We all know the creepy tales of Transylvania, but what do you know about Romanian last names? From the Black Sea to Bucharest, Romania is a vast country steeped in superstition and folklore. It also has rich traditions of winemaking and architecture and boasts stunning scenery, including one of the world’s most beautiful waterfalls.
There might be more to Romanian surnames than meets the eye, so we decided to bring you the best 131 examples to help you on your naming journey.
So, let’s take a look!
131 Wonderful Romanian Last Names
Forget Dracula and vampires and focus on the beauty of Transylvanian last names.
- Acheron – with hints of the underworld, this Greek name means “rivers of sorrow.”
- Albescu – some Romanian last names sound medieval, like Albescu, meaning “white.”
- Albu – derives from the Latin Albus, meaning “white.”
- Aldea – this Germanic name derives from Alda and means “old.”
- Aldonold – a traditional Romanian name meaning “friend.”
- Alnwick – taken from the Old English name, meaning “settlement on a clear river.”
- Ambrosia – a variant of the Greek Ambrosine, meaning “immortal.”
- Andrei – derived from the Greek Andreas, meaning “warrior, brave,” and “manly.”
- Ardelean – this habitational Romanian name means “someone from Transylvania.”
- Arnold – a masculine German, English, and Dutch name meaning “eagle, power” and “brightness.”
- Athanasia – another popular Romanian name derived from Greek, meaning “immortal.”
- Baciu – an occupational Romanian name meaning “leader of the shepherds.”
- Balan – of Romanian and Jewish origin, meaning “blond.”
- Bancroft – this English-sounding name means “dweller by the bean field.”
- Barbaneagra – this old Romani name means “black beard.”
- Barbu – a cool Romanian name meaning “beard.”
- Bathary – is derived from the Welsh patronymic name Bathory, meaning “son of.”
- Bogdan – this mix of Slavic and Romanian means “gift from God.”
- Bora – formed from the Hungarian word “borbala,” meaning “foreigner” and “stranger.”
- Botezatu – this religious name means “someone who baptizes” or “Christians at the church.”
- Bucur – related to the Romanian word “bucurie,” meaning “joy.”
- Camelia – this nature-inspired name means “helper to the priest.”
- Cazacu – a popular name in Bucharest, meaning “descendants of the Kazakhs.”
- Celeste – a beautiful girl’s name of Latin origin meaning “heavenly.”
- Cel Tradat – this Wallachian name means “the betrayed one.”
- Ciobanu – an occupational Romanian name meaning “shepherd” and “one who keeps or rears sheep.”
- Codrin – from the Romanian word “codru,” meaning “forest.”
- Cojocaru – another Slavic occupational name meaning “a furrier.”
- Coman – a rare Arabic name meaning “noble.”
- Cosma – derived from the Greek word “kosmos,” meaning “order” and “ordered universe.”
- Costea – a short form of the Roman Constantine, meaning “steadfast.”
- Craioveanu – possibly means “handsome warrior” or “descendant from the city of Craiova.”
- Cretu – a common Romanian surname like Cretu, means “Crete.”
- Crimson – a unisex Old English name derived from the Kermes insect, meaning “deep red.”
- Cristian – an alternate Romanian spelling of Christian, meaning “follower of Christ.”
- Crudo – this Italian name means “raw” and “harsh, severe.”
- Dalca – a cute Romanian name describing “lightning.”
- Dan – is the short form of the Hebrew boy’s name Daniel, meaning “God is my judge.”
- Darius – is of Persian origin, meaning “maintains possessions well.”
- Dascălu – this ancient Romanian name means “teacher.”
- Dobrin – derived from the Old Slavic “dobr,” meaning “good and kind.”
- Dorian – derived from an ancient Greek tribe and means “of Doris or Doros.”
- Dragavei – some Romanian surnames sound creepy, but Dragavei means “curly lock plant.”
- Dragos – a classic Romanian vampire name meaning “dear” and “beloved.”
- Dumitru – similar to the Greek Demetrious, meaning “devoted to the goddess Demeter.”
- Eder – in Hebrew, it means “the flock” and “handsome or beautiful” in Basque/Spanish.
- Enache – of Romanian origin, meaning “descendant of Ene.”
- Erner – an occupational Yiddish name meaning “pail bucket” and “swift” in Irish.
- Fieraru – some Romanian family names describe an occupation – means “blacksmith.”
- Fischer – sticking with the Romanian occupational theme, Fischer means “fisherman.”
- Floarea – for kids with a connection to nature, Floarea means “flower.”
- Funar – another Romanian occupational word meaning “rope maker.”
- Georgescu – a popular name in Romania meaning “descendant or follower of George (farmer).”
- Grigorescu – after the Armenian Saint Gregory the Illuminator – means “son of Grigore (Gregory).”
- Gheata – the perfect name for cool kids; Gheata means “ice” in Romanian.
- Grosu – a quirky Romanian name meaning “stout, coarse” and “bulky.”
- Hatmanu – a high-ranking occupational name meaning “general” in Romanian.
- Hofer – of German and Romanian origin, meaning “steward, farmhouse” or “courtyard.
- Iliescu – continuing the patronymic name theme – means “son of Ilie.”
- Ionescu – “scu” denotes a descendant name, like Ionescu, meaning “son/descendant of Ion.”
- Iordanescu – you guessed it, Iordanescu means “son of Iordan.”
- Ioveanu – more patronymic Romanian last names – means “son of Ivan.”
