Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.32909/kg.25.45.1
South Croatian Spatial Identities in Ergonyms – The Example of the Region Name Dalmatia
Branimir Vukosav
orcid.org/0000-0002-9096-1467
; University of Zadar, Department of Geography, Dr. Franje Tuđmana 24i, 23000 Zadar, Croatia
*
Denis Radoš
orcid.org/0000-0002-5706-6663
; University of Zadar, Department of Geography, Dr. Franje Tuđmana 24i, 23000 Zadar, Croatia
Mislav Stjepan Čagalj
orcid.org/0009-0005-6221-4623
; University of Zadar, Department of preschool and primary education, Dr. Franje Tuđmana 24i, 23000 Zadar, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The area of southern Croatia has traditionally and historically been referred to as Dalmatia, and certain forms of regional identification are associated with this name. Such identification is reflected in the everyday use of the term in various discourses, including speech, media, and tourism promotion. However, it is an identity that has no political or institutional autonomy outside the administrative-territorial organization of the Republic of Croatia and is manifested exclusively as a supplementary, narrower level of identification within the unified Croatian national corpus. Terms such as “Dalmatia” or adjectives such as “Dalmatian” can therefore be understood as cultural-geographical designations which, in historical and identification terms, primarily represent one of the lower levels of spatial identity within the framework of the Croatian historical and cultural space.
As a reflection of such subnational identification and its symbolic presence in the public space, the toponym, i.e. the region name Dalmatia, frequently appears in ergonyms – the names of private companies, trades, and associations. This paper is based on a search of relevant ergonym databases with the aim of identifying and quantifying entities whose names contain the aforementioned region name or its linguistic variations. By analysing the spatial distribution of these region names, including their geocoding and mapping at the level of local self-government units, conclusions are drawn regarding the scope and characteristics of regional identification in southern Croatia.
Keywords
southern Croatia; Dalmatia; regional identity; ergonyms; cartograms
Hrčak ID:
347688
URI
Publication date:
4.1.2026.
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