From Nikola to Jusuf: Muslim names - Christian surnames (a contribution to the study of islamization in Bosnia and Herzegovina)

After the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a centuries-long process of Islamization began and continued until the end of Ottoman rule in the region. Despite numerous historical sources testifying to the Christian (Serbian) origins of many Muslim families, these facts are frequently contested. Politically motivated narratives—particularly since the Austro-Hungarian period—have often denied these Christian roots in favor of theories regarding a “fundamental nation” originating from the Bogomils, aimed at constructing a modern Bosnian national identity without historical precedent. This narrative was reaffirmed following the dissolution of the SFR Yugoslavia by certain Bosnian-Herzegovinian historiographers of Islamic background. The historical transition from Christianity to Islam fostered deep-seated mutual intolerance between Christians and Muslims, despite their shared ethnic origin. The earliest generations of converts to Islam adopted Muslim first names while retaining Christian surnames, which were typically patronymic or derived from nicknames. Contemporary travel writers visiting Bosnia noted that these converts were often referred to as Poturi or Poturice. Drawing upon published and unpublished archival materials from Dubrovnik, alongside relevant secondary literature, this paper aims to document the Christian origin of the Islamized population of Bosnia and Herzegovina.