Help wanted on spelling of a Hungarian or Yugoslavian last name?

Question:

Help wanted on spelling of a Hungarian or Yugoslavian last name?

My mother-in-law's maiden name was Swinyar, which she said her great grandfather shortened after they came to the U.S. The original name was either Hungarian or Yugoslavian, and she thinks it was spelled something like Szvinyarovich, but I can't find anything anywhere on that last name spelling, or anything close. Any ideas?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Yes it is of YUGOSLAVIAN origin..
The ending VICH (vi䇠) is j a yugoslav surname ending.. that is very common to many surnames from the region and means something like 'son of'

The first part of the surname 'Szvinyar' or Svinjar means PIG FARMER. So it is possible that your mother in law's family were pig farmers.
There are also a few towns that used that are called Svinja. One in Bosnia that is now known as Srbac, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/srbac... and another in the Lika Senj region of Croatia. So it is also possible her family originated from one of these places.

Szvinyarovich would not be the orginal version as 'y' is not a Yugoslavian letter. The 'Y' would originally be spelt a a 'J'. Though the sound would be the same as J in Serbian/Croatian sounds like English Y. And the surname would end with '䇠' rather than CH. As this is how Yugoslavian surnames are sometimes converted to in English language.

And the SZ combination is not found in Serbian /Croatian but only in Hungarian. In Yugoslavia especially in Vojvodinja and Northern Croatia there are many people of Hungarian origin. So that maybe the reason for having the unusual spelling.

It is a rare surname I put it in google and couldn't find any hits.
I did find quite a few hits for SVINJAREVIC. It is likely that this was the original name.
They were less hits other versions such as SVINJARIC (which is a Croatian surname). and SVINJAREV (which is a Serbian surname)

I suggest you try asking in some Yugoslavian genology forums for my information. Here are some links.
http://www.croatia-in-english.com/ndx/in...
http://www.rodoslovlje.com/