Surnames and Personal Names under C and Č in Stična’s 16th-Century Manorial Records

The oldest surviving urbar of the Stična Abbey, dating back to 1505, holds a true treasure for the study of ancient, pre-Christian names and the surnames derived from them. These names appear almost exclusively in the 1505 urbar, as later records no longer preserve traces of them. This is a result of the Roman Catholic Church’s deliberate efforts to phase out Slavic names.

The first major shift in the abandonment of Slavic names occurred as early as the 13th century. However, such names persisted into the early 16th century, as evidenced by the 1505 urbar. The suppression of Slavic names intensified after the Church’s reforms following the Council of Trent (1545–1563).

The 1505 urbar records three distinctive Slavic personal names: Černe and its feminine form Černa or Črna, which likely refer to the physical attributes of the name-bearer, such as darker skin or dark hair. Another Slavic name, Čerka, is also listed, though its meaning is harder to interpret. The name Černe had already begun to evolve into the surname Černe in certain regions by this period. However, in the 1505 urbar, Černe always appears on its own, without an accompanying surname. This suggests that it still functioned as a personal name rather than a family name.