Balabanov

Balabanov (Balaban, Balabanoff, Ballabon, etc) and their derivatives (-ovs, -ich, etc) are common last names in Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine and Russia.

Prominent Balabanovs

*Angelica Balabanov (1878-1965), a Russian-Italian Marxist revolutionary, Comintern secretary in 1919-1921
*Vasile Balabanov (1873-1947), a Provincial Administrator of Imperial Russia.
*Aleksei Balabanov (b. 1959), a Russian filmmaker.

Origins of the name

Possible origins of the name according to [http://www.balabanov.com/ Dr. Tudor Balabanov] :

:1. in the Kazakh Mountains there is an eagle called Balaban from which the name may be derived.

:2. One of the recipients of this name may have been the Persians that around 4000 years ago started naming the leading three soldiers of a battalion, namely: the one with the flag, those with a drum, and the one with a blow instrument - the Balabans.

:3. The Turks may have taken over this name and given it to the relatively tall non-Muslim men from their territories.