Radovan (Serbian Cyrillic: Радован) is a Slavic male given name, derived from the passive adjective radovati ("rejoice"), itself from root rad- meaning "care, joy". It is found in Serbia, North Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, Ukraine, and Bulgaria. It has been recorded in Serbia since the High Middle Ages.
Male variations and diminutives (and nicknames) include Radovanče, Radan, Radánek, Rade, Rado, Radič, Radko, Radvan, Radúz, Radek, and cognates Radomir, Radomil and Radoslav. Female forms include Radka, Radana, Radomirka, Radmila, Radica.
Namedays include 13 January in Croatia, and 14 January in Slovakia and Czech Republic.
Contents
Notable people
Radovan (master), 13th-century Croatian sculptor and architect
Radovan Jelašić, Serbian economist
Radovan Jovićević, Serbian composer, producer and musician
Radovan Karadžić, Bosnian Serb politician and convicted war criminal
Radovan Krejčíř, Czech organized crime boss and convicted criminal
Radovan Lukavský, Czech actor and theatrical pedagogue
Radovan Sloboda (ice hockey), Slovak ice hockey player
Radovan Sloboda (politician), Slovak politician and sports administrator
Radovan Vujović, Serbian actor
Radovan Zogović, Montenegrin poet
Fictional characters
Prince Radovan, character in the Czech fairy-tale Princezna se zlatou hvězdou
Radovan, the main hero of the Czech TV-serial (Večerníček) Radovanovy radovánky