Balabanov

Balabanov (Balaban, Balabanoff, Ballabon, etc.) and their derivatives (-ovs, -ich, etc.) are common last names in Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Russia.

Prominent Balabanovs

• Angelica Balabanov (1878-1965), a Russian-Italian Marxist revolutionary, Comintern secretary in 1919-1921
• Vasile Balabanov (1873-1947), a Provincial Administrator of Imperial Russia.
• Aleksei Balabanov (b. 1959), a Russian filmmaker.
• Kostantyn Balabanov (b. 1982), a Ukrainian football player.

Origins of the name

Possible origins of the name according to Dr. Tudor Balabanov:

1. in the Kazakh Mountains there is an eagle called Balaban from which the name may be derived.

2. One of the recipients of this name may have been the Persians that around 4000 years ago started naming the leading three soldiers of a battalion, namely: the one with the flag, those with a drum, and the one with a blow instrument - the Balabans.

3. The Turks may have taken over this name and given it to the relatively tall non-Muslim men from their territories.

See also

• Balaban
• Ballabon