The Popović Family Tree

Our History

Where the Family Name Began

According to the account of Dr. Jevto Dedijer in the book "Settlements of Serbian Lands," Volume IV, published by the Serbian Royal Academy — Serbian Ethnographic Compendium, Book 12, editor Jovan Cvijić, Belgrade 1909.

The Popović clan of Bjelošev Do descends from the Vlaisavljević family of Jasenik near Gacko, who arrived here by way of Zagora, a village in the Trebinje district.

Here is what Dedijer himself says about it: ... The village of Zagora is located in the Trebinje district, and got its name because it lies beyond the hill ("gora") from the village of Mesari. In Zagora lives the Laketić clan, whose ancestors descend from the Vlaisavljević family that lived in Jasenik near Gacko. In Jasenik, some 200 years ago (that is, around 1700–1710), there lived 4 brothers who killed Bey Čengić, and because of this some fled to Russia, while Lako, Duka, and Bjele fled to Zagora onto Resulbegović land. Only Lako remained there, while Bjelo and Duka did not care for it, so Bjelo moved on to Bjelošev Do near Ljubinje, where they were renamed Popović (15 households). Duka moved to Lug, and from him descend the Dučić family of Lug.

The fourth brother, Vuko, remained in Jasenik, and his descendants are called Vukomanović.

Duka's son Maksim went to Sarajevo, where his descendants are called Maksimović. One household of that family also lives in Trnovo near Sarajevo. The Čabrilo family of Podveležje near Nevesinje also descend from the Dučić, as do the Dučić who live in Belgrade and those in Rupjeli near Trebinje. They celebrate St. George's Day (Đurđevdan) as their patron saint's day.

According to this account, at the start of the 20th century there were about 15 Popović households in Bjelošev Do. Today, 89 years later, only 11 households remain inhabited. The reason is the scarcity of arable land, its distance from the main road, and the general progress of civilization, which has driven the migration of the rural population toward towns and industrial centers.

In search of a better and happier life, for themselves and for their descendants, Popovićs are found today throughout every part of Yugoslavia, and on many continents besides (America, Australia, and so on).

This brief work covers the Popovićs who have been established as descending from the shared ancestor, and who live today in the following places:

• Bjelošev Do
• Kruševica, Dračevo, Drijenjani
• Mostar, Sarajevo, Nevesinje, Trebinje
• Lipar near Crvenka
• Vojvoda Stepa, G. Milanovac
• Belgrade, Pančevo
• Trnovo near Sarajevo
• Romani near Kalinovik
• Zrenjanin, Itebej, Međa

If we accept Dr. Dedijer's account as accurate — which is entirely plausible, since the same is claimed by elders of the Dučić family — the Vlaisavljević brothers were compelled to change their surname. Thus Lako, Vuko, and Duka left their descendants surnames drawn from their own given names. Bjelo chose the surname Popović (likely after the title of his son Moja, who is known to have been a priest — "pop" — in the Ljubinje area), and the place where he settled and raised his family came to be called Bjelošev Do.

* For the Popovićs who live in Trnovo, no reliable connection to the main tree has been established. This is left as a task for future generations to uncover. The Laketić, Dučić, and Vukomanović families were not the subject of research in this work.