It is true. The first name takes away all the glory and attention and months of research and planning before the baby’s arrival. But what about the last name? The surname usually tends to take a backseat and is the ignored bit.
But last names are significant, and here are the reasons why?
- Your surname speaks of what and who you are and is indeed worth appreciating.
- It tells you about your history.
- It indicates your origin and is an essential part of your identity, which is the reason why many women choose not to change their surname after marriage.
- Diving deep into the meaning of the surname lets you discover many interesting facts about the culture and naming traditions of a place, letting you figure out interesting things along the way. This leaves you hungry to decipher more.
Romanian Surnames and Their Significance
Romanians have a fascinating history, and there are a plethora of Romanian last names to choose from. There is a huge list of Romanian surnames that speak of the rich ancestral lineage of their culture. Some are popular, while others are not that common.
But it is still fun to learn about them.
We have rounded up some Romanian surnames with their story or meaning to let you appreciate their origin.
Understanding The Romanian Last Name
The Romanian names show the richness of the Romanian language and history. But they follow a few naming conventions that you should be aware of.
Romanian names can easily be distinguished to understand if it is a boy’s or a girl’s name. The secret lies in the ending.
The boys’ name usually ends with a consonant and the girls’ name with an “–a.” There are a few exceptions, but this is the rule that is generally followed.
A Romanian male’s last name could be Ștefan, Adrian or Victor, or end in a vowel that does not end in “–a” like Mihai, Andrei or Alexandru. There are some exceptions, though, like Mihnea and Mircea.
Almost every Romanian female’s name ends with an “–a” like Ioana, Ana, and Maria. However, there are exceptions like Carmen.
Another practice is to add ancestral suffixes like –eanu, -escu, -aru, and -anu, to name a few. This is added to the mothers’ or fathers’ names to take the lineage forward.
A popular Romanian last name addition, “–escu,” is added to the fathers’ name. Like for example, if the father is Ion, then his son will be Ionescu which translates to “Ion’s son.” There are also surname combinations that signify the country and ethnic origin.
Listed below are the Romanian surnames based on their popularity. These names are sourced from Roman heritage, romance, history, and tradition. These are also collated from the Romanian Orthodox calendar. The list also consists of names that have some Slavic influence. Going through the names and their meanings is sure to keep you enthralled and fascinated.
89 Romanian Last Names
- Popa
Popa means pastor, priest, or clergymen and is a variant of Popescu or the “son of a priest.” This is a typical Romanian last name.
Alina Popa is a well-known celebrity who was of a Romanian-Swiss origin and a popular IFBB professional bodybuilder.
- Radu
The word Radu comes from the word “Rad,” which means “happy” in old Slavic. This is also one of the oldest In the list of traditional Romanian surnames.
Alexandru Radu is a well-known Romanian football player.
- Stan
The word Stan translates to “grass lover.” The surname may be used to refer to someone who worships the “God of grass.” This common surname is even used in English.
Alexandra Stan is a notable person with this surname and is a well-known Romanian singer.
- Stoica
Not much is known about this surname, but it may be related to “Stoain”. It could have derived its roots from “stoic,” which means “detached or aloof.”
Alin Stoica is a well-known Romanian footballer.
- Rusu
Rusu in Romanian means “Russian,” which could have been used to refer to people who originated from Russia or if their ancestral bearers were from Russia. Rusu is also a common Moldavian last name.
Adrian Rusu is a famous Romanian football player.
- Mihai
Mihai is the Romanian name for Michael. The name is usually used as a first name, but some people use it as a surname as well.
- Ciobanu
Ciobanu comes from the word “cioban,” and it means “shepherd”. It is an occupational surname for the Romanian shepherd community. The Romanian name translates in its literal form to “the shepherd”. The name is also a popular Moldova last name.
Ilarion Ciobanu is a famous Romanian actor.
- Ionescu
The surname is used for the descendant or the son of a person who is called Ion. a common name among the Romanians; Ion is the spelling variant for the Hebrew name John in the English language.
Adrian Silvan Ionescu was a famous art critic and historian.
- Florea
Florea is derived from Floare from the Latin name Floris, Flos, and is a medieval period surname. The name is used as a Romanian last name and is also adopted by many as a masculine Romanian first name.
Daniel Florea is a popular Romanian footballer.
- Toma
The last name was derived originally from an Aramaic word, and it means twin. Toma could also be the version of Thomas in the Assyrian and European culture and a diminutive of Avtonom. Toma is also a female name that means date palm tree and is derived from Tamar, a name in the Hebrew Bible.
Alexandru Toma was a well-known Romanian journalist, poet, and translator.
