Staraj families are Croats and they are mostly from Buzet area. In the past century, relatively most of Croatian residents bearing this family name were born in Rijeka and in Buzet area. In Dolenja Vas in Buzet area every fourth inhabitant had the family name Staraj.
Prevalence
About 100 people with faimily name Staraj live in Croatia today, in 40 households. There were 120 of them in the middle of the past century, and their number decreased by 20 percent. They are only located in in 8 Croatian cities and 12 other places, mostly in Opatija (15), Dolenja Vas in Buzet area (15), Matulji in Opatija area (<10), Rijeka (<10), and in Fuskulin (<10).
In the sources analysed in the project Acta Croatica so far, the name is mentioned few times, the first time 2007 in source Encyclopaedia of Croatian Surnames.