- Ivan – of Slavic, Russian, and Hebrew origin, meaning “God is gracious.”
- Jura – this Romanian name is of Old Norse origin and means “deer island.”
- Kotzur – is thought to derive from the German word “kotze,” meaning “coarse woolen garment.”
- Laurentiu – derived from the Roman name Laurentius, meaning “from Laurentum.”
- Lazarescu – this Hebrew-inspired name means “descendant or son of Lazarus.”
- Luca – a gender-neutral name of Italian and Romanian origin, meaning “bringer of light.”
- Luminita – of Romanian origin, meaning “little light.”
- Lungu – derived from the Latin “longus,” meaning “tall.”
- Lupei – derived from the Latin “lupus,” meaning “wolf.”
- Lupu – is similar to Lupei, with the same meaning and origin.
- Maga – a cool relationship name derived from the Germanic “māge,” meaning “blood relative.”
- Magar – of Armenian origin, meaning “lucky.”
- Maier/Mayer – this common German/Romanian surname means “farmer, bright” and “greater.”
- Maranda – derived from the Latin Mirandus, meaning “admirable and wonderful.”
- Marcu – a Romanian version of the Latin Marcus, meaning “follower of/or dedicated to Mars.”
- Matei – from the Hebrew “mattath,” meaning “gift of God.”
- Merica – possibly a derivative of America or from the Latin “meredies,” meaning “midday” or “south.”
- Mitrea – an uncommon Romanian name meaning “administrator.”
- Miu – possibly a derivative of Mihaj, meaning “who is like God” in Hebrew.
- Moldovan – a bad boy Romanian name meaning “son of or descendant of one from Moldova.”
- Morar – an occupational Romanian name meaning “miller.”
- Muller – similar to Morar, this German family name means “miller.”
- Munteanu – with Romanian and Moldovan influence, meaning “highlander.”
- Murga – a Romanian nickname for someone with “dark skin or hair.”
- Nastase – a popular family name derived from the Greek Anastasios, meaning “resurrection.”
- Naum – derived from the Hebrew Nahum, meaning “consolation” and “comfort.”
- Nectaria – from the Greek name Nektary, meaning “of nectar.”
- Negus – a version of the personal name Neagu, meaning “to care for” or “to nurse.”
- Nicolae/Niculaie – derived from the Greek Nikolaos, meaning “victory of the people.”
- Nicolescu – similar to Nicolae, meaning “son of Nicolae.”
- Olarescu – continuing the “son of” theme, this name means “son of Olaru.”
- Oprea – this commanding Romanian name means “to stop” or “halt.”
- Pekrul – possibly of Polish and German origin, meaning “spear maker.”
- Petrea – a Romanian version of the Greek Peter, meaning “rock” or “stone.”
- Pichler – a Bavarian topographical/habitational name meaning “dweller who lives near a hill.”
- Popa – derived from the Greek “pappas,” meaning “father” – Popa means “priest of the Orthodox church.”
- Popescu – this patronymic Romanian name means “son of a priest.”
- Radu – a classic royal name meaning “happy” and “glad.”
- Reiter – derived from the High German “riter,” meaning “rider” or “mounted soldier.”
- Romanescu – some Transylvanian last names are patronymic, like Romanescu, meaning “son of Roman.”
- Roşu – from the Latin Roseus, meaning “red.”
- Rusu – a quirky Romanian name meaning “the Russian.”
- Sala – of Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese origin, meaning “at a hall or manor.”
- Sandu – derived from the ancient Greek Alexandros, meaning “defender of mankind.”
- Sarafin – possibly derived from the Hebrew Serafim, meaning “fiery.”
- Schmidt – an occupational German name popular in Romania, meaning “smith.”
- Sebastian – from the Latin Sebastianus, meaning “venerable” and “revered.”
- Segarceanu – after the Romanian town, meaning “from Segarcea.”
- Serban – a Hungarian/Romanian name meaning “serf” or “slave.”
- Skutnik – some Romanian names are used as insults, like Skutnik, meaning “disgust.”
- Stan – is a short form of the Slavic Stanislav, meaning “become or stay.”
- Stanislav – the long form of Stan with the same meaning and origin.
- Stefan – the Romanian form of Stephen and Stephanos, meaning “garland” and “crown.”
- Stoian – derived from the Bulgarian Stoyan, meaning “to stand, stay” and “remain.”
- Stoica – a perfect Romanian surname for “stoic” kids.
- Suta – an unusual Romanian name given to people who use their “left hand” for their work.
- Tarniceriu – according to some, it means “powerful, capable” and “perfectionist.”
- Tecuceanu – after the city, it means “inhabitant of Tecuci.”
- Ungureanu – this Romanian surname refers to a “Hungarian man” and relates to spooky Transylvania.
- Vacarescu – a Romanian surname given to “cow herders” and means “descendant of a cow herder.”
- Vaduva – meaning “widow,” this Romanian name is uncommon.
- Vasile – a regal Romanian name that means “king” or “royal.”
- Vero – of Italian and Romanian origin, meaning “truth” and “real truth.”
- Vlad – a scary Romanian name from horror literature, meaning “glorious rule.”
- Vulpe – a classic gypsy name meaning “fox.”
- Weber – of German origin, this occupational name means “weaver.”
- Zamfir – the perfect name for your little gem – means “sapphire.”
- Zimbrean – some Transylvanian surnames are animal-inspired, like Zimbrean, meaning “a bison.”
- Zugravescu – this unusual Romanian surname means “son of the one who depicts or portrays the past.”
