It is believed that the first Bulgarian family names were derived from patronymics. A patronymic is a name derived from the father's given name, for example, Ivanovitch or Petrovna. The use of patronymics was common in medieval Bulgaria, and many modern Bulgarian last names are still based on patronymics.
Some early Bulgarian family names were also derived from occupation or place of origin. For example, the surname "Karaivan" comes from the word "karaiv" meaning "blacksmith". Other surnames such as "Markov" or "Georgiev" come from personal names, "Marko" and "Georgi" respectively.
Bulgarian last names can also be descriptive, such as "Bogdanov" meaning "god-given" or "Kostadinov" meaning "son of Constantine". Some surnames reflect physical characteristics, such as "Petrov" meaning "son of Peter (the Rock)".
Many Bulgarian family names have changed over time due to spelling reforms or changes in Cyrillic orthography. For example, the surname "Karaivanov" has been spelled as "Караиванов", "Караев", and even "Къраев". However, the vast majority of Bulgarian last names have remained unchanged for centuries.
Know more about Bulgairan surnames in the following list:
Abadjieva Abadzhiev Abrashev Abrasheva Abtula Ademov Ademova Agova Agush Aleksieva Aleksova Alexiev Angelova Argirova Arnaudov Arnaudova Arsova Asenova Atanasov Atanasova Atanassova Bacheva Bachvarova Bahchevanova Balev Balkanska Bancheva Bankova Belcheva Beleva Blagoeva Bobeva Bocheva Bogomilova Bojilova Boncheva Bonev Boneva Borissova Boteva Boyadjieva Boyadzhieva Boyanova Boycheva Bozhilova Bozhinova Bratanova Chakarova Chalakova Chavdarova Chervenkova Chobanova Cholakova Christova Cvetkov Dakova Damyanova Danailova Dancheva Daneva Dankova Danov Danova Daskalova Davidov Davidova Decheva Delchev Delcheva Deleva Demireva Deneva Denkova Dicheva Dikova Dilova Dimcheva Dimitrov Dimitrova Dimov Dimova Dinev Dineva Dinkova Dobrev Dobreva Docheva Doichinova Doncheva Doneva Donkova Doseva Doychinov Doychinova Doynova Draganova Dragieva Dragneva Drumeva Dyankova Dyulgerova Elenkova Encheva Eneva Etova Evtimova Fileva Gabarov Gachev Galabova Gancheva Ganev Ganeva Gateva Gavazov Gencheva Genkova Georgiev Georgieva Georgiewa Gercheva Gerginova Gergova Gerova Gesheva Getova Gineva Gocheva Goranova Gospodinova Grancharova Grozdanova Grozeva Hadjieva Hadzhieva Halach Halacheva Halil Harizanova Havalyov Havalyova Hristoskova Hristova Ibishev Ibramov Ibryam Ibryamov Idrizova Ikonomova Ilcheva Iliev Ilieva Iordanova Itova Ivancheva Jekova Jeleva Jeliazkova Jivkova Kalchev Kalcheva Kaleva Kalinov Kalinova Kaloyanova Kamburova Kamenov Kamenova Kanchev Kancheva Kanev Kaneva Karadjova Karadzhova Karaivanova Karakasheva Karamfilov Karcheva Kasabova Kircheva Kirilov Kirkov Kirkova Kocheva Koeva Kolarova Koleva Kondova Kordova Koseva Kostadinova Kostov Kostova Koteva Kotzeva Kovacheva Koycheva Kozhuharova Krasteva Krstev NextLast Names by Countries
Afghans Algerian Albanian Angolan Argentines Australian Austrian Azerbaijani Bangladeshi Belarusian Belgian Benin Bolivian Bosniak Brazilian British Bulgarian Burkinab Cambodian Cameroonian Canadian Chilean Chinese Colombian Croatian Czech Congolese Danish Dominican Republic Ecuadorian Egyptian Ethiopian Finn French Georgian German Ghanaian Greek Guatemalan Hungarian Indian Indonesian Iranian Iraqi Irish Israeli Italian Ivorian Japanese Kazakh Kenyan Latvian Lebanese Lithuanian Macedonian Malaysian Mexican Moroccan Mozambican Nepali Netherland Nigerian Norwegian Pakistani Peruvian Filipino Polish Portugese Romanian Russian Saudi Arabian Serbian Slovak Slovenes South African Spanish Sri Lankan Swedish Swiss Syrian Tanzanian Tunisian Turkish Ugandan Ukrainian US-American Uzbek Venezuelan Vietnamese Zambian Zimbabwean