Uzelac
Encyclopedia
Uzelac is a South Slavic
surname. The name originates in the Balkan area in countries of former Yugoslavia
such as Serbia
, Croatia
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
and Montenegro
. It is predominantly used by ethnic Serbs
of the Eastern Orthodox Church
.
which means "to take (away)" and refers to the man who married into his wife's household, rather than taking her to his own, i.e. he was "taken (away)" from his family into another one. Most Uzelacs come from the Europe
an parts of Croatia
n areas Lika
and Serbian Krajina.
, mostly in the states of Indiana
, Illinois
, and Michigan
. The most famous Uzelac's in the United States are Kristal Uzelac
, a retired gymnast, and Elliot Uzelac, former head football
coach at Navy
and Western Michigan University
.
South Slavic languages
The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...
surname. The name originates in the Balkan area in countries of former Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
such as Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
and Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
. It is predominantly used by ethnic Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
of the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
.
Meaning
The surname has a root in the verb "uzeti" in the Serbian languageSerbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
which means "to take (away)" and refers to the man who married into his wife's household, rather than taking her to his own, i.e. he was "taken (away)" from his family into another one. Most Uzelacs come from the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an parts of Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n areas Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
and Serbian Krajina.
In the United States
Many Uzelac's are also found in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, mostly in the states of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. The most famous Uzelac's in the United States are Kristal Uzelac
Kristal Uzelac
Kristal Dawn Uzelac is a retired American gymnast. She was considered to be one of the United States' most promising junior gymnasts in the late 1990s, and was the U.S. junior all-around National Champion for three consecutive years....
, a retired gymnast, and Elliot Uzelac, former head football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach at Navy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
and Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University
Western Michigan University is a public university located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. The university was established in 1903 by Dwight B. Waldo, and as of the Fall 2010 semester, its enrollment is 25,045....
.
People
- Elliot Uzelac (born 1941), American football coach
- Emil UzelacEmil UzelacMilan Emil Uzelac was a Croatian soldier and military commander who was a leading figure in the air forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Independent State of Croatia.-Life:...
(1867 - 1954), Croatian/Austro-Hungarian soldier - Kristal Dawn UzelacKristal UzelacKristal Dawn Uzelac is a retired American gymnast. She was considered to be one of the United States' most promising junior gymnasts in the late 1990s, and was the U.S. junior all-around National Champion for three consecutive years....
(born 1986), American female gymnast - Milan UzelacMilan UzelacMilan Uzelac — Serbian poet, essayist, PhD, full Professor of Ontology and Aesthetics of the University of Novi Sad Milan Uzelac was born on 8 April 1950 in Vršac , where he received his elementary and secondary education. He studied Philosophy at the University of Belgrade, where he got his B.A....
(born 1950, Vršac, Vojvodina), Serbian poet, essayist - Slobodan UzelacSlobodan UzelacSlobodan Uzelac, Ph.D., is the current Vice Prime Minister of Croatia for Regional Development, Reconstruction and Return. He is the member of Serbian minority in Croatia....
(born 1947), Croatian politician - Tomislav UzelacTomislav UzelacTomislav Uzelac is the Croatian programmer who created AMP, considered the first successful MP3 player.Uzelac studied at the University of Zagreb's Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing under professor Mario Kovač, working on MP3 software decoding. In 1997 he created AMP, and also...
, Croatian programmer