Smiljan is a South Slavic masculine given name. Its origin is usually associated with the common name for plants which produce "everlasting"-type blooms, many of which are known as and , 'immortelle' (that is, 'everlasting'
lower in
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages are one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches (West and East) ...
. The plant species generally associated with the personal name are ''
Antennaria dioica
''Antennaria dioica'' (mountain everlasting, stoloniferous pussytoes, catsfoot or cudweed) is a Eurasian and North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a perennial herb found in cool northern and mountainous region ...
'' ( or , the 'bald–' or 'mountain–everlasting'), and ''
Helichrysum arenarium
''Helichrysum arenarium'' is also known as dwarf everlast, and as immortelle.
Description
As a perennial plant, it grows to be an average of 0.3 m tall.
The leaves are flat, the lower ones being elliptical in shape, while the upper ones are lin ...
'' (, the 'sand–everlasting').
The
Lika
Lika () is a traditional region of Croatia proper, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by ...
-region town,
Smiljan, Croatia
Smiljan () is a village in the mountainous region of Western Lika in Croatia. It is located northwest of Gospić, and fifteen kilometers from the Zagreb-Split highway; its population is 418 (2011). Smiljan is the birthplace of inventor and engin ...
, traditionally shares its name's etymology with the anthroponym—both the placename and personal name being arrived at through the botanic association. An alternative derivation has, however, been suggested for the town: The Croatian linguist and
onomatologist,
Petar Šimunović Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter.
Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra.
Pe ...
believed that the town was named as a
patronymic of Smiljan, which over time was abbreviated, losing the patronymic word-element.
In Slovenia, the incidence of baby boys being registered with the name ''Smiljan'' has declined from a peak of 105 instances in the 1970s, when it ranked as the 195th most frequently-given boys' name for that decade, to fewer than five boys given the name between 2001 and 2010—and none for the years 2011–2022. According to the
Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, the number of male inhabitants of Slovenia with the name Smiljan, , was 283, amongst a population of 2,116,972. This places it as the 402nd most frequent male name in the country.
Notable people with the name include:
*
Smiljan Pavič (born 1980), Slovenian basketball player
*
Smiljan Radic (born 1965), Chilean architect of Croatian heritage
*
Smiljan Rozman (1927–2007), Slovene writer
See also
*
Smilja Smilja is a South Slavic feminine given name.
Notable people with the name include:
* Smilja Avramov (1918–2018), Serbian legal scholar and activist
* Smilja Marjanović-Dušanić (born 1963), Serbian historian
* Smilja Mučibabić (1912–2006) ...
, the corresponding feminine name
*
Smiljanić, patronymic surname
References
{{given name
Serbian masculine given names