Kovačević last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Kovačević is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Kovačević.

Meaning of Kovačević

A Serbian/Croatian surname denoting someone from the blacksmith or metalworking profession.

Kovačević, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Kovačević surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Kovačević in America

Kovačević is the 20961st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Kovačević surname appeared 1,256 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Kovačević.

We can also compare 2010 data for Kovačević to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 20961 23191 -10.10%
Count 1,256 1,027 20.06%
Proportion per 100k 0.43 0.38 12.35%

The history of the last name Kovačević

The surname Kovacevic is of Serbian origin, deriving from the Serbian noun "kovac" which means "blacksmith" or "ironsmith." This occupational surname dates back to the medieval period and was initially adopted by families whose ancestors worked as blacksmiths or in related metalworking professions.

The earliest recorded instances of the Kovacevic surname can be traced back to the 15th century in regions that are now part of modern-day Serbia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. The name has various spellings, such as Kovačević, Kovačev, and Kovačić, reflecting regional variations and linguistic influences.

Historical records mention notable individuals bearing the Kovacevic surname, including Jovan Kovacevic (born around 1530), a renowned Serbian fresco painter who worked on the frescoes of the Ravanica Monastery in Serbia. Another notable figure was Sava Kovacevic (1667-1736), a Serbian scholar and writer who authored works on Serbian history and language.

In the 19th century, Lazar Kovacevic (1839-1890) was a prominent Serbian politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Principality of Serbia. Mihailo Kovacevic (1870-1941) was a Serbian mathematician and academic who made significant contributions to the field of geometry.

The Kovacevic surname can also be found in historical records from Croatia, where it was sometimes spelled as Kovačić. One notable bearer of this variation was Ante Kovačić (1854-1889), a Croatian writer and novelist who was part of the Croatian National Revival movement.

While the Kovacevic surname originated in the Balkans, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots can be traced back to the metalworking traditions of medieval Serbia and its neighboring regions, reflecting the occupational origins of this distinctive surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Kovačević

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Kovačević.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Kovačević was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 97.13% 1,220
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.48% 6
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.40% 5
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.48% 6
Hispanic Origin 1.51% 19

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Kovačević has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 97.13% 91.24% 6.25%
Black 0.48% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.40% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.48% 6.91% -174.02%
Hispanic 1.51% 1.27% 17.27%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Kovačević was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Kovačević, please contact us.

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Kovačević last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/kovacevic-surname-popularity/.

"Kovačević last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/kovacevic-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Kovačević last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/kovacevic-surname-popularity/.

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