Tomislav


Tomislav is a masculine given name of Slavic origin, that is widespread amongst the South Slavs. The name is also found amongst West Slavs as Tomisław, and Hungarians as Tomiszláv.
The exact meaning of the name Tomislav is unclear, though it is believed to have derived from the Old Slavonic verb tomiti which means to suppress/torture/struggle, combined with slava meaning glory. Other popular, but unsubstantiated origin theories suggest the name derives from the Greek, Thomas, from the New Testament, whilst another postulates that it is a Slavicised corruption of the Latin "Dominus Slavus".
The first recorded bearer of the name was the 10th-century King Tomislav of Croatia, for this reason it has become popular amongst Croats. The name is also widespread amongst Serbs, reaching popularity during the 1930s and 40s. Serbian King Alexander I of Yugoslavia gave his second child "the Croatian name Tomislav" as a symbolic gesture of unity for his subjects.
The name is also carried within the nations of Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. Tomislav can also be found with alternative spelling in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary.

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