Slovenia is a country in southeastern Europe with a population of around 2,011,000. Slovene is the official language of the country, although Italian and Hungarian are spoken as a minority language in some regions.
Here are some interesting finds from the Top 100 names in Slovenia in 2010. For pronunciation I would recommend this handy guide, but as a quick note: č is 'ch', š is 'sh', ž is 'zh', c is 'ts' and j is 'y'. I have also linked to any available Forvo files by using an asterisk after the name.
We use them; they love them:
Eva — 1 / 37
Lana — 2 / 275
Lara — 3 / 124
Luna — 86 / 526
Nina — 15 / 235
Petra — 81 / 1472
Stella — 81 / 372
Tamara — 70/ 458
Tia — 30 / 79
Veronika — 68 / 452 (as Veronica)
Valentina — 61 / 521
David — 11 / 64
Denis — 72 / 470
Erik — 36 / 256 (as Eric)
Luka — 1 / 70 (as Luca)
Martin — 37 / 267
Niko — 82 / 402 (as Nico)
Tim — 19 / 2199
* Green represents the 2010 ranks in Slovenia, orange represents the 2010 ranks in England and Wales.
Short forms and diminutives:
Maša — There are many Slovene diminutives of Marija, and Maša, at #14, is one of the most popular. Other pet-forms include Maja, Manca, Maruša and Mojca.
Neža* — This Top 10 favourite is the Slovene pet-form of Agnes.
Špela* — Much like Bella, Špela is a variant of Elizabeth. For Brits it is rather reminiscent of the Scottish Ishbel / Iseabail.
Teja — A pet-form of Doroteja, and cognate with Thea.
Tjaša* — A high ranking pet-form of Tatjana.
Urška* — The Slovene diminutive of Uršula.
Zala* — A popular Top 10 pet-form of Rosalija.
Jaka* — Jakob is a high ranker in Slovenia at #6; its popular nickname Jaka is only three places behind.
Lovro* — A diminutive of Lovrenc, the Slovene form of Laurence.
Maks — Slovene pet-form of Maksim.
Miha* — While Mihael is a low ranker at the moment, its diminutive, Miha, is a Top 20 favourite.
Tine* — The Slovene pet-form of Martin, both of which rank in the Top 100.
Similar sound or style:
Mila — A name derived from the Slavic mil "gracious" that would fit in well between Milly and Amelia.
Nika — Ranking popularly at #5 in 2010, Nika is a feminine form of Nikola.
Pia — Feminine form of the Latin name Pius, popularly ranking at #22, which makes an alternative to Mia and Leah.
Tajda — Slovene form of the Greek name Thais, via the Italian Tàide. Another variant, Taja, also ranks in the Top 100.
Žana* — Slovene form of Jane, via the Italian Gianna, which between Zara and Lana.
Zoja — Slovene form of Zoe.
Domen — Cognate with Dominic, this Slovene form offers a swifter sound to our popular favourite.
Matic* — A Slovene variant form of Matthias that's somewhere between Matt and Alick.
Rok* — In Slovenia, Rok is equivalent to the Italian Rocco, a name that is swiftly climbing in the UK.
Tilen — A pet-form of the Slovene name Egidij, which ultimately derives from the Latin Aegidius. It is therefore cognate with Giles, though it is has the rhythm of Dylan.
Žan — The Slovene form of John, via the Italian Gianni.
Something a bit different:
Nuša — A shortened form of Anuša, a diminutive of Anna.
Neja — Jernej, the Slovene form of Bartholomew, is feminised as Jerneja in Slovenia. Neja is a high-ranking short-form, and would make a great feminine namesake for anyone wanting to honour a Bartholomew.
Tinkara — An intriguing pet-form of Tina.
Vita — A popular Latin name meaning "truth".
Zarja — The Slovene word for "dawn", related to the two sun goddesses (Zorya) in Slavic mythology.
Živa* — A Slovene name meaning "alive". In Slavic mythology, Živa is the goddess of life.
Blaž* — Though sometimes thought to be the Slovene form of Blaise, this name is most likely from the Slavic blag "pleasant, gentle, blessed".
Erazem* — The Slovene form of Erasmus.
Maj — The Slovene name for the month of May. Official statistics show that most boys given the name in Slovenia are born in this month.
Nejc — Jernej, a form of Bartholomew, can be considered popular at #61, but its pet-form Necj beats it hands down at #5. The spelling is a tricky one, but it has a familiar sound akin to Nate.
Vid* — Either a form of the Latin Vitus, much like popular Vida, or the Old Germanic Wido.
