Frequency in Croatian population: 13.150 (3rd Most Frequent)

Source for the Babić family name can be twofold. It can either be Turkish word babo or Persian baba which means father or dad, or it can be from a Slavic word baba which has a meaning grandmother. The difference is mainly in accent, so if we want to recognize which is a true origin, we need to carefully listen how it is pronounced by those who bear it. If the accent is longer, it originates from Turkish and Persian sources, while the short accent may indicate that it is of a Slavic origin.

There are several less frequent surnames with the same root and of either Persian origin with the longer accent (Babović, Babojić, Babajić, Babaja, Babajko) or Slavic origin with the short accent (Babinski, Babunjić, Babnik, Babec, Drnbaba, Babuder).

Babić family name typically is borne by a person of a Croatian ethnicity, but less frequently it can also be surname of Croatian Serbs from the city of Knin.

Geography. Villages of Voštani near Sinj, Laze near Nova Gradiška and Lukovo near Senj are places where one of every three residents bears the Babić family name.

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