- Munteanu
The word refers to “the one from the mountain.” It may also mean “descendant of one who comes from the mountain.” It could be used for a family lineage where mountaineering was the occupation or it could be a toponymic surname that is given to one who resides in the mountains.
It could also mean the one who belongs or comes from Muntenia or is a descendant of Muntenia. Muntenia is a region in Romania that lies in its south-central area. It lies on the eastern side of the Wallachia historical province.
The surname, when gets transliterated from the Russian language, is spelled as Muntyanu. It is a common name as a Moldova and Romanian surname and also means highlander.
Andreea Munteanu is a notable Romanian artistic gymnast with this surname.
- Vasile
Vasile is basically a Sicilian family name. Vasile means King in Greek. It is a male Romanian first name and is also used as a surname. Vasil is the equivalent of Basil in English.
Cristian Vasile was a famous Romanian tango-romance singer.
- Tudor
Tudor is a common surname derived from the name of the ancestor. Tudor is also the Welsh form of the Christian name Theodore. A popular Romanian name, Tudor is both a first name and a surname.
Adrian Tudor is a well-known basketball player from Romania.
- Sandu
Sandu or Alexandru is the Romanian version of Alexandar in Greek that means the “defender of humanity.”
Gabriel Sandu is a famous Romanian economist and politician.
- Moldovan
The last name was used by someone who is the descendant or son of one who belongs to Moldova. The surname has many variations which depend on the region or country that it originated from.
Moldova is situated in the eastern part of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. The entire Moldovan state in medieval times was called Bessarabia.
- Ungureanu
The Roman word for Hungarian could probably be the last name used in a family lineage of people who originally belonged to Hungary.
Emil Ungureanu is a notable Romanian chess player who shares this surname.
- Andrei
The Romanian form of Andrew originated from the Greek name Andreas which means “masculine” or “manly.”
- Barbu
The word means “bushy beard” in Romanian. Barba means beard, and barbat means the one with a beard. Barbu is a first name and surname used by male Romanians or could have been used as the male form of Barbara.
Alexandru Barbu is a well-known Romanian alpine skier.
- Neagu
Neagu is derived from the last name Nagy and is originally a family name of Hungary. It is Neagu in Romanian. Nagy was the last name that was given to someone big.
Dragoș Neagu shares this surname and is a retired Romanian rower.
- Lazara
Lazara is the one who belons to Lazara which is a village in Silleda in Pontevedra. It is a male Romanian name and surname.
Lazarescu or the “Son of Lazar” comes from Eleazar, which in Hebrew means “God has helped.” The short form of this name is popular in the Slavic language.
Costin Lazăr is a popular Romanian footballer.
- Enache
This is both a surname and a first name. The origin may be from “Menachem,” which in Hebrew means “comforter.”
Constantin Enache shares this surname and is a famous Romanian cross-country skier.
- Badea
Badea means older brother. It is also a common name for the Passiflora quadrangularis plant.
Christian Badea is a well-known Romanian-American symphonic and opera conductor.
- Stefan
In the Romanian version of Stephan, the last name is derived from Stephanos’ in Greek that means “crown or garland.” It is both the given name as well as the last name.
Iulian Teodor Ștefan is a renowned midfielder in football.
- Vlad
Vladislav’ in Slavic means the one who rules with glory. Vlad could probably have been derived by this name.
G. M. Vlădescu was a notable Romanian writer.
- Cojocaru
Derived from the word “cojoc,” which means “jacket” in Romanian, Cojocaru is an occupational surname given to a community that manufactures coats using sheepskin. The surname means one who makes a winter coat, typically using sheep or fur skin.
Alina Cojocaru shares this surname and is a Romanian ballet dancer.
- Voicu
Voicu is an old Romanian surname and was first mentioned during the reign of King Henry 1 of Hungary, who was named Voic or Voyk before he converted to Christianity. The work means “warrior” or “man.”
The Romanian surname is also believed to be derived from the Turkic word Bayk or Bajik, and it means powerful, rich, or a true man.
Bogdan Voicu is a former Romanian rugby union football player who shares this surname.
- Lupu
“Lup” means wolf, and the surname Lupu seems to be a cognate of this word.
Dan Lupu is a popular actor from Romania.
- Lungu
The word comes from “lung,” which means “long.” It is believed that the word was used to refer to someone who has long limbs and was tall.
Lungu’s is also a popular Lozi tribe surname and means April. Lungu is an Estonian village too.
Adrian Lungu is a Romanian rugby union player.
- Ioveanu
The surname means the “son of Ivan” or the gift of Jehovah. Ivan is derived from John that means “God is gracious” in Hebrew.
- Romanescu
The “son of Roman” the last name could have been used for the descendants of the Roman Empire. The surname belongs to Rome.
Marcel Romanescu was a well-known poet who belonged to Romania.
