
When Josip becomes Giuseppe
Territory that is now under jurisdiction of the Republic of Croatia was in the past divided into several different dominions: Italian, Austrian (German), Hungarian… Those dominions had often changed, thus Catholic church records were kept in different languages.
So, it is not uncommon that the same person was recorded in Croatian or Latin language at one time, but in Italian or Hungarian in other times. A genealogist should carefully discern that, for example, name Giuseppe recorded at birth may turn out as Josip in marriage records.
Here are some examples of a few common Croatian first names and it’s counterparts in other languages.
Croatian: Ivan
Greek: Ioannes / Latin: Johannes
German: Johannes Italian: Giovanni Hungarian: János
Croatian: Josip
Greek: Iosephos / Latin: Iosephus
German: Josef, Joseph Italian: Giuseppe Hungarian: József
Croatian: Stjepan
Greek: Stephanos / Latin: Stephanus
German: Stefan Italian: Stefano Hungarian: István
Croatian: Božidar
Greek: Theodorus / Latin: Theodorus
German: Theodore Italian: Teodoro Hungarian: Tódor
Croatian: Jakob, Jakov
Greek: Iakobos / Latin: Iacobus, Iacomus
German: Jakob Italian: Giacomo Hungarian: Jakab
Croatian: Ilija
Greek: Elias / Latin: Elias
German: Elias Italian: Elia Hungarian: Illés
Image: William Hoiles, Wikimedia Commons