Frequency in Croatian population: 9.930 (12th Most Frequent)
The root of the Croatian surname Matić is the common name Mate that has it’s origin in latin Mathaeus or hebrew Mattai. The suffix “-ić” as in all other Croatian surnames means “little” or “descentant of”.
Many Croatian surnames have Mate as their root: Matešić, Matetić, Matišić, Mateković, Matović, Matoković, Matačić, Mataić, Mataja, Matak, Mataković etc.
Typically, person that bears this surname is of Croatian ethnicity. Their origin is from western part of Bosnia-Herzegovina, or from the area near the city of Zadar. Sometimes, Matić family name can be borne by a person of Serbian ethnicity (in the Slatina region) as well as Bosnian.
Geography. The bosnian city of Tomislavgrad is the place where one in every sixty residents bears this surname. In Croatia, Sonković near Skradin, Kamensko near Sinj and Trbounje near Drniš are villages where this surname is particularly frequent.
(Sources: Petar Šimunović, Hrvatska prezimena, Golden Marketing-Tehnička knjiga, Zagreb, 2006; Enciklopedija hrvatskih prezimena, Nacionalni rodoslovni centar, 2008)