- Nicolescu
Meaning the “son of Nicolae,” this is a Romanian version of Nicholas, which in Greek means “victory of the people.”
Miron Nicolescu was a Romanian mathematician.
- Balan
The surname means “blond.” It is also a town in Romania, so the surname could be toponymic. It is an archaic word that is used for blonde people.
Bogdan Bălan was a rugby player from Romania.
- Stoian
Stoain comes from “Stoyan,” which in Bulgarian means “to stand”.
Daniel Stoian is a Romanian sprint canoer who shares this surname.
- Bucur
The name is derived from the word “bucurie,” which means delight, joy, and happiness in Romanian. The surname may also be a reference to Bucur, the legend, who is a shepherd and found Bucharest.
Alina Bucur is an American mathematician who was born in Romania.
- Luca
Not a very uncommon surname in Romania, Luca is derived from the word Luke which means “A man from Loucania” or Lucania, an ancient region in Italy.
Fănică Luca is a Romanian musician.
- Filip
Filip means a dweller of a plot, hayfield, or any newly cultivated land.
Simion Filip is a well-known Romanian and Moldovan mathematician.
- Marcus
Marcus is a masculine surname that traces its origin to pre-Christian and ancient Roman days. It is derived from Marce Etruscan, which could be a reference to the God of Mars.
Dănuț Marcu is a Romanian mathematician and scientist.
- Rotaru
Rotaru is a Romanian or Moldavian surname. It describes one who used to make or use wheels and thus is an occupational surname. The word Rotaru comes from Roata or wheel.
Alina Rotaru is a popular Romanian long jumper who uses this surname.
- Baciu
Derived from “baci” meaning shepherd, the word refers to the team’s captain in the game Oina, the traditional game of Romania.
Camil Baciu is a popular Romanian science fiction writer and journalist.
- Szabo
Szabo is a Hungarian name for someone who is a tailor. It is thus an occupational Romanian last name.
- Dan
A variant of Daniel, Dan in Hebrew, means “God is my judge”. There are, however, other parallels drawn to this surname as a reference to someone who comes from Denmark.
- Anton
The last name comes from the Son of Antony. It is derived from Antonius, which is the root name. It is believed that the name originally traces its history to Saxony.
Adina Anton is a famous Romanian long jumper.
- Bogdan
Made of two words from the Slavic language, “bogu” means God and “dan” means given. The surname in Romanian thus means “God-given” or God-gifted.
Ana Bogdan is a Romanian tennis player who shares this surname.
- Roşu
Rosu means “red” color in Romanian.
- Moraru
Moraru is a typical surname in Romania which means miller.
- Toader
The last name could be a short form for theos and Doron in Greek, which means God and gift, respectively, and thus form the word, Theodor. From here comes the Romanian surname Toader.
Adrian Toader was a Romanian football striker who shares the same surname.
- Albu
The word signifies “white” as it is derived from the root word “alb”.
Gheorghe Albu is a Romanian football player.
- Creţu
This surname comes from the word “cret,” which means “curly” and could have been originally given to those who possessed curly hair.
Michael Cretu is a popular Romanian-German musician.
- Olaru
Olaru is a potter in English. It is an occupational surname that indicates the pottery profession of the ancestors.
Costică Olaru shares this last name and is a popular Romanian canoer.
- Varga
The surname Varga was used for someone who used to make shoes and is a shoemaker. This is an occupational surname that has been passed down the lineage.
- Georgescu
The surname speaks about the Romanian descent for one who is the follower of George, the farmer.
Andrei Georgescu owns this surname, and he is a well-known soccer player.
- Ardelean
Derived from Ardeal, this is the name of the Transylvania region in Romania. Ardeal likely comes from “erdo,” which means forest in Hungarian.
Aurel Ardelean is a Romanian Senator.
- Zamfir
The word is a variant of “safir” or “sapphire” and belongs to those who traded or worked with jewels. Zamfir is used both as the first and the last name.
Cristina Zamfir is a popular Romanian handballer.
- Paun
Paun means the prettiest bird in the entire world and has the same meaning in Bosnia, Croatia, Hercegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro. This refers to the peacock. The ancient Greeks believed that the flesh of the peafowl does not decay after it dies. This is thought of as a symbol of immortality.
Georgian Păun uses this surname and is a Romanian footballer.
- Ursu
Ursu is derived from the Latin word “urs,” which means “bear.”
Adrian Ursu is a popular Romanian journalist.
- Barca
This Romanian surname has its roots in Italian and Spanish languages. It is a metonymic occupational surname given to the boat owner, shipbuilder, or sailor. It holds the meaning of a boat. You can choose this nickname if you like the tone of this name.
