Many Romanian surnames Have the suffix -scu or (less commonly) -aşcu or -ăscu that corresponds to the Latin suffix -isus and means"to belong to the people". For example, Petrescu used to be the son of Petre.
Similar suffixes such as -asco, -asgo, -esque, -ez, etc. Are present in other languages derived from Latin. Many Romanians in France changed this end of their surnames to -esco, because the way in which it is pronounced in French is better approximated to the Romanian pronunciation of -scu.
Gica Popescu, possessor of a great football talent and one of the most common Romanian surnames
Another long suffix in Romanian surnames is -anu (or -an, -anu), which indicates the geographical origin. Some examples: Moldoveanu / Moldovanu,"from Moldavia", Munteanu"from the mountains", Jianu"from the Jiu river region", Pruteanu,"Prut river", Mureşanu,"Mureş river", Petreanu Son of Petre").
Other suffixes present in the Romanian surnames are -aru (or oru, -ar, -or), indicating an occupation (as Feraru means"locksmith", Morar"miller") and -ei, usually preceded by A- in front Of a female name, which is a feminine genitive inherited from the latib. Examples, Amariei meaning"of Mary", Aelenei"of Elena".
These surnames with matrilineal roots are common in the historical region of Moldova. The most common surnames are Pop / Popa ("the priest"). Nearly 200,000 Romanians have this surname. Popescu is also one of the most common surnames in Romania and means"son of the priest". Nearly 150,000 Romanians have this last name.
Most Common Romanian Surnames
Adam : Last name English, French, German, Polish, Romanian, Jewish. Derived from the name Adam.
Albert : English, French, Catalan, Hungarian, Romanian, German. Derived from the name Albert.
Albescu : Romanian surname. Derived from Romanian"alb"which means"white".
Albu : Romanian surname. Of"alb"which in Romanian means"white".
Alexandrescu : Romanian. It means"son of Alexandru".
Anghelescu : Romanian. It means"son of Anghel".
Antonescu : Romanian. It means"son of Anton".
Ardelean : Romanian. From the Romanian region of Ardeal, also called Transylvania. It is possibly derived from the Hungarian erdo, meaning"forest".
Balan : Romanian. It means"blond"in Romanian.
Cojocaru : Romanian. From Romanian cojoc meaning"sheepskin". This was the professional name for a manufacturer of these coats.
Constantin : Romanian. From the name Constantin
Constantinescu : Romanian. It means"son of Constantin."
Dalca : Romanian. Romanian dalca means"lightning".
Dumitrescu : Romanian. It means"son of Dimitru".
Dumitru : Romanian. Derived from the name Dumitro.
Run : Romanian. Romanian name meaning"rope maker".
Gabor : Romanian. Unknown meaning. Possibly of the Rumanian Gabor, which is a working class of gypsies.
Grigorescu : Romanian. It means"son of Grigore".
Iliescu : Romanian. It means"son of Ilie".
Ionesco : Romanian. Variant of Ionescu. The French-Rumanian playwright Eugène Ionesco is a famous bearer of this surname.
Ionescu : Romanian. It means"son of Ion".
Lungu : Romanian. Long County.
Lupei : Romanian. De lup, which in Romanian means"wolf".
Negrescu : Romanian. Derived from the Romanian negru"negro". It means"son of a person with black hair".
Nicolescu : Romanian. It means"son of Nicolae."
Petran : Romanian. From the Romanian name Petre.
Petrescu : Romanian. It means"son of Petre".
Popescu : Romanian. It means"son of the priest". Derived from the Slavic word pop.
Living room : Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Romanian. It means"worker in a manor house"
Erner : Romanian. It means"Serbian"in Romanian.
Ungur : Romanian. Romanian form of Ungaro.
Vaduva : Romanian. From Romanian vãduvã meaning"widow".
Vasile : Romanian. Derived from the name Vasile.
Vasilescu : Romanian. It means"son of Vasile".
Vladimirescu : Romanian. It means"son of Vladimir".
Creţu : Romanian. ("Creţ"= curly hair,"creţul"= the curly hair)
Grosu : Romanian. "Gros"means thick and"grosul", the thickness.
Roşu : Romanian. It means"red", and"roşul"means"red".
Dascălu : Romanian. "Dascăl"means teacher and"dascălul"means"the teacher".
Craioveanu : Romanian. Craiova is a city in Romania. Craioveanu means"person of Krakow".
Stoian : Surname Romanian and Bulgarian. Derived from the Bulgarian Stoyan.
Stoica : Romanian surname. Its meaning is believed to be associated with"Stoic".
Radu : Romanian surname. Surnames beginning with"Rad"are associated with"happy, willing". Radu was the name of a thirteenth-century ruler of Wallachia.
Enache : It is a name and also a Romanian surname. It is believed to be a surname that originates from the Hebrew name Menachem, meaning"the one who consoles".
Mocanu : It is a Romanian female and male name and is also a surname.
Sandu : It is a name and also a Romanian surname. It means"defender of humanity". It is a diminutive of"Alexandru".
Stefan : Last name German, Austrian, Romanian. It originated in Prussia. It derives from the Greek"Stephanos"meaning"crown". There are many versions of this surname in the Middle Ages associated with the saint and martyr St. Stephen.
Lazar : Last name German, French, Ukrainian, Italian, Romanian. It derives from the Aramaic name Lazarus, which is the Hebrew form of the name Eleazar. The name means"God has helped".
Andrei : Surname Romanian, Russian, French. Variants of the surname Andre, Andrea, Andrée, Andrey, Andress, Andriss, Andri and Anders, derives from the personal name Andrés, that comes from the Greek name"Andreas", a derivative of"anderios"that means"manly". The surname was first registered in the early 13th century and the forms"Andre"and"Andreu"also originated at that time.
Bogdan : It is a name and also a Romanian surname that means"gift of God". It is also a common name and surname in Moldovia.
Olarescu : Romanian surname. It means"Son of Olaru"
Cosmescu : Romanian surname. It means"son of Cosme."
Florescu : Romanian surname. It derives from the word"Florea"which means"flower"and is a feminine name in Romania. It means"Child of Flower".
Hagi : It is a surname of Persian origin common in Romania.
Gica Hagi, mythical Romanian player.
Iancolescu : Romanian surname. It is a common surname, have registered approximately 200 thousand people with this surname in Romania.
Ioveanu : Romanian surname. It means"Son of Ivan". Ivan means"Man with divine blessing."
Kazaku : It is a Russian surname, also common in Moldova.
Luca : Italian, French, Croatian, Ukrainian, Romanian surname. Derived from the ancient Greek name"Loucas", meaning"man from Lucania"formerly a region of Italy. The Latin form of the name, Luke, was a great personal favorite in the Middle Ages, due in part to the popularity of St. Luke the Evangelist.
I killed : Romanian surname whose origin is associated with the name Mateo.
References
- Campbell, M. (2002). Romanian Surnames. 18-3-2017, retrieved from behindthename.com.
- Gioa, M. (2011). Why do most Romanian last names end in"escu"or"u"?. 18-3-2017, retrieved from quora.com.
- Sagani, A. (2004). Romanian surnames Radu and Stoica. 18-3-2017, retrieved from behindthename.com.
- House of names Archive. (2000-2017). Stefan surname. 18-3-2017, retrieved from houseofnames.com.
- Name Origin Research. (1980-2017). Last name: Andrei. 18-3-2017, retrieved from surnamedb.com.
- Nameslist Editors. (2014). Meaning of Florescu. 18-3-2017, from namelist.org.