ɪt wʌz ɚɹˈɪdʒɪnəli nˈeɪmd ɡˈoːɹndʒi ʒˈæbɑːɹ, ænd wʌz lˈeɪɾɚ ɹᵻnˈeɪmd ˈæftɚ vˈɑːsoʊ pɛlˈædʒɪk, ɐ ɹˌɛpɹᵻzˈɛntətˌɪv ʌv juːtˈoʊpiən sˈoʊʃəlˌɪzəm ɪn sˈɜːbiə dˈʊɹɹɪŋ ðə sˈɛkənd hˈæf ʌvðə nˈaɪntiːnθ sˈɛntʃɚɹi, bˈɔːɹn ɪnðə tˈaʊn ɪn wˈʌn θˈaʊzənd ˈeɪthˈʌndɹɪd θˈɜːɾi θɹˈiː.
It was originally named Gornji Žabar, and was later renamed after Vaso Pelagić, a representative of utopian socialism in Serbia during the second half of the nineteenth century, born in the town in 1833.