Mladenovi

Mladenovi is a South Slavic surname used in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and among diaspora communities in North America and Western Europe. The name is derived from the given name Mladen, which comes from a Slavic root meaning “young” or “youth.” The suffix -ovi is a common patronymic or family-designating ending in South Slavic languages, often conveying “the Mladen family” or “sons of Mladen.” Consequently, Mladenovi generally signifies descent from an ancestor named Mladen rather than a geographic origin.

Variants and related forms include Mladenović, the diacritic form widely used in Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian contexts and meaning “son of Mladen.” In Bulgarian and some other Slavic languages, related surnames appear as Mladenov, reflecting a similar patronymic pattern.

Geographically, the surname is most common in Serbia and Croatia, with significant presence in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and in diaspora communities around the world. Spelling variations may occur depending on orthography, with the name appearing in Latin script as Mladenovi and in Cyrillic contexts as Младенови.

The name Mladenovi is primarily a family surname rather than a toponym and is part of a broader set of Balkan names derived from the given name Mladen, illustrating the region’s patronymic naming traditions.