Matjaž Geršič is a geographer and historian whose work primarily focuses on the study of geographical names. He received his PhD in 2016 from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Ljubljana. In addition to participating in research projects, he chairs the Commission for the Standardization of Geographical Names of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia. As a visiting researcher, he worked at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. He currently serves as co-chair of the Joint ICA/IGU Commission on Toponymy under the International Cartographic Association and the International Geographical Union. He is a member of several editorial boards and a lecturer at the ZRC SAZU Postgraduate School.
Matjaž Geršič’s central research focus is the study of geographical names in all their diversity. He first encountered them in a research context during his studies, when he participated in a project on house names in Upper Carniola. After completing his teaching internship at Gimnazija Kranj, he joined ZRC SAZU as a research assistant.
For his doctoral research, he concentrated on Slovene regional names and their role in shaping identity. At the same time, he became familiar with the issue of exonymisation, the main research field of his mentor, Drago Kladnik. He joined the UNGEGN Working Group on Exonyms. Since the end of 2017, he has chaired the Commission for the Standardisation of Geographical Names of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia.
Leading the Commission is also linked to membership in the East Central and South-East Europe Division (ECSEED) and representing Slovenia in UNGEGN. In the continuation of his research, he has focused on issues of multilingual geographical names, particularly in the Slovene Rába Valley (Porabje), and more recently he has been involved in the Expert Group for the Standardisation of Slovene Geographical Names in Italy. He is also responsible for implementing minority legislation regarding the use of geographical names in Slovenia.
Within the framework of the United Nations, his work has also addressed issues of transliteration, especially from the Latin to the Arabic script. This work is also connected with his several-month research stay at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Mácha, P., Geršič, M., et al. 2026: Different languages, different landscapes? : exploring linguistic differences in landscape conceptualizations. Open Linguistics 12-1.
- Geršič, M., Černivec, M., Dobrovoljc, H. 2024: Preimenovanje prelaza Ljubelj v Stari Ljubelj.Geografski vestnik 96-1,
- Crljenko, I., Geršič, M. 2021: A comparison of the beginnings of exonym standardization in Croatian and Slovenian. Acta geographica Slovenica 61-2.
- Geršič, M., Perko, D. 2022: Slovenski endonimi v dvojezičnih zemljepisnih imenih v Italiji, Avstriji in na Madžarskem. Geografski vestnik 94-1.
- Geršič, M., Gašperič, P., Zorn, M. 2026: Geographical names and place identity in the Slovenian Alps. V: Discourses on mountains of Montenegro and Slovenia. Springer.
- Perko, D., Geršič, M., Zorn, M. 2023: Standardization of geographical names on land and sea in Slovenia. V: Place naming, identities and geography : critical perspectives in a globalizing and standardizing world. Springer Nature.
- Geršič, M., Kumin Horvat, M., Logar, E., Perko, D., Pipan, P. 2024: Zemljepisna imena Slovenskega Porabja. Založba ZRC.
- Geršič, M. 2020: Slovenski eksonimi skozi prizmo prvega slovenskega pravopisa. Geografski vestnik 92-1
- Geršič, M., Kladnik, D., Brnot, M. 2020: Standardization of geographical names in officially recognized bilingual areas of Slovenia. Onomàstica 6.
- Zagórski, B. R., Geršič, M., Kladnik, D. 2018: Challenges in the transformation of Slovene geographical names into Arabic = Izzivi prevedbe slovenskih zemljepisnih imen v arabščino. Geografski vestnik 90 – 2.
- Geography of Slovenia - national research programme (research programme • January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2027)
- Standardization of hydronyms in the Register of geographical names (target research project • September 1, 2021 - August 31, 2024)
- Microtoponyms in the Rába Valley (target research project • October 1, 2021 - August 31, 2023)
- Integrative crossborder conservation of Natura 2000 plant species and their habitats (INTERREG • April 1, 2024 - September 30, 2026)
- Innovative ecosystem-based plan to adapt to climate change in the Karst. Promoting Fire-resilient forestry supported by Industry 5.0 (INTERREG • April 15, 2024 - April 14, 2026)
- The Life and Death of Cultivated Terraces: Computer-Based Recognition and Spatial Analysis of Terraces (applied research project • January 1, 2025 - December 31, 2027)
- Space, place and identity in the areas of mass population replacement through the prism of folklore and toponyms (March 1, 2026 - February 28, 2029)
- DEEP WOUNDS: DEgradation and injustice in Ecological Peripheries: WOUNDed minority landScapes in Central-Eastern Europe (March 1, 2026 - February 28, 2029)
- ZRC SAZU Postgraduate School, doctoral programme in Comparative Studies of Ideas and Cultures (Human Geography)
- Faculty Prešeren Award for Students, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, 2010
- Gold Award for Mentorship in Research Work, Association for Technical Culture of Slovenia, 2010
- Melik Award for Young Scientist, Association of Slovenian Geographers, 2017
- Bronze Plaque, Association of Slovenian Geographers, 2025
- Member of the Executive Board, Association of Slovenian Geographers
- Member, Working Group on Exonyms (WGE), United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN)
- Member, East Central and South-East Europe Division (ECSEED), United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names (UNGEGN)
- Member, Upper Carniola Geographical Society
- Member, Association of Geography Teachers
- Member of the Editorial Board, Acta Geographica Slovenica
- Co-editor, book series Georitem and Geografija Slovenije
- Member of the Publishing Council, ZRC Publishing
- Member of the Editorial Board, Historični seminar
- Member, Working Group for the Standardisation of Slovenian Geographical Names in Italy