Croatian Heraldry

By Adam S. Eterovich

BABIC--BABICH

This name is found in Croatia, Bosnia, Hercegovina and Vojvodina. Babic (ic = itch) means elderly lady or grandmother. In America the name was changed in many cases to Babich and Babick. Babicz-Babics (cs=ch; cz=ts) was probably from Slavonia, Vojvodina or Hungary when within the Austro-Hungarian Empire (pre 1918).

The Croatian Census of Population for 1948 lists 1000’s of Babic’s with many in Babina Greda, Bukovica, Drenovac, Globcec, Klada, Mazin, Osijek, Persaves, Rijeka, Runovici, Metkovic, Studenici, Sestanovac and Zagreb.

These Arms were granted to Frank and Elisabeth and their children Vuk, Anton and Juliana on August 12, 1716 by King Carl III at Vienna, Austria. A legal copy is on file at the Croatian Archives in Zagreb , Croatia. Another Babic was granted Arms in 1408 by King Ostoja of Bosnia. This clan moved to Makarska in Dalmatia in 1501 at the fall of Bosnia to the Turks. Babic was also granted Arms by virtue of being part of the old Croatian nobility and were Counts in Bosnia and at Trogir in Dalmatia. This was recorded in 1317.

Horizontal lines in the Arms mean blue; verticle lines red; left slanted lines green; dots gold and white is silver.

Arms were frequently granted for valor in battle fighting the Turks for over 300 years. With the conquest of most of the Balkans by the Turks, heraldry and coats of arms ceased to exist as this was considered Christian symbolism. Most of Croatia was not under Turkish rule and had a continuity of heraldry and coats of arms.

Courtesy of the Croatian Genealogical and Heraldic Society, 2527 San Carlos Ave., San Carlos, California, 94070. Phone: 650-592-1190; E-Mail croatians@aol.com; Web www.croatians.com. Adam S. Eterovich.