hi i was hoping someone could help me my grandpa is albert vlach sr. i hope i can get some help from the joliet chicago area thanks for all the help can someone tell me wat vlach means thanks alot.
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Hi Frank Just thought I'd let you know my mother's maiden name is Vlach. Her father's name was Vlah, which was pronounced like Vlak. He came from Kastav, which was part of Austria when he was born, then became part of Yugoslavia, and is now part of Croatia. He moved to Italy, where to get the hard sound of the k they changed it to Vlach, as Italians pronounce ch like k. I don't know if it has any meaning, but hope this is some help to you. I also have some relatives in America who kept the original spelling of Vlah. How do pronounce it ch as in church or like the k? Hope to hear from you soon. Rossana
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hey rosannna
we prenounce it like ch church. but thanx for the help it was needed
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If no one has answered you already, Vlach is a very complicated surname.
I am by no means an expert on this area, but have gained my knowledge on Vlachs through internet and encyclopedia searches. I encourage you to do the same.
The term Vlach is derived from a Germanic word meaning 'Romans' or 'Italians' and was used to describe ethnic groups. Other forms of this word are Wlach, Wallach and Olah.
Some would say that the Vlach people, based on their Latin derived languages, are the descendants of Roman colonists in Eastern Europe, the Balkans and Greece.
Today the northern Vlach people live in northeast Serbia, northwest Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and a few in the Ukraine and Hungary. Southern Vlachs live in Pindus and Macedonia.
The origin of the Vlach people remains a mystery, and gives rise to disputes regarding the ownership of Transylvania.
Romanian national identity refers back to the Vlachs, and modern day Romanians use the Vlachs' cultural and linguistic ties to Rome as a way of differentiating themselves from the surrounding Magyar and Slavic ethnicities. Magyars (Hungarians) claim Vlachs are not the direct ancestors of Romanians and that they did not traditional live in Transylvania. All these opinions have more to do with current socio-political issues than any historical facts.
In terms of the origin of your specific family surname, this could be a variety of reasons. Since the word Vlach is used in most Slavic langauges to describe an Italian and in others to mean shepherd, your family may have been given this name for a variety of reasons. Only further research of your family's origins and occupations may reveal this.
Hope this helps.
Anna
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hi , I ' m Laura Stella from Italy I'm doing the story of my family and my great grand mother ' s name was Maria Vlach , his father names was Francesco Vlach .she married Giovanni or Jan De Franza and they moved to Italy they were from Castua .... Please answer me and tell me if you have more information about them . I' ll really thankfull for any other information . have a good day sincerelly , Laura Stella
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Hi Laura- My great grandmother was Giovanna Vlah (or Vlach), born Apr 1892 in Pisino, Istria, Italy (I think this is now Pazin, Croatia). She was one of at least 9 children (I don't know anything about her family but have a picture of her mother with her and 8 siblings). She married Giorgio Valcovic (Valconi) and they left Istria for Palmanova in WW2 and ultimately ended up in La Spezia. I'd love to know if your Vlachs could be Giovanna's family?
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Thank you so much for answer at my message , I am still searching for other information about Vlach family and I promise that I will let you know everything I' ll find about our ancestry , I wish you a good day sincerelly , Laura Stella
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I have some relatives by the name of Vlach, Anne or Anna and Frank Vlach. Not sure where they were from but I believe it may have been in Zarosice.
Susan Novak-Backer
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