Bulgarian Last Name Generator
Real Bulgarian family names in both forms
Browse 500 real Bulgarian surnames, from everyday names like Ivanov and Georgieva to craft names like Kazandzhiev and place names like Balkanski. Masculine and feminine forms are both here.
About Bulgarian last names
Most Bulgarian surnames began as patronymics. A son of Ivan was Ivanov, a son of Georgi was Georgiev, and for centuries that second name changed with every generation. Fixed family names only settled in during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, which is why so many Bulgarians carry the given name of a great-great-grandfather: Dimitrov, Todorov, Stoyanov, Angelov. The ending is usually -ov, as in Ivanov and Hristov, and -ev after a soft stem, which is why Georgi gives Georgiev, Iliya gives Iliev and Vasil gives Vasilev.
Surnames agree with the gender of the bearer. A man is Petrov, his wife and daughter are Petrova; Iliev becomes Ilieva and Balkanski becomes Balkanska. This list gives both forms, mostly on different roots so you see more names. The third big family is -ski, which points to a place or a calling: Tarnovski, Rilski, Hadzhiyski.
Nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule left their mark in craft surnames built on Turkish words with the -dzhi or -chi ending, such as Kazandzhiev (coppersmith), Boyadzhiev (dyer) and Ekmekchiev (baker). Slavic trades sit beside them: Kovachev (smith), Grancharov (potter), Ovcharov (shepherd). A Hadzhi- prefix recalls an ancestor who made a pilgrimage, and Pop- marks a priest in the family line. Spellings follow the official Bulgarian romanization, so you will see Hristova, Tsvetkov and Zhelev.
How to choose Bulgarian last names
- Match the ending to the character. Use -ov, -ev or -ski for a man and -ova, -eva or -ska for a woman, and give a married couple or siblings the same root.
- For a full Bulgarian name, put a given name first and, in formal settings, a patronymic in the middle: Georgi Ivanov Petrov is Georgi, son of Ivan, of the Petrov family.
- Craft surnames such as Terziev or Bakardzhiev suit town families with merchant or artisan roots, while -ski names like Gabrovski hint at where a family came from.
- Stress is not fixed in Bulgarian and often falls where an English reader does not expect it, so read a name aloud and check how it sounds with the given name before you settle on it.
- If the name is for a real person, a business or a published book, search it yourself first. Many of these surnames are shared by thousands of living people.
Frequently asked questions
What are the most common Bulgarian last names?
Patronymic names from popular given names lead by a wide margin. Ivanov, Georgiev, Dimitrov, Petrov, Nikolov, Hristov, Todorov and Stoyanov, along with their feminine forms, are the ones you will meet most often. All of them are in this list, either in the masculine or the feminine form.
Why do Bulgarian women have a different surname ending?
Bulgarian surnames are grammatically adjectives, so they agree with the person they describe. Ivanov becomes Ivanova, Georgiev becomes Georgieva and Stamboliyski becomes Stamboliyska. It is the same family name, and brothers and sisters simply use the form that fits.
What does -dzhiev mean in names like Kazandzhiev?
It combines the Turkish occupational ending -ci, written -dzhi in Bulgarian, with the Bulgarian -ev. A kazandzhiya made copper cauldrons, an abadzhiya made coarse wool cloth and clothing and a boyadzhiya dyed fabric, which gives Kazandzhiev, Abadzhiev and Boyadzhiev. These names date from the Ottoman period, when craft guilds used Turkish trade words.
Are Bulgarian and Russian surnames the same?
They share the -ov and -ev pattern, and many everyday names, such as Ivanov, Petrov, Pavlov and Popov, are common in both countries. Others are distinctly Bulgarian, including names from Bulgarian given names (Stoyanov, Zhelev, Valchev), Ottoman-era craft names (Terziev, Kuyumdzhiev) and the Hadzhi- and Pop- compounds. Bulgarian romanization also differs, with h where Russian names usually get kh.
