Surnames in my Slovenian Roots and my Research on Them

• Balkovec
  Also: Balkouz (Germanic orthography)
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: unknown; my ancestor from Hrast.
  
• Benec
  Meaning: Perhaps a Slavicization of the Latin Bene or Benes, meaning good or blessed; perhaps a variant of Benich and meaning "son of Ben."
  Occurrence: unknown; still researching.
  
• Flajnik
  Also: Flajnek (esp. Zagreb, Croatia); Flainig (probably Germanic orthography)
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: appears to be very localized, mostly in region of Vinica, Slovenia
  
• Kambič
  Also: Kambizh, Kambich, Kambish, Kambitsch, perhaps Kambach
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: unknown; present in region of Bela Krajina and in emigrant communities of the United States. My ancestor from Drenovec, a village just outside Vinica to the northwest. Four Kambics from Črešnevic, a village halfway between Semič and Metlika settled in California. Four other Kambics in California came from Praproce, which appears to be a village near Temenica (Temenica near Grosuplje), formerly Prapretschhof (Lichtenberg), in a different region of Slovenia. Two Kambics from Semič also settled in California. I cannot determine from where the other Kambics who settled in the United States came, although the area around Semič looks like a good possibility. Kambitsch seems to be a German name. Update: I now have a web page devoted to the discussion of the surname kambic.
  Sources / information on Kambics:
  
  
• Lessiza
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: unknown; but appears to be a form of a rather common Italian name.
  
• Malitsch
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: unknown; in my ancestry, spouse of Vlahovic.
  Note: believe this is an older or dialectical spelling of Malic.
• Mravinc
  Also: Mravinec; Mravinz; Mravintz (most common spelling in U.S.A.)
  Meaning: ?
  Occurrence: Not sure; common enough in region of Vinica. I believe Mravintz is a Slovak name or at least the Slovak spelling of the name.
• Pavlešič
  Also: Paullesich; Pauleshizh (all obsolete); Pavlicek (anglicization)
  Meaning: son of Paul, I believe
  Occurrence: I think, throughout Slovenia and Croatia. Known to be common in region of Vinica. Overall, seems to be a rather common name.
• Rogina
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: common enough in vicinity of Vinica; in the late 1700s, seems to originate in the village of Stara Lipa. Of seven Roginas who immigrated to California at the turn of the century, four were from Nerajec (which might be the village of that name just north of Suhor pri Vinici), two were from Dragatuš (which is a little further northwest, near the midpoint of the road between Vinica and Črnomelj;, and one was from Semič (the next large town north of Črnomelj). Mike Smith, in a posting on ancestry.com message boards, said that Rogina was a Croatian name, as are many names of this region.
  Note: seems to be more common as a first or middle name
  
• Simcic
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: seems to be widely and sparsely dispersed throughout the Slavic countries; my ancestor is noted as being from (ex) Vukovec. There is a Vukova Sela across the river, just inside Croatia; there is a Vukovci just upstream, south of Vinica, in Slovenia; there is also a Vukovez, Croatia, northeast of Zagreb near Kriz^evci; I cannot determine from which of these villages my Simcic ancestor came.
  
• Spelizh
  Also: Spelich, Spelitsch, Spellich, Spelics, Szpeliz (Croatian source)
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: unknown; spouse of Kambic, but marriage record could not be found. One Spelic(h) immigrant to U.S. from Marija Bistrica, near Zagreb, Croatia (source). A Spelic in Vrbovec near Dobrnic, Slovenia (source). Fr. France (Francis) Spelic, a witness to the apparitions at Medjugorje, was born in Smaver, Slovenia, in 1927.
  Note: probably a dialectical or older spelling of Spelic
  
• Špehar
  Also: Sˇpeharr
  Meaning: unknown, but there is a town Špeharji near Vinica, in which Špehars are numerous.
  Occurrence: Not sure; very common in region of Vinica. Apparently a very common Slovenian and Croatian surname, especially among immigrants to the United States.
  Note: Not yet actually discovered in my ancestry. However, an unknown Spehar occurs in family notes, and an ancestor is boarding with a Spehar family in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania shortly after coming to the United States. An uncle married a daughter of a Spehar back in Slovenia. Likely to have a family connection.
  
• Vlahovič
  Also: Vlahovich (most common alternate; worldwide); Vlahovitch (2nd most common alternate; outside Yugoslavia, extant in France); Ulahovich (Spanish America) Ullahovitsch (older spelling in Vinica)
  Meaning: unknown
  Occurrence: appears to be fairly widespread, with prominent family members, especially in the Serbia-Croatia region. Probably extant throughout Slavic-speaking countries. Also an occurrence noted in California (maiden name of the mother of a child born first decade 1900s). A significant population in France.
  
• Jursinic
  Also: ?
  Meaning: ?
  Occurrence: Known to be in region of Sinji Vrh (Schweinberg)?
  Note: Not in my ancestry, but that of Mr. Teixeira, in which a Jursinic married a Flajnik?