The origins of our name and its expansion

The original name of our family is Dukagjini in Albanian. It is a compound of the term duka (from Latin dux, in English duke) and the personal name Gjin. Gjin is popularly considered to be the Albanian variant of John, but in reality it isn’t. It is the name of a pre-Christian/Illyrian frigure which was preserved as a Christian name and the figure of Gjin came to be celebrated as a saint. Gjin is the name of our ancestor who became a Duke (dux) in the 13th century. He is mentioned in a 1281 document of the Angevine Kingdom of Albania as ducam Ginius Tanuschum Albanensem (the Albanian Duke Ginius Tanuschus, in English). Tanuschus is the Latin rendering of the name of his father, Tanush.

This name was used by many members of our family in the middle ages. Dukagjini, in time came to refer to various areas which were linked to our family. Such are the Dukagjini Highlands (Malësia e Dukagjinit) in northern Albania and the Plain of Dukagjini (Rrafshi i Dukagjinit ) in Kosova. The heart of the territory of the Dukagjini in the 14th and 15th centuries which roughly corresponds to the region of Mirdita is known traditionally as Leknia, the land of Leka. It is known as such after one of the many Lekë Dukagjini, who led the people of Mirdita. In western Europe, our name has been rendered in many different ways: Ducagini, Duchaginni, Ducaini, Docaini, Duchayni.

Title document of our kinsman Giovanni Duchayno (Gjon Dukagjini) who became castellan of the Castle of San Servolo (modern Socerb) in 1480

In the Ottoman Empire, our name like the names of many pre-Ottoman noble families was rendered with the –zade and –oğlu (both meaning “son of”) suffixes in the Ottoman traditional court script. Thus, the names Dukaginzade (pl. Dukaginzadeler) and Dukaginoğlu (pl. Dukaginoğullari) came to being. Variants include Dukakin, Dukakinzade and Dukakinoğlu. The form Dukakin in time came to be used as one of the more common forms of the name. As the centuries passed all branches of the family preserved our ancestral name, but also began to use several other surnames which represented their particular branch. The main branch, based in Aleppo traditionally in modern times, uses the name El Adli. It comes from Arabic عادل, which means “just”. The name comes from the era of construction projects of our ancestor Dukaginzade Mehmed Pasha, viceroy of Egypt  and governor of Aleppo. Mehmed Pasha was also known as Sultanzade because his mother came from the imperial dynasty. He endowed in 1554-55 an extensive mosque complex project in Aleppo, which was completed in 1565-66. The mosque is located near the city’s court house, so it became known as Al Adiliyah (the just one). In time, this appellation was extended to the family in Aleppo. A branch, based in Istanbul, since the Surname Law (1934) of Turkey which required citizens to change their –zade/ family names, adopted the surname Dirimtekin.

In Europe, the Dukagjini are frequently mentioned as nobiles (nobles) and the Docaini of Istria were Counts (contes). As it was customary in the Ottoman era, our name was followed or preceded by various appelatives and titles related to social status. Dukaginzade Ahmed Pasha (died 1515) was a Grand Vizier, general and held various other titles, hence he was known as a Pasha. Many others in our family were known as Pasha, Bey (lord), Kadi (judge) and even Ghazi (Warrior). They are a testament of the legacy that we inherited from our ancestors and the historical events which unfolded in their lifetimes.