There was even a derogatory category: (surnames of the poor neighborhoods). For example, Kasollja (little hut) indicated a family that lived in a reed shack near the former swamps of Farka . 6. The Communist Era: Homogenization and Loss Under Enver Hoxha (a Tiranasi himself – his original surname was Hoxha, meaning “preacher”), many old families were targeted as “reactionary.” The Toptani family was exiled or imprisoned. Others voluntarily changed their names to avoid persecution. A Kryemadhi might become Madhi to hide the feudal “crye” (head/chief).

By the 1990s, a massive internal migration from northern Albania to Tirana diluted the old surnames. Today, only 7% of Tirana’s residents carry a surname that predates 1920. The old surnames of Tirana are not dead. You can still find a Tabaku selling shoes (not leather), a Bregu living in a flat on the plain, and a Lisi who has never planted a tree. But to hear them pronounce their name with the phrase “ne jemi nga Tirana e vjetër” (we are from old Tirana) is to hear a quiet pride—a reminder that before the skyscrapers and traffic jams, the capital was a village of hills, bazaars, and unforgettable names. Fascinating detail to end on: The rarest old Tirana surname still in existence is Bubullima (thunderstorm). Legend says the first Bubullima was born during a freak thunderclap in August 1802, and every male in the family since has been named Guri (stone) to “ground” the lightning. Only three families with this surname remain.