Kambic in Slovenia
An amateur genealogist of Slovenian descent questioned what nationality
Kambitsch or Kambic is, having conflicting reports of German and Slovenian.
If you are familiar with the nationality issue in Eastern Europe, you know
that this is not a simple answer. In my own
Vlossak family, there is impassioned
division regarding whether we are Hungarian or Slovak. We must divide up
the issue into several parts.
The name Kambič
This is the modern Slovenian spelling of the name. As such, it looks, and
can probably be said to be a Slovenian name. However, when one looks at the
variations, Kambich, Kambizh, Kambish, Kambitch, Kambisch, and Kambitsch,
one can imagine several different nationalities to which the name could
belong. To determine the correct one or correct ones, it is necessary to
determine what the name means or could mean in these languages, which
meanings make sense, where the first Kambics are in historical records, and
the like. I'm not familiar with German, but it does not look like a German
name to me.
Geographical distribution of Kambic
This is the most important issue to me, since I am trying to track down my
own Kambic ancestor. It seems that in the early 1800s, Kambics were
originating in the area of Semič, Bela Krajina, Slovenia.
Semič is a good-sized town on the road from Črnomej to Vinica
on the Croatian border, just south of the Gorjanci mountains which is the
boundary of Bela Krajina. All the Kambic emigrants I have found come
from Bela Krajina, Slovenia, which suggests this is their originating point
or homeland (which is called souche in French-Canadian genealogy, a word I
cannot translate into English). So, we can say that, geographically, the
Kambics are Slovenian.
However, one must take into account that geography does not make
nationality. In particular, the region of Bela Krajina is somewhat less
"Slovenian." Its inhabitants are known for their different accent and use
of Croatian expressions in their language. There is also a small region of
Germanic inhabitants in one corner of Bela Krajina, which I believe is the
Gotscheer region.
According
to this page, these Germans were moved during World War II.
During Austro-Hungarian rule, there were no strict borders to nationality or
language. German-speaking (but not necessarily German) people could be
found throughout the empire, since that was the official language.
Intermarriage
Finally, one must take into account that one's last name only specifies
one's paternal lineage, and does not take into account maternal nationality
or ethnicity. This accounts for French-speaking Smiths in Canada, and a
wide variety of mixtures of names and nationalities in Eastern Europe
(including how I came to have a Hungarian Vlossak family).
Kambic Research Results
I have found the following Slovenian Kambics in my research:
Return to Slovenian Surnames
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Last updated: Tue Dec 7 10:04:35 EST 2004