Paponja families are Croats and they are mostly from Herzegovina. In the past century, relatively most of Croatian residents bearing this family name were born in Herzegovina (Ljubuski area) and in Herzegovina (Mostar area). In places Zvirići , Prigrađani and Paoča in Herzegovina every eighth inhabitant had the family name Paponja.
Prevalence
About 220 people with faimily name Paponja live in Croatia today, in 80 households. There were 10 of them in the middle of the past century, and their number multiplied. They are located in the most of Croatian counties, in 21 cities and 12 other places, mostly in Metkovic (70), Zagreb (35), Pozega (25), Ilok (25), and in Djakovo (15).
In the sources analysed in the project Acta Croatica so far, the name is mentioned over twenty times, the first time 1906 in source Yearbook and Directory of Literary Society of St. Jerome 1906.