- Serban
You can choose this Romanian surname if you are from Serbia or have a Serbian heritage. It stems from the country Serbia. It’s a traditional surname. It holds the meaning of someone who is from Serbia. Choose it if you like it.
- Dobrin
The surname Dobrin has multiple origins as well as meanings. It originated from the Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and Romanian languages. Some say it came from the Old Slavic first name Dobrin, which means “kind.” Others say it is taken from the Old Slavic word “dobr,” which carries the meaning of forest.
- Ion
You can choose the Romanian surname Ion if you are into short surnames or last names. This three-letter surname has a posh vibe to it, and it sounds modern. It is rooted in the Scottish language and means that God is gracious.
Other Popular Romanian Last Names
- Albescu
The surname comes from the root word “alb,” which means “white” in the Romanian language.
- Aldea
The last name originates from the word “aldea,” which is a Spanish word and means “village.”
- Barbaneagra
The word translates literally in Romanian to “black beard.”
- Cazacu
The toponymic surname refers to the one who came from the region that lies along the Cazacu River.
- Craioveanu
Craiova is a city in Romania, and the last name means a person who belongs to Craiova. The surname is a toponymic referring to the one who traces his origin to this city.
- Dascălu
The root word Dascal means schoolmaster or teacher, and this is an occupational surname.
- Dragavei
The Romanian name is given to the “Curly dock plant.” Probably the surname was given to someone who owned or lived close to a farm that had the Curly dock plant.
- Eder
The last name could have come from the word “Eder,” which means beautiful or handsome, or from the Hebrew name, which means flock.
- Erner
Erner means “Siberian” in Romanian, preferably used for someone who comes from Siberia.
- Fieraru
This is an occupational surname that means “smith” in Romanian. It could be referred to as coppersmiths, blacksmiths, or goldsmiths.
- Fischer
The German word for fisherman, Fischer, is an occupational surname that could have originated in Germany and then migrated to Romania.
- Funar
The occupational surname is given to a rope maker or a person who makes ropes.
- Grosu
The last name comes from the word “gros” in Romania, which means coarse, stout, and thick.
- Hatmanu
This is an occupational surname given to people from medieval times that were of the same rank as a military general.
- Hofer
Hofer or steward in Romanian could also mean Sofer or chauffeur. Hofer in German means a house or a farm which is why the last name Hofer also draws parallels to an occupational surname.
- Maier
A Maier is a farmer, which makes this an occupational surname. There is an interesting origin of the word Maier or Mayer that means “administrator” in German.
- Mitrea
Mitrea is a cognate of the word “Mitra,” which symbolizes a headdress or a tall cap worn by senior priests and bishops.
- Nectaria
Nectaria is a sweet and soothing surname derived from the word nectar – the sweet juicy flower secretion.
- Net
Net comes from the Latin name Letus which means great or superior.
- Pichler
The last name symbolizes someone who lives by a hill.
- Reiter
Reiter comes from Reuter, which is derived from the word Riute in Middle High German and means “cleared land.” The name could also be used to refer to someone who lives on a cleared land.
- Sala
Sala means hall, large house, or chamber in Romanian and is an occupational surname given to those who were workers at the manor house.
- Segarceanu
One who traces his origin to the Romanian town Segarcea could be referred to with this last name.
- Skutnik
Scuti means exempted in Romanian, and the name could have been associated with the peasants or farmers who were exempted from paying some taxes.
- Suta
The word means left-handed in Romanian, probably given to those who are left-handed by nature.
- Tarniceriu
The occupational Romanian last name is given to those who repair or make saddles.
- Tecuceanu
The toponymic surname refers to someone who belongs to the Tecuci city in Romania.
- Vacarescu
The occupational surname is given to a cowherd descendant of the “son of a cowherd”. These are people who reared cows or worked in the cattle business.
- Weber
The occupational surname was used for those who were in the weaving business.
- Zugravescu
Derived from “zugravi” the word means to describe, depict or portray. The surname signifies the “son of the person who describes the past”.
Conclusion
Here we have listed some common and some rare Romanian surnames for baby boys and girls. Understand the history and meaning of each before you pick one. Trust me, and whichever the last name you choose, these Romanian surnames are sure to make you feel misto.
Hi, I am Claudia, I run TheQueenMomma’s content creation team, personally focusing on topics which add joy to people’s life. You would usually see me writing on topics like Jokes, Riddles, Truth & Dare as well as Baby Names etc.
In my professional career, I have a Bachelor’s and Master’s in sociology and specialize in media and crime. Once I finished my education, I began my career working as a journalist, reporting on various topics like crime, justice and family law. Even though I valued journalism, I came to the realization that I wanted to have a more immediate impact in people’s lives as well as bring joy to them.