Renko / Rakar / Jekovec / Pezdirc Family Tree

Welcome to my website dedicated to exploring family history! My genealogical research began with simple curiosity about my direct ancestors, but over the years it has grown into an extensive search for their descendants and my broader family connections.

Which surnames do I research?

The bulk of my research focuses on ancestors and relatives across three main lines originating from different geographical areas:

• on my father's side:

  • Renko, Renka, Holjević, Troha, Florijan - mostly from Stara Sušica and Ravna Gora in Gorski kotar (Croatia)
  • Troha, Kordiš, Acinger, Rotar, Svetličić, Sedej, Bajt, Janeš - mostly from Stara Sušica and Ravna Gora in Croatia
  • Rakar, Simonič, Mervar, Biličič, Štravs, Novak - mostly from Bela krajina (Podhosta pri Dolenjskih Toplicah, Gradac)
  • Starašinič, Kambič, Filak, Petrič, Križan, Pezdirc, Lukanič - mostly from Bela krajina (Krasinec, Griblje, Grm pri Podzemelju, Bojanja vas)

• on my mother's side:

  • Jekovec, Kisovec, Jerše, Mladič, Likozar, Markun, Erjavec, Ažman, Jeler, Beton, Šegan, Lužovec, Rahov, Lenček, Trdina, Sajovic, Mubi, Pošlep, Bohinc, Pogačnik, Šporn, Černilec, Berkavpacin, Mrak, Štrus, Jurina, Kepic, Markušič, Bešte - mostly from Gorenjska (Srednja Bela, Strahinj, Trata-Gorenja vas, Hotemaže, Predoslje, Srakovlje, Žirovski vrh Sv. Urbana, Olševek, Britof, Naklo, Tupaliče, Kokrica, Srednja vas-Goriče)
  • Porenta, Kalan, Zavrl, Eržen, Rahonc, Hiršenfelder, Novak, Sorčan, Bitenc, Brenk, Cegnar, Oblak, Kralj, Golob, Rant - mostly from Gorenjska (Zgornje, Srednje in Spodnje Bitnje, Jama, Mavčiče, Stražišče)
  • Pezdirc, Simonič, Jaklevič, Ramuta, Šlogar, Prus, Matkovič, Barbič, Kostelc, Moravec, Štubler, Radkovič, Nemanič, Milkovec, Tomec, Šuklje, Štefanič, Kramarič, Judnič - mostly from Bela krajina (Krasinec, Drašiči, Svržaki, Metlika, Bušinja vas, Krmačina, Radovica, Primostek, Osojnik, Gornja Lokvica, Vinji vrh, Kot)
  • Simonič, Lakner, Šuštarič, Plut, Stojnič, Hočevar, Lukežič, Božič - mostly from Bela krajina (Vinji vrh, Semič, Mavrlen, Lipovec, Stranska vas)

• on my wife's side:

  • Sekušak, Kušar... from Zagorje in Croatia
  • Bubinec, Petran, Markovec, Topolovec, Ozmec... from Zagreb, Zagorje and Međimurje in Croatia

Individual research areas are described in more detail on the Research subpage.

Where can you view the tree?

The main and most up-to-date family tree is available at tree.renko.fyi. Here I collect all verified data from parish registers and other sources.

Since genealogy is based on connecting and collaborating with other researchers worldwide, I occasionally share my findings on broader global platforms:

• I upload my tree to Geneanet, and occasionally to MyHeritage and Ancestry.
• I actively synchronize data with the global tree on FamilySearch.org.
• Now and then, I also contribute additional information to the Geni.com and WikiTree.com portals.

Genetic genealogy (DNA testing)

Recently, I have also been intensively using DNA testing in my work. DNA analysis has become an indispensable tool in modern genealogy, offering insights where written sources (such as old church records) are missing or destroyed.

With DNA tests, I not only search for new, distant relatives, but also scientifically confirm existing paper sources and reveal the deeper geographical origins of my ancestors. For a layperson, this means that through a simple genetic analysis, we can check for matches with people around the world and thus confidently confirm common ancestors.

Genealogical projects and community tools

In addition to researching my own family, I am also active in the broader genealogical community. As a developer, I have set up two web tools for the Slovensko rodoslovno društvo (SRD) (Slovenian Genealogical Society) that help other genealogists:

• Slovenian Genealogical Index - a web search engine that allows searching for birth, marriage, and death data of historical persons. The data is contributed by SRD members from their family trees (in the form of GEDCOM files).
• Slovenian Genetic Atlas - a web portal that displays and manages data on DNA tests of individuals. These individuals participate in the Slovenian origin project, which collects data on the FamilyTreeDNA portal.

I also helped establish a similar platform – the Croatian Genealogical Index – for the Croatian Genealogical Society.

All the aforementioned tools are developed as open-source and are freely available on GitHub.

Get in touch

If you recognized yourself in any of the surnames listed above, perhaps have old family photos at home, or are simply interested in learning more about our common ancestors, I would be very happy to hear from you!

My contact details and links to social networks can be found on my personal page luka.renko.fyi.