14. KOVAČ /kovach/

Frequency in Croatian population: 8.997 (14th Most Frequent)

Along with Kovačević and Kovačić surnames (which are also among the top 30 most frequent Croatian family names), the Kovač surname has the Croatian word kovač or blacksmith in it's root. Since it doesn't have any antroponymic prefixes or sufixes, it comes in it's purest form, and can be translated into English asSmith or into German as Schmit.

Bearers of the Kovač family name are often of Croatian ethnicity, coming from the Croatian city of Čabar, as well as from Kapela, Lipovo Brdo near Bjelovar or from Međimurje region. There are also Serbs with this surname, as well as Hungarians (from Croatian city of Osijek, or Hungarian city of Pecs).

Geography. Lautari near Čabar and Kupari near Dubrovnik are villages where every other resident bears the surname of Kovač.

(Sources: Petar Šimunović, Hrvatska prezimena, Golden Marketing-Tehnička knjiga, Zagreb, 2006; Enciklopedija hrvatskih prezimena, Nacionalni rodoslovni centar, 2008)