Bošnjani (Cyrillic: Бошњани; singular masculine: Bošnjanin / Бошњанин, feminine: Bošnjanka / Бошњанка; Latin: Bosniensis), meaning Bosnians, is the name originating from the Middle Ages, used for the inhabitants of Bosnia.
[1][2][3] The name is used and can be found in Bosnian written monuments from that period, appearing in Venetian sources as earliest as 12th century, according to investigation of the relations between Bosnia and Venetia by historian Marko Šunjić, and other documents until at least early 16th century and the Ottoman conquest and power stabilization.
The term good Bosnian (dobri Bošnjanin, добри Бошњанин) was not a geographical reference for the inhabitants along the Bosna River, but it was referred to the population of the entire medieval Bosnia, regardless of religion, which can be seen in various charters of the 14th and 15th centuries during the reign of ban Stjepan II Kotromanić, ban Tvrtko I Kotromanić, King Stjepan Ostoja, etc.
[5][6][7][8][9] Appearing in a number of documents from the period, it was often coupled with the word "Good" (Dobri, Добри).
[11] During the Austro-Hungarian era the term Bošnjak was also preferred until the beginning of the 20th century, and is encountered in Bosnian Franciscan writings, such as prominent members of the order, historians and writers, Ivan Frano Jukić and Antun Knežević, who were first to relate the name to ethnic and national context.