Bulgaria Naming Customs

In the early 1800s, the majority of Bulgarians were known by only their first names, occasionally accompanied by an occupation as an additional identifier. Before 1880, family names/surnames began to come about, typically based on the paternal grandfather's name (a practice not common today).

Traditionally, children were often named after an older relative, so as to keep that relative's name in the family. This practice is not binding today.

Masculine given names can end in a variety of letters, such as "l", "r", "n", "o", "i", etc. whereas feminine names more commonly end in "a" and occasionally "i".

Bulgarian naming traditionally consists of three names.
 * the first name (the given name)
 * the middle name (traditionally the father's name)
 * the last name (surname/family name)

Many surnames are the adjective form of the masculine given name, formed by adding -ov/-ev for males, or -ova/-eva for females.

See the article Bulgarian Names - Naming Patterns for more specific information about naming practices and different suffixes.

Online Resources

 * Surnames of Ruse, (Rustshuk) Bulgaria
 * Bulgarian Jewish Names
 * Bulgarian name