Romania Naming Customs

Online Tools

 * Romania Surname Distribution Map
 * Given Name Equivalents This table, based on the resource Słownik imion, alphabetizes names in Latin, with equivalents in other languages, including Romanian.
 * Behind the Name: Romanian Surnames
 * Behind the Name: Romanian Given Names

Surnames

 * Like in most of Europe, in Romania it is customary for a child to take the father's surname, and a wife her husband's surname. In cases where paternity is not established, the child takes the mother's surname. The law however is flexible, allowing for the couple to choose their family name, and thus the surname they would use for all their children.
 * Until the 19th century, the names were primarily of the form "(given name) (father's name) (grandfather's name)".
 * The name reform' introduced around 1850 had the names changed to a western style consisting of a given name followed by a family name (surname).
 * Many Romanian names are derivative forms obtained by the addition of some traditional Romanian suffixes, such as -escu, -ăscu, -eanu, -anu, -an, -aru, -atu, or -oiu. These uniquely Romanian suffixes strongly identify ancestral nationality.
 * Historically, when the family name reform was introduced in the mid-19th century, the default was to use a patronym, or a matronym when the father was dead or unknown. '''A typical derivation was to append the suffix -escu to the father's name, e.g. Ionescu ("Ion's child") and Petrescu ("Petre's child").
 * Another common derivation was to append the suffix -eanu or the simpler forms -anu and -an to the name of a place, river, village, or region, e.g. Ardeleanu (from Ardeal), Moldoveanu (from Moldova), Mureșanu (from Mureș), Sadoveanu etc. (cognate to Italian -(i)ano). They may indicate a country or ethnic origin (e.g. Grecu - from Greece, Ungureanu - from Hungary, Rusu - from Russia).
 * The suffix -cea (as in Mihalcea, Grigorcea, Neculcea, Oncea, etc.) is Slavic. Furthermore, the Slavic influence on Romanian has manifested itself by way of the emergence of Romanian surnames of Slavic origin (as in Bucinschi, Chirilov, Covaci, Levandovschi, Marcovici, Novac, etc.).
 * There are also descriptive family names derived from occupations or nicknames, e.g. Ciobanu/Păcuraru ("shepherd"/"pitch-maker/pitch-vendor"), Croitoru ("tailor"), Fieraru ("smith"), Moraru ("miller"), Bălan ("blond"), Țăranu ("villager") etc.
 * Also some Romanian surnames come from various animals and plants, most probably being former nicknames, with or without the addition of various suffixes, e.g. Bourean(u) ("ox"), Căpreanu ("goat"), Jderoiu ("marten"), Lupu ("wolf"), Ursu ("bear"), Zimbrean ("bison"), Vidraru ("otter").
 * Some surnames come from colors: e.g. Roșu (Red), Negru (Black), Albu (White).

Surname Changes of Immigrants in the United States
As Immigrants moved into English-speaking countries, their surnames were impacted in a variety of ways.


 * Most of the time the surname spelling changed to accommodate the different phonetic spelling in the English language. In other words, the recorder tried to write the name the way he heard it.
 * Surnames may also have been translated outright into English, sometimes with a slight twist.
 * Within the community, such as the local parish, immigrants may continue to use the original name, while at the same time using English-language equivalents when dealing with local government, census takers, and other English speakers.
 * Different branches of the same family may adopt various surname spellings.
 * Prior to 1900, formal surname changes documented in local court records are relatively rare.
 * During the early 20th Century, especially the World War I era, surname changes are recorded more frequently, as immigrants or, more often, their children, tried to adopt more neutral surnames.

Given Names

 * Romanians have one, two or more given names, e.g. Ana Cristina Maria (three given names), all being chosen by the child's parents.
 * One of them, usually the first, is used in daily life while the others are solely for official documents, such as birth, marriage, or death certificates.
 * Traditionally, most people were given names from the Romanian Orthodox calendar of saints.
 * The most common name, Maria, is the equivalent of Mary. Maria has led to many closely related names such as Mariana, Marioara, Maricica, Maricela, Măriuca, Mara, Marina, Marilena, Marieta, Marinela, Marisa, Marița, Marusia, Mia, Mioara.
 * Roman heritage is reflected in Roman given names such as Traian (Trajan), Titus, Marius, Octavian, Ovidiu (Ovid), Aurel (Aurelius), Cornel (Cornelius) etc. Such names are common especially in Transylvania.
 * During the 'Hungarian rule of Transylvania, a policy of Magyarization encouraged the translation of personal names into Hungarian. Adopting Classical Roman names with a difficult equivalence in Hungarian was a method of Romanian nationalist resistance.
 * Some names are inspired from nature, such as Sorin/Sorina (soare, "sun"), Codruț/Codruța or Codrin/Codrina (codru, "woods"), or flowers: Crin/Crina, Narcis/Narcisa, Viorel/Viorica, Anemona, Brândușa, Camelia, Iolanda, Lăcrămioara etc. The word floare ("flower") has led to several names such as Florin/Forina, Florentin/Florentina, Florian/Floriana, Florica, Floarea,.
 * Traditional Romanian names which come from Romanian words include Doina which means "doina", a traditional Romanian musical tune style, or Luminița, meaning "little light", from the word "lumină" (light). The name Lăcrămioara refers to the name of a flower (lily of the valley), but also means "little tear", from the word "lacrimă" (tear). Crenguța means "little branch", from the word "creangă" (branch).
 * Slavic influence on Romanian is present at all linguistic levels, including names. These include names containing the Slavic root -mir. Examples of Slavic names in Romanian include Mircea, Tihomir, Vladimir, Miroslav, Casimir.
 * Some common names are the names born by historical rulers (domnitori/voievozi), such Ștefan (Ștefan cel Mare), Mihai (Mihai Viteazu), Mircea (Mircea cel Bătrân), Vlad (Vlad Țepeș), Rareș (Petru Rareș), although not all parents make such associations, especially when the name in that of a Christian saint.
 * Alexandru/Alexandra are very common names. They also include the variants of Alex, Alexia, Alexandrina, or the 'foreign' variants of Alessia, Alessandra, Alexa (see below).
 * Romanian male given names end in a consonant or in any vowel other than -a with a few exceptions.
 * Almost all female names end in -a.

Słownik imion (Dictionary of names)
In many Romanian records, given names are translated into Latin, German, or Hungarian. One of the best resources to identify the Romanian (or other language) version of a Latin name is the Słownik imion, or dictionary of names. This information has been indexed into a searchable online table. A digital copy of the book is available online. An index to all variant names is located at the back of the book.

For Further Reading

 * A GUIDE TO NAMES AND NAMING PRACTICES, UK Names Guide

FamilySearch Library
Additional sources are listed in the FamilySearch Catalog: