Mehmed was born into a Serbian Orthodox family in or near Sokolovići (which under Ottoman rule in Turkish was called Sokol), near modern-day Rudo.[2] Said to have come from a modest shepherd family,[3] Sokollu Mehmed Paşa\'s name derives from his place of birth (-lu indicates in Turkish from a place, in this case Sokollu or from Sokol). His birth name was probably Bajica,[3][4] while his father was named Dimitrije.[2] He had two brothers and a sister, as well as at least one uncle.[2] However, details about his family and relations are disputed on two major counts. One is his relationship to Makarije Sokolović. Traditionally identified as his brother, today some historians consider him to have been either a nephew or distant relative.[2][4] The second is the matter of Mehmed\'s uncle. By some accounts, his uncle was a monk at the Mileševa monastery who had his two nephews, Bajica and Makarije (taken to be brothers according to this view), educated there.[4]