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Eastern Europe and the Baltics

Romanian names

74 names used by Romanian families, arranged by the age in which each first appears, oldest first.

AllGirlsBoys

The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100

ClaudiaGirlLatin, feminine of the Roman family name Claudius, usually linked to claudus 'lame'.Biblical · peak 1952

CorneliusBoyFrom a Roman family name, perhaps derived from cornu 'horn'; the origin is uncertain.Biblical · peak 1882

Ancient Rome750 BC to AD 476

AdrianBoyFrom Latin Hadrianus 'from Hadria', a town in northern Italy that gave its name to the Adriatic Sea.Rome · peak 2008

AemilianusBoyDerived from Aemilius, used for someone adopted out of or connected to the Aemilian family.Rome

AureliaGirlFeminine of Aurelius, a Roman family name possibly from a Sabine word for the sun; the link to aurum 'gold' is a…Rome · peak 2020

AureliusBoyRoman family name. Ancient grammarians said the family was originally the Auselii, from a Sabine word for the sun;…Rome

ClaudiusBoyRoman family name; ancient writers linked it to claudus 'lame', which is not proven. The family was of Sabine origin.Rome

ConstantinusBoyDerived from constans 'steadfast, constant'.Rome

CorneliaGirlFeminine of Cornelius, a Roman family name of uncertain origin.Rome · peak 1883

DecebalBoyName of the last king of Dacia, known through Latin and Greek sources; its meaning is unknown.Rome · forgotten

FeliciaGirlFeminine of Felix 'lucky, happy'.Rome · peak 1986

FlaviaGirlFeminine of Flavius, from flavus 'golden, yellow-haired'.Rome · peak 1884

FlaviusBoyRoman family name from flavus 'golden, yellow-haired'.Rome

FlorentinusBoyDerived from Florens 'flowering, flourishing'.Rome

LaviniaGirlName of the legendary wife of Aeneas, linked to the town Lavinium; its origin is unknown.Rome · peak 1886

LiviaGirlFeminine of the Roman family name Livius, of uncertain origin; possibly from lividus 'bluish'. It is not a short…Rome · peak 2018

LiviusBoyRoman family name of uncertain origin, possibly from lividus 'bluish'.Rome

LucianusBoyDerived from Lucius.Rome

MarianusBoyDerived from Marius. Christians later associated it with the Virgin Mary.Rome

MariusBoyRoman family name of uncertain origin, possibly from Mars or from mas 'male'. It is not related to Maria.Rome · peak 1881

OctavianusBoyAdoptive name derived from Octavius, ultimately from Octavus 'eighth'.Rome

OvidiusBoyRoman family name, possibly from ovis 'sheep'; not proven.Rome

TatianaGirlFrom the Roman family name Tatius, borne by the Sabine king Titus Tatius; the meaning of Tatius itself is unknown.Rome · peak 1999

TraianBoyFrom the Roman family name Traianus, of uncertain meaning.Rome

ValeriusBoyRoman family name from valere 'to be strong, healthy'.Rome

VergiliusBoyRoman family name of unknown, possibly Etruscan, origin. The medieval spelling Virgilius came from folk links to…Rome · forgotten

The Early Middle Ages400 to 800

MariaGirlFrom Hebrew Miryam, of uncertain meaning; many explanations ('bitter', 'beloved', an Egyptian root) have been…Early Medieval · peak 1966

ParaskeviGirlGreek paraskeuē, 'preparation', the Greek name for Friday, the day of preparation before the Sabbath.Early Medieval

The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450

AncaGirlA Romanian diminutive of Ana, from Hebrew Hannah 'grace, favour'.Middle Ages

BasarabBoyName of the founder of the Wallachian ruling house; probably of Cuman (Turkic) origin, sometimes explained as…Middle Ages · forgotten

BiancaGirlFrom Italian bianco 'white', a word of Germanic origin (blank 'bright, white').Middle Ages · peak 1991

BogdanBoyFrom Slavic bog 'god' and dan 'given': 'given by God'.Middle Ages

ConstantinBoyFrom Latin Constantinus, from constans 'steadfast'.Middle Ages

DanBoyIn Romania the name goes back to the 14th-century prince Dan I; its origin is uncertain, possibly a Slavic short…Middle Ages · peak 1958

DespinaGirlFrom Greek despoina 'lady, mistress', used of the Virgin Mary.Middle Ages · peak 1976

