Resnik

Resnik is a South Slavic surname and a toponym used in several Balkan countries. The name is found among Croatian, Serbian, Slovenian, and related language speakers, and is likely derived from historical toponymy or descriptive nicknames common in Slavic surname formation. As a place name, Resnik denotes multiple villages or neighborhood names in the region, reflecting how geographic features and settlements often contributed to surnames and identifiers.

As a toponym, Resnik appears in various localities across the Balkans, where villages or districts bear the name. The exact status, administrative affiliation, and boundaries of these places can change over time due to regional administrative reforms and political changes.

Notable people with the surname Resnik include Judith A. Resnik (1949–1986), an American astronaut and mission specialist for NASA who died in the Challenger disaster. Her pioneering career as an astronaut is a prominent association with the name. Beyond her, the surname Resnik is found among other individuals in academia, the arts, and public life, though those variants may be less widely documented in public sources.

Variant spellings and transliterations, such as Resnick or Resnikov, reflect differences in language orthographies and transliteration from Cyrillic and other alphabets. The name thus appears in diverse cultural and linguistic contexts, sometimes linking people to geographic origins in the Balkan region.