Main Page
This Web Page tryes to explore the Historical Roots of my Surname.
About Slovenia
The Republic of Slovenia lies at the heart of Europe where the Alps and the
Mediterranean meet the Pannonian plains and the mysterious Karst.
History of
Surnames
Today, almost everyone has a surname, but this was not always the case...
Creating
Surnames
Family names may have grown out of a person's surroundings or job, or
the name of an ancestor.
Mis-spellings
Many of the Surnames we know today, are just mis-spellings of original surnames.
Did you
know?
In Turkey, surnames didn't become mandatory until 1933!
E-mail: janez.opara@siol.net
This page hosted by:
Visitors since 10.03.1998:
Last updated:
05.01.2003
 
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First
of all you should know this site is still under construction and I would appreciate any
reports of dead links, misspellings, grammar mistakes etc. I plan to extend the site in
time and put in there also some old photos from my family. My
name is Janez Opara and I am from Slovenia,
relatively small country in Europe, half the size of Switzerland for example, tucked into
a mountainous corner between Austria, Italy, Hungary and the Adriatic Sea. I am 40 years
old, married and have two children, a girl Anja - 9 years and a boy Jan - 8 years.
I would appreciate any information from Opara's all over the world
about our common surname, its meaning and its roots. Till now I know Opara is common
surname in Slavic countries.
The Slavic people have moved to Slovenia territory in the 6th century,
but the introduction of surnames began much later in the 12th century. First by the end of
the 14th cetury, everyone in Europe had a surname. So there are two possibilites:
1. Opara meant something in Slavic languages and they gave the same
Surname in Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Slovenia... accidentally, because of the same meaning.
By the way, there are four kinds of surnames: Characteristic
surnames: Small, Rich; Locational surnames: Hill, Rivers; Genealogical surnames: Roberts,
Williams; Occupational surnames: Smith. I still wonder what kind of name Opara is and what
it means. In my Slovenian language Opara does not mean anything but perhaps in some other
Slavic languages. Please let me know.
2. Opara's moved later than in 14th century from one country to
another. Perhaps someone will give me an answer.
Opara is as well very common surname in Nigeria. In Nigerian Igbo
language means something like "first son" and you can imagine how many Opara's
there lives. There are no connections between Slavic and Nigerian surname.
In the beginning of our century in the economy crises a lot of
Slovenian people have emigrated all over the world. A lot of these people and especially
their future generations have lost any contact to their forefather country. I would like
to meet people with Slovenian roots and surnames as:
Opara, Gabrijel, Huc (Hutch), Zorman, Erzek (Ersek).
Please contact me!
Special thanks to Mr. Opara from Canada who gave me very useful
Informations about my family.
Because of different sources it could come on my web page to different
datas for the same matter. For example some sources saids in Turkey become surnames
mandatory in 1933, and other sources in 1935. If you found some similar disagreements on
my web page please forgive me. |
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Janez Opara
Anja Opara
Jan Opara
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