gornji

Gornji is a toponym used in South Slavic languages, meaning "upper" or "higher." It functions as an adjective in place names and is common across various Balkan countries, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. In toponymy, Gornji typically designates a settlement located upslope, above another settlement, or at a higher elevation within a valley or plain. The form is often paired with Donji, meaning "lower," to distinguish two settlements in the same area, or appears as part of longer names such as Gornji Grad or Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje. The prefix remains in modern official names and in historical references.

Notable instances include Gornji Grad in Slovenia, which is a town and municipality in the northern part of the country; Gornji Vakuf-Uskoplje in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a municipality in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Gornji Milanovac in Serbia, a town and municipality in Moravica District. In addition to these, numerous villages and settlements across the region bear Gornji as a component of their names, reflecting a common practice in South Slavic toponymy to indicate relative elevation or position within a landscape. The term is primarily geographic, though it also appears in historical documents, local governance, and postal naming conventions.