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.