gornja

Gornja is a toponym used in South Slavic languages, derived from the adjective gornji/gornja meaning upper or higher. In place names it is typically employed to distinguish two settlements or parts of a settlement that lie along a slope, ridge, river, or valley, with the companion name Donja meaning lower. The form Gornja appears in Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian and Montenegrin toponyms, and in official records within areas influenced by these languages.

In practice, Gornja functions as the initial element of compound place names, with the full name reflecting geographic position rather than representing a standalone municipality. It is commonly found in the names of villages, hamlets, neighborhoods, or subdivisions of larger towns, and it may also indicate historical divisions within a single settlement.

A notable example is Gornja Stubica, a town in Krapina-Zagorje County, Croatia. This illustrates how Gornja is often paired with a second element to identify a location. There are other settlements across the region that begin with Gornja, though their exact administrative status and population vary by country and local governance.

Because it is a generic descriptive prefix rather than a unique entity, Gornja by itself is rarely used as an independent toponym in official contexts; it remains primarily a component within longer, geographically descriptive names.