Researched history of Croatian families

Vučetić nobility from Brinje and Senj

Vučetić nobility coat of arms

Vučetić family name in historical documents can be found in several different variants: Vuchetich, Vuczetich, Wutschetisch as well as Vučetić. It's linguistic root is Croatian word for wolf (vuk). Scholars claim that the surname had actually been derived from the first name Vučeta, whose offspring were named Vučetići.

According to the research published by Enver Ljubović, the first written mention of that surname is found in the last will of a certain bosnian nobleman Pribislav Vuchetich from 1475.

Head of Bosnian army

It is believed that Pribislav was the head of mediaeval Bosnian army that fought many wars against Ottoman army. After Ottoman army conquered great portions of today's Bosnia, Vuchetich nobility moved towards the West and settled in the Brinje-Senj area.

There are currently more than one branch of Vučetić family in existence. Not all of them were part of a noble "de Brin" and "de Cseney" extension. Other branches can be found on Croatian islands Hvar and Vir. They are all Roman Catholics. However, Vučetić branch in Kordun area are of Orthodox faith, and it's origin can be traced back to Montenegro. There is reportedly written account about Montenegrin Vučetić family in Morača monastery near Podgorica.

Migrations to Romania and overseas

At the begining of 19th century, several members of noble Vučetić clan migrated to Romania, and settled west of the city of Temišvar. They are known as Hungarian nobility Vučetić "de Brin & de Cseney".

In the family report written by Šandor Vučetić in 1873, it can be found an interesting piece of information about further migrations of Vučetić family members. The record tells that six persons from that family emigrated to Detroit, USA, and three persons to Chicago. Total number of emigrants to overseas countries were 29. Today, members of Vučetić family live in the US, Germany, Australia, Argentina and Canada.

Source: Enver Ljubović, Brinjska i senjska plemenita obitelj Vučetić-Vuchetich, Senjski zbornik, 32, pp. 77-94, 2005

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Lidija Sambunjak
professional genealogist
People who want their family trees to be researched come from all around the world and it’s no wonder every one of them is different. But as special as family Sadar was, none were before them. (11 Oct 2011)