DragoșBoyFrom the Slavic root drag 'dear, beloved'.Middle Ages

DumitruBoyFrom Greek Demetrios 'of Demeter'.Middle Ages

EcaterinaGirlFrom Greek Aikaterine, whose origin is unknown; the link to katharos 'pure' is a later folk etymology.Middle Ages

ElenaGirlA form of Helen, from Greek Helenē; the meaning is uncertain, and the popular 'torch' or 'light' link is unproven.Middle Ages · peak 2020

GheorgheBoyFrom Greek georgos 'farmer, earth-worker'.Middle Ages

IancuBoyA Romanian diminutive of Ioan (John), from Hebrew Yohanan 'God is gracious'.Middle Ages · forgotten

IleanaGirlA Romanian form of Helen; the origin of Greek Helene is unknown.Middle Ages · peak 1991

IoanaGirlFeminine of Ioan (John), from Hebrew Yohanan 'God is gracious'.Middle Ages

IonBoyFrom Hebrew Yohanan 'God is gracious'.Middle Ages

IrinaGirlFrom Greek Eirene 'peace'.Middle Ages · peak 2019

LucaBoyFrom Latin Lucas, Greek Loukas, 'man from Lucania'.Middle Ages · peak 2020

MihaiBoyFrom Hebrew Mikha'el 'who is like God?'.Middle Ages

MirceaBoyProbably from Slavic mir 'peace, world', as a short form of names such as Miroslav.Middle Ages

NeaguBoyOf uncertain origin; connected either with Romanian negru 'black' or with Slavic names in neg- 'tenderness'.Middle Ages · forgotten

OanaGirlA Romanian short form of Ioana, from Hebrew Yohanan 'God is gracious'.Middle Ages

PetruBoyFrom Greek petros 'stone'.Middle Ages

RaduBoyFrom the Slavic root rad 'glad, happy'.Middle Ages

StancaGirlFeminine counterpart of Stan, a short form of Slavic names in stan- 'to stand, become'.Middle Ages · forgotten

StefanBoyFrom Greek stephanos 'crown, wreath'.Middle Ages · peak 1991

TudorBoyA Romanian form of Theodore, from Greek theos 'god' and doron 'gift'.Middle Ages

VasileBoyFrom Greek basileios 'royal'.Middle Ages

VladBoyFrom the Slavic root vlad 'rule', as a short form of names such as Vladislav.Middle Ages

VoicaGirlFeminine name from the Slavic root voi 'war, warrior'.Middle Ages · forgotten

The Renaissance1400 to 1600

AdrianaGirlFeminine of Hadrianus, 'from Hadria'.Renaissance · peak 2006

DomnicaGirlProbably from Latin dominica 'of the Lord', also the word for Sunday.Renaissance · forgotten

RuxandraGirlA Romanian form of Roxana, from Old Iranian, usually explained as 'bright, shining'.Renaissance

SmarandaGirlFrom Greek smaragdos 'emerald'.Renaissance · forgotten

ZamfiraGirlOf uncertain origin; often traced through Greek to Sapphira and the word for 'sapphire', but this is not settled.Renaissance · forgotten

Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914

DorianBoyFrom Greek Dōrios, 'of the Dorians', a Greek people.Victorian · peak 2000

FloareaGirlFrom Romanian floare 'flower', from Latin flos.Victorian · forgotten

HoriaBoyFrom the nickname of Horea (Vasile Ursu Nicola), leader of the 1784 Transylvanian peasant revolt; the nickname is…Victorian

The Modern Age1880 to today

AlinaGirlOf several origins: often a short form of Adelina or Albina, and in some regions linked to other names; no single…Modern · peak 2019

AndreeaGirlFeminine of Andrei, from Greek andreios 'manly'.Modern

CristianBoyThe Spanish and Romanian form of Christian, from Latin christianus 'follower of Christ'.Modern · peak 1996

DoinaGirlFrom Romanian doină, a traditional lyrical folk song.Modern

MihaelaGirlFeminine of Mihail, from Hebrew Mikha'el 'who is like God?'.Modern

RodicaGirlOf uncertain origin; often connected with rod 'fruit' or a related Slavic root.Modern · forgotten

SânzianaGirlFrom the Sânziene, fairies of Romanian midsummer folklore; the word is usually derived from Latin Sancta Diana.Modern · forgotten

VioricaGirlA diminutive of Romanian viorea, a name for small spring flowers such as the violet or squill.Modern · forgotten

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.