It was discovered in 1906, by astronomer August Kopff at Heidelberg Observatory, and later named for the independent country of Croatia, then part of Austria-Hungary.
[3][16] The asteroid was discovered on 3 March 1906, by German astronomer August Kopff at the Heidelberg-Königstuhl State Observatory in southwest Germany,[16] with the use of the photographic method.
[19]: 23 In July 2013, the so-far best-rated rotational lightcurve of Croatia was obtained by astronomers Romain Montaigut, Arnaud Leroy, Raoul Behrend, René Roy, Donn Starkey, Maurice Audejean, Roberto Crippa and Federico Manzini.
[13] The result supersedes photometric observations by Brian Warner and by astronomers at the Palomar Transient Factory, which measured a shorter period of 11.7 and 16.385 hours with an amplitude of 0.16 and 0.32, respectively (U=2/2).
[18] This minor planet was named for the country of Croatia, then part of Austria-Hungary, after the suggestion made by astronomer Max Wolf.