latvian, Sanskrit, Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Andjelija | Angel; angelic, messenger | Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Andreja | Manly; masculine | Greek, Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Antonije | Derived from Antonius; meaning uncertain - commonly rendered as "priceless" or "invaluable" or interpreted as belonging to the Antonius family | Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Artemije | Dedicated to Artemis; from Greek 'artemes' meaning 'safe, sound, healthy.' | Greek, Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Balša | UNKNOWN | Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Bata | Brother | Croatian, Serbian, Yoruba | Boy | — | |
| Bogumil | Beloved by God | Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Polish, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Bojana | Battle | Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slavic | Girl | — | |
| Ceca | Light, brightness | Russian, Serbian, Slavic | Girl | — | |
| Dalibor | Fighter from afar / far-off warrior | Bulgarian, Croatian, Polish, Serbian, Slavic, Slovak | Boy | — | |
| Danielka | Diminutive of Daniel - 'little Daniel' / 'God is my judge' | Croatian, Czech, Serbian, Slovak | Girl | — | |
| Danijela | God is my judge | Croatian, Hebrew, Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Davor | Uncertain, perhaps cry | Croatian, Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Dero | Uncertain - often used as a diminutive or standalone modern name without a clear historical meaning. If derived from Darius it relates to 'possessor/wealthy'; if from Theodoric/Derrick it relates to 'ruler of the people'. | Croatian, Dutch, Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Dobrica | Good one | Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Dzana | Paradise; garden | Arabic, Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Gojko | Nurture, heal | Croatian, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Gojslav | Fostering glory | Croatian, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Ivanov | Patronymic surname meaning "son of Ivan" (Ivan = Slavic form of John) | Belarusian, Serbian, Slavic, Ukrainian | Boy | — | |
| Joca | A diminutive or affectionate form of names such as João, Joaquim, or Jovan; exact meaning depends on the root name (commonly 'God is gracious' when from João/Jovan). | Croatian, Portuguese, Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Markov | Son of Mark / descendant of Mark | Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Mavra | Black, dark | Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Mirne | Peaceful and beloved | Bosnian, Croatian, Irish (Gaelic), Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Misho | From Michael: 'Who is like God?' | Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Persida | Woman from Persia / Persian | Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Rade | Glad, willing | Croatian, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Sabac | Likely 'from Šabac' (the Serbian town) or, if influenced by Arabic Sabah/Saba, related to 'morning' or 'grandfather/elder' in some traditions | Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Stoya | To stand, stay | Bulgarian, Croatian, Proto-Slavic, Serbian | Girl | — | |
| Todor | Gift of God | Bulgarian, Greek, Macedonian, Serbian | Boy | — | |
| Uroš | Lord | Hungarian, Serbian, South Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Vlade | Rule, dominion | Croatian, Serbian, Slavic | Boy | — | |
| Vlasta | Power, rule | Croatian, Czech, Old Church Slavonic, Proto-Slavic, Serbian, Slavic, Slovak | Girl | — |
Aggregated births across United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany for every Serbian-origin name in our dataset.