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All 500 Bulgarian last names
A: 16 names
- Abadzhiev
- Aleksandrova
- Aleksieva
- Anastasov
- Andonov
- Andreev
- Angelov
- Angelova
- Antonova
- Apostolov
- Arabadzhiev
- Arapov
- Arnaudov
- Asenova
- Atanasov
- Atanasova
B: 32 names
- Bachvarov
- Bakalov
- Bakardzhiev
- Balabanov
- Balkanska
- Balkanski
- Bayraktarov
- Belcheva
- Belev
- Belobradov
- Berbatov
- Berberov
- Berkovski
- Bivolarski
- Blagoev
- Bliznashki
- Bogdanova
- Bokova
- Boncheva
- Bonev
- Borisov
- Bosilkov
- Bostandzhiev
- Botev
- Boyadzhiev
- Boyadzhieva
- Boyanova
- Boycheva
- Bozhilov
- Bozhinov
- Bozhkova
- Bradistilov
C: 12 names
- Chakarov
- Chalakov
- Chaushev
- Chavdarova
- Cherkezov
- Chernev
- Chervenkova
- Chilingirov
- Chobanov
- Cholakov
- Chorbadzhiyski
- Chushkov
D: 32 names
- Dabov
- Damyanov
- Danailova
- Danchev
- Daskalov
- Debelyanov
- Decheva
- Delchev
- Deliradev
- Demirev
- Dencheva
- Denkova
- Dermendzhiev
- Dimcheva
- Dimitrov
- Dimitrova
- Dimov
- Dinev
- Dobrev
- Dobrudzhanska
- Dobrudzhanski
- Donchev
- Doneva
- Doychev
- Draganov
- Dragomirova
- Dunavski
- Dyakov
- Dyulgerov
- Dzhambazki
- Dzhambazov
- Dzhelepova
E: 5 names
- Ekmekchiev
- Emilova
- Enchev
- Etropolski
- Evtimov
F: 4 names
- Fandakova
- Filcheva
- Filipov
- Furnadzhiev
G: 27 names
- Gabrovska
- Gabrovski
- Galabov
- Ganchev
- Ganev
- Garvanov
- Gavrilova
- Gaydarov
- Gemidzhiev
- Gencheva
- Genov
- Georgieva
- Gerov
- Glavanakov
- Glavchev
- Gochev
- Golemanov
- Goranov
- Gospodinov
- Govedarov
- Gradinarov
- Grancharov
- Grigorov
- Grozdanov
- Grozdev
- Grozev
- Gruev
H: 23 names
- Hadzhidimitrov
- Hadzhiev
- Hadzhieva
- Hadzhigeorgiev
- Hadzhihristov
- Hadzhiivanov
- Hadzhikostov
- Hadzhinikolov
- Hadzhipetrov
- Hadzhistoyanov
- Hadzhitodorov
- Hadzhiyska
- Hadzhiyski
- Halachev
- Halvadzhiev
- Hamamdzhiev
- Haralampiev
- Haydutov
- Haytov
- Hekimov
- Hlebarov
- Hristova
- Hristozova
I: 9 names
- Ignatova
- Ikonomov
- Ilcheva
- Iliev
- Ilieva
- Indzhova
- Ivanov
- Ivanova
- Izmirliev
K: 62 names
- Kableshkov
- Kafedzhiev
- Kalaydzhiev
- Kalchev
- Kalfin
- Kalpakchiev
- Kalpazanov
- Kalugerov
- Kamenov
- Kamenski
- Kancheva
- Kanev
- Kantardzhiev
- Karadimov
- Karadzhov
- Karagyozov
- Karaivanov
- Karakachanov
- Karakashev
- Karakolev
- Karamanov
- Karamfilov
- Karamitev
- Karaslavov
- Karastoyanov
- Karavelov
- Kasabov
- Katsarov
- Kazandzhiev
- Kazandzhieva
- Kehayov
K, continued
- Kircheva
- Kiremidchiev
- Kirilov
- Kirov
- Klisarov
- Kmetov
- Kodzhabashev
- Kolarov
- Kolcheva
- Kolev
- Koleva
- Konstantinova
- Kostadinova
- Kostov
- Kotsev
- Kovachev
- Kovachki
- Kozarev
- Kozhuharov
- Krastev
- Krivoshiev
- Krumova
- Kunchev
- Kunev
- Kurteva
- Kuyumdzhiev
- Kuzmanov
- Kyoseivanov
- Kyosev
- Kyuchukov
- Kyurkchiev
L: 7 names
- Lazarov
- Lisichkov
- Lozanov
- Lozenski
- Lukanov
- Lukov
- Lyubenova
M: 41 names
