Surname Balaban in modern Croatia

Balaban families are mainly Croats and they are mostly from Ozalj area. According to some sources they are from Bihac area, often Serbs. In the past century, relatively most of Croatian residents bearing this family name were born in Zagreb and in Ozalj area. In places Veliki Vrh and Kostanjevac in Ozalj area every fifth inhabitant had the family name Balaban.

Prevalence

About 290 people with faimily name Balaban live in Croatia today, in 150 households. There were 130 of them in the middle of the past century, and their number doubled.
They are located in almost all Croatian counties, in 34 cities and 31 other places, mostly in Zagreb (65), Rijeka (40), Jastrebarsko (15), Split (10), and in Osijek (10).

Outside Croatia

At least ten families with this surname emigrated from Croatia to: Switzerland (4), Canada (2), Germany (2), Australia (1), and to the United States (1).
Family name Balaban (including: Balabán , Ballaban ) is present in 65 countries worldwide. "Ballaban " is used by some 60 people in the United States , small number in Poland , and small number of people in Canada.

Characteristic first names

Ivana Balaban, Goran Balaban, Lidija Balaban, Ednar Balaban, Iva Balaban, Miljenko Balaban, Mirjana Balaban, Branko Balaban, Igor Balaban, Damir Balaban, Anđelko Balaban, Dragan Balaban, Duško Balaban, Goranka Balaban, Ivan Balaban, Danijela Balaban, Zvonko Balaban, Danijel Balaban, Silvijo Balaban

Mentions in sources

In the sources analysed in the project Acta Croatica so far, the name is mentioned over five times, the first time 1902 in source Hartmann's General List of Apartments in Zagreb.

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