Horvat is the most frequent surname in Croatia and Slovakia, 2nd most frequent in Slovenia and 5th most frequent surname in Hungary. The surname originates from Croatia, Horvat being the older version of the word Hrvat, which means Croat in Croatian. Croats with surname Horvat live almost exclusively in kajkavian speaking region. According to the 2011 census, it's the most common last name in the city of Zagreb, Zagreb County Krapina-Zagorje County, Varaždin County, Koprivnica-Križevci County, Bjelovar-Bilogora County, Virovitica-Podravina County and Virovitica-Podravina County. Apart from them, there is a certain number of ethnic Serbs with surname Horvat inside Baranja region of Croatia. Almost half of the citizens of Slovenia that have the surname Horvat live in the Prekmurje region, where it is the most common surname by far. It is also common in Lower Styria and in Ljubljana, while it is very rare in western Slovenia.
Notable people with the surname include:
Andraš Horvat (1744–1789), Croatian author and cultural activist who worked among the Hungarian SlovenesAndrej Horvat, Slovenian economist and politicianAnika Horvat (born 1977), Slovenian folk singerBo Horvat, (born 1995), Canadian ice hockey playerBranko Horvat (1928–2003), Croatian economist and politicianBryan Horvat (born 1983), American dirt track racer, chicken farmer, & fishing lure collectorDanielle Horvat (born 1991), Australian actressDarko Horvat (born 1973), Croatian footballerDrago Horvat (born 1958), Yugoslav ice hockey playerFeri Horvat (born 1941), Slovenian politicianHrvoje Horvat (born 1946), Croatian handballer and coachIvan Horvat (born 1993), Croatian athleteIvica Horvat (1926–2012), Croatian football player and coachIvana Horvat (born 1975), Croatian modelJohn Horvat (died 1394), Croatian noblemanJosip Horvat Međimurec (1904–1945), Croatian painterJoža Horvat (1915–2012), Croatian writer and sailorLidija Horvat (born 1982), Croatian handball playerLidija Horvat-Dunjko (born 1967), Croatian sopranoLucas Mario Horvat (born 1985), Slovenian footballerNikolina Horvat (born 1986), Croatian athleteMila Horvat (born 1981), Croatian TV hostMilan Horvat (1919–2014), Croatian conductorPaul Horvat (14th century), bishop of ZagrebRyan Horvat (born 1993), Canadian hockey playerStevan Horvat (born 1932), Serbian wrestlerSteve Horvat (born 1971), Australian professional football playerStjepan Horvat (1895–1985), Croatian patriot, geodesist and professorZlatko Horvat (born 1984), Croatian handballerAt least 533 individuals with the surname died at the Jasenovac concentration camp.