- Madzharov
- Makedonska
- Makedonski
- Malchev
- Maleeva
- Malinov
- Mancheva
- Manev
- Manolov
- Marangozov
- Mareshki
- Marinov
- Marinova
- Markova
- Maslarov
- Mateeva
- Matev
- Mechkov
- Mehandzhiev
- Mehandzhiyski
- Metodiev
- Mihaylov
- Mihaylova
- Milanov
- Milcheva
- Milev
- Milusheva
- Minchev
- Mineva
- Minkov
- Minkovski
- Mircheva
- Mishev
- Mitev
- Mitkova
- Mladenov
- Momchilova
- Moskov
- Mustakov
- Mutafchiev
- Mutafov
N: 16 names
- Nachev
- Nalbantov
- Naumova
- Naydenov
- Nedelcheva
- Nedkov
- Nedyalkova
- Nenov
- Nesheva
- Nestorov
- Nevrokopski
- Neykov
- Nikolaeva
- Nikolova
- Ninova
- Novakov
O: 5 names
- Ognyanova
- Ohridski
- Oresharski
- Orlinov
- Ovcharov
P: 42 names
- Panayotov
- Pancheva
- Pandurov
- Papazov
- Parlapanov
- Parushev
- Parvanov
- Paskalev
- Paunov
- Pavlov
- Peev
- Peevski
- Pehlivanov
- Pencheva
- Penev
- Petkov
- Petkova
- Petleshkov
- Petrova
- Petrunova
- Peychev
- Pirinski
- Pironkova
- Planinska
- Planinski
- Popangelov
- Popdimitrov
- Popgeorgiev
- Pophristov
- Popivanov
- Popivanova
- Popnikolov
- Popov
- Popova
- Poppetrov
- Popstoyanov
- Poptodorov
- Popvasilev
- Pramatarova
- Preslavski
- Prodanov
- Protopopov
R: 20 names
- Radev
- Radichkov
- Radkov
- Radoslavova
- Rakovski
- Raleva
- Rangelov
- Rasheva
- Raycheva
- Raykov
- Raynova
- Razlozhki
- Ribarov
- Rilska
- Rilski
- Rizov
- Rodopski
- Rusenski
- Rusev
- Rusinov
S: 52 names
- Sabev
- Samardzhiev
- Sandanski
- Sapundzhiev
- Sarafov
- Sariev
- Savov
- Sedlarov
- Semerdzhiev
- Sevlievski
- Shipkov
- Shishmanov
- Shivachev
- Shopov
- Shtarkelov
- Simeonov
- Simeonova
- Simidchiev
- Sirakov
- Siromahov
- Sivkov
- Slavcheva
- Slaveykov
- Slavov
- Sofiyanska
- Sofiyanski
- Sotirov
- Spahiev
- Spasov
- Stamboliyska
- Stamboliyski
- Stambolov
- Stamenov
- Stancheva
- Stanev
- Stanislavova
- Stankov
- Starchev
- Stavreva
- Staykov
- Stefanov
- Stefanova
- Stoev
- Stoichkov
- Stoilov
- Stoimenova
- Stoyanov
- Stoyanova
- Stoycheva
- Stoykov
- Strandzhev
- Stratieva
T: 37 names
- Tabakov
- Talev
- Tanev
- Tarnovska
- Tarnovski
- Tasheva
- Tatarov
- Tenekedzhiev
- Terziev
- Todorov
- Todorova
- Tomov
- Toncheva
- Tonev
- Topalov
- Topchiev
- Topchiyski
- Toshev
- Trakiyska
- Trakiyski
- Trayanov
- Traykova
- Trendafilov
- Trifonov
- Troyanski
- Tsacheva
- Tsankov
- Tsekova
- Tsenov
- Tsocheva
- Tsoncheva
- Tsonev
- Tsvetanova
- Tsvetkov
- Turlakov
- Tyufekchiev
- Tyutyundzhiev
U: 2 names
- Ushev
- Uzunov
V: 25 names
- Valchev
- Valkanov
- Valkov
- Vaptsarov
- Varbanov
- Vasilev
- Vasileva
- Vazov
- Velcheva
- Velev
- Velichkov
- Velikov
- Velinova
- Velkov
- Veselinova
- Vidinski
- Vitanov
- Vladikin
- Vladimirova
- Vladova
- Vlahov
- Vodenicharov
- Voynikov
- Voyvodov
- Vrabchev
Y: 14 names
- Yanakiev
- Yancheva
- Yanev
- Yankov
- Yoncheva
- Yonova
- Yordanov
- Yordanova
- Yorgandzhiev
- Yosifov
- Yotov
- Yovchev
- Yovkov
- Yurukova