Croatian Heraldry

Adam S. Eterovich

 

 

ZEC--LEPORINI

 

 

 

Zec, Zecich, Zecevich, Zecca, Zecovich and Leporini all mean "rabbit." Leporini is also the Italian word for rabbit. Zec, Zecich and Zecevich are found in all parts of Croatia whereas the names Zecca and Leporini are no longer found used in these forms or spellings today.

 

Coats of Arms were granted to Zecich-Leporini in 1533 on the island of Hvar, a small island along the Adriatic, then part of the Venetian Republic. This clan of "Zec" were prominent citizens with one being a graduate of the University of Padova in Italy in 1685. It is interesting to make note that the Dalmatian branch of Zec-Zecich used the name Leporini also.

 

On November 6, 1668, Stefan Zechich, or Zecic, was granted arms and a copy of same is on deposit at the Croatian Academy in Zagreb. Citing the Zec-Leporini name origin as a key example, it is very easy to assume that many of the nobility in Croatia and some Croatian names were of Italian, Hungarian or Austrian derivations. However, they were, for the most part, Croatian in origin and lineage.

 

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.