Smiljan (given name)
Smiljan is a South Slavic masculine given name. Its origin is usually associated with the common name for plants which produce "everlasting"-type blooms, many of which are known as {{lang|sl|smilj}} and {{lang|sl|smilje}}, 'immortelle' (that is, 'everlasting' [flower]) in South Slavic languages. The plant species generally associated with the personal name are Antennaria dioica ({{lang|sl|plešivec smilj}} or {{lang|sl|gorski smilj}}, the 'bald–' or 'mountain–everlasting'), and Helichrysum arenarium ({{lang|sl|peščeni smilj}}, the 'sand–everlasting').{{cite book |last1=Keber |first1=Janez |title=Leksikon imen: Onomastični kompendij |date=2008 |publisher=Mohorjeva Družba |location=Celje, Slovenia |isbn=978-961-218-789-7 |page=673 |edition=4th |language=sl}}{{cite book |last1=Yonge |first1=Charlotte Mary |title=History of Christian names |date=1884 |publisher=Macmillian |location=London |pages=435–438 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924031230182/page/438/mode/2up |chapter=Names from the Slavonic |id=[Section I, Part VII]}}
The Lika-region town, Smiljan, Croatia, traditionally shares its name's etymology with the anthroponym—both the placename and personal name being arrived at through the botanic association. An alternative derivation has, however, been suggested for the town: The Croatian linguist and onomatologist, Petar Šimunović believed that the town was named as a patronymic of Smiljan, which over time was abbreviated, losing the patronymic word-element.{{cite journal |last1=Grahovac-Pražić |first1=Vesna |last2=Vrcić-Mataija |first2=Sanja |title=Oikonymy of the Gospić area |journal=Folia onomastica Croatica |date=2010 |issue=19 |pages=81–96 |language=hr |issn=1330-0695 |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/clanak/118728 |archive-date=28 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928103340/https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/118727}}{{cite book |page=28 |last1=Tomljenović |first1=Ana |title=Smiljan i okolica: Brušane, Trnovac, Bužim |date=2003 |publisher=Meridijani |location=Zagreb |isbn=953-7004-71-6 |language=hr}}
In Slovenia, the incidence of baby boys being registered with the name Smiljan has declined from a peak of 105 instances in the 1970s, when it ranked as the 195th most frequently-given boys' name for that decade, to fewer than five boys given the name between 2001 and 2010—and none for the years 2011–2022. According to the Statistical Office of the Republic of Slovenia, the number of male inhabitants of Slovenia with the name Smiljan, {{As of|2023|01|1|lc=y}}, was 283, amongst a population of 2,116,972. This places it as the 402nd most frequent male name in the country.{{cite web |title=Preveri, koliko prebivalcev Slovenije ima isto ime, priimek ali rojstni dan! |url=https://www.stat.si/ImenaRojstva#/names?name1=Smiljan&gend1=M&name2=Smilja&gend2=Z |website=Statistični urad Republike Slovenije |access-date=14 June 2023 |language=sl |trans-title=Check how many inhabitants of Slovenia have the same first name, last name or birthday!|id=[Search facility: enter 'Smiljan' in field labelled {{lang|sl|Vpišite ime}}]}}
Notable people with the name include:
- Smiljan Pavič (born 1980), Slovenian basketball player
- Smiljan Radic (born 1965), Chilean architect of Croatian heritage
- Smiljan Rozman (1927–2007), Slovene writer