Hrvatska (Serbo-Croatian)
Where does "Hrvatska" come from?
The name Hrvatska is the native term for Croatia, derived directly from the ethnonym Hr̀vāt, meaning a Croat. This name, which identifies the land of the Croat people, has been used consistently throughout the history of the South Slavic languages to denote the nation.
Full etymology tree
- Hrvatska (Serbo-Croatian), 'Croatia (a country on the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe)'
- derived Hr̀vāt (Serbo-Croatian), 'Croat or Croatian (male, male and female or unspecified)'
- inherited *xъrvatъ (Proto-Slavic), 'Croat'
- derived Hr̀vāt (Serbo-Croatian), 'Croat or Croatian (male, male and female or unspecified)'
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris