This is a list of the origins of the names of counties of Romania. Many of the etymologies are Romanian interpretations of Slavonic names (e.g.: Gorj and Dolj), as the administration documents in the Middle Ages Romanian Principalities (Wallachia and Moldavia) were written in this language.
| County name | Language of origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Alba | Romanian (Latin) |
Named after the city of Alba-Iulia ("The white city of Julius/(the) Gyula; also Gyulafehérvár, "White castle of (the) Gyula; also Bălgrad, "White city" in several Slavic languages), probably from the white colour of the city walls. |
| Arad | Hungarian | Named after the city of Arad, formerly Urod (11th century) after the name of a Hungarian knight, probably from the root ur meaning lord, meaning a place, which belongs to your (-od/today:ad) lord (úr). |
| Argeş | Dacian | Named after the Argeş River, in ancient times Argessos, probably meaning "shiny". |
| Bacău | Latin | Named after the city of Bacău, in ancient times known as Bacovia, meaning "the road of Bachus". The area was an important source of wine for the romans. |
| Bihor | Slavic | From vihor (whirlwind) |
| Bistriţa-Năsăud | Slavic and German | Named after Bistriţa (Slavic, "rapid"), a city and river and the city of Năsăud (German Nussdorf, "walnut tree village") |
| Botoşani | Romanian (Mongolian) |
Several possible origins: botoş (tick), botos (big-mouthed), botoşei (booties) and where Batu Khan split a part of his armies, invading what is now the northern Balkans, Hungary, Austria and Bohemia. "Batu", also pronounced "Botu", means "firm" in the Mongolian language. |
| Braşov | Uncertain, possibly Slavic | Possibly from baras, fortress. |
| Brăila | Turkish | Turkish origin from the proper name "Ibrail". Among the earlier names are Ibraila, Brilago, Uebereyl, Brailov. |
| Bucureşti | Romanian (Dacian) |
From Bucur, personal name meaning "joyful", cognate with Albanian bukur (beautiful), assumed to be of Thraco-Dacian origin. |
| Buzău | Greek | Greek origin from Μουσαίος (Mousaios), the original name of the city of Buzău. |
| Caraş-Severin | Turkish and Slavic | Named after the Caraş River (Turkish Kara, "dark, black") and Turnu Severin (Romanian, "Northern Tower": turn is borrowed from German Türm, "tower"; severin is an Slavic word meaning "Northern"). |
| Călăraşi | Romanian (Latin) |
From călăraş, a military auxiliary corps of cavalry during the Middle Ages in Wallachia. The word derives out of Romanian călare (riding), itself from cal (horse), Romanian cognate of Latin caballus. |
| Cluj | German or Latin | From the first part of Cluj-Napoca, deriving either from German Klause, "Mountain pass" or Latin clusium, "enclosing", referring to the surrounding hills. |
| Constanţa | Latin | Named after Constanţa. The city, originally called Tomis, was renamed Constantiana by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, in honor of his sister, Flavia Julia Constantia. |
| Covasna | Slavic | From cvaz, "sour", referring to the taste of the mineral waters in the area. |
| Dâmboviţa | Uncertain, possibly Slavic | Named after the Dâmboviţa River, of unknown etymology. |
| Dolj | Slavic | From Dolu Jiu, the Jiu of the valley. The Jiu river flows through the county. |
| Galaţi | Cuman (Arabic) |
From gala(t), borrowedto Arabic qal'at (fortress) (also, an unsourced speculation, ascribe the origin to a certain Galatian celtic tribe) |
| Giurgiu | Unknown, possibly Italian |
Possibly from Rossy vel Jargo, Jurcova or Zorio. (see external link). Possibly named after Giurgiu as the Genoese in the 14th century named it after San Giorgio, the patron of their city. |
| Gorj | Slavic | From Gora Jiu, "Jiu of the mountains". The Jiu river flows through the county. |
| Harghita | Uncertain | Possibly related to "Argeş" (Argessos), but the peculiar phonetic form indicates that there was an unknown intermediary language that was not Romanian, Hungarian or Slavic, possibly some form of Sarmatian or Scythian. |
| Ialomiţa | Slavic | Named after the Ialomiţa river (Slavic jalov, "barren"). |
| Iaşi | Possibly Sarmatian | Named after the Sarmatian Iazygi which lived in the 1st century. However, this does not explain the existence of other localities called Iaşi throughout Romania. |
| Ilfov | Slavic | Named after the Ilfov River, from Slavic "Elhovo" meaning "Alder" (Alnus glutinosa). |
| Maramureş | Dacian (probably) |
From mara, derived from mal, "shore", and mureş, "murky". |
| Mehedinţi | Romanian (Latin) |
From the town of Mehadia, possibly be derived from the ancient Latin name of the colony: Ad mediam ("in the middle"). Mehedinţi might also come from Mehadianţi, as -ianţiu/-ianţu is a common ending for family names in the area. |
| Mureş | Latin | Named after the Mureş river, in Latin Maris ("murky"). |
| Neamţ | Romanian (Slavic) |
Namd after Piatra Neamţ, neamţ means "German" (from Slavic nemeti). The Teutons built a fortress there to protect the Bicaz Pass, which leads to Transylvania |
| Olt | Dacian | Named after the Olt river, known to the Dacians as Alutus (etymology unknown). The initial "o" could indicate a Slavic intermediary. |
| Prahova | Slavic | Named after the Prahova river. Prahova derives either from prag ("water cataract") or prah("dust"). |
| Satu Mare | Romanian German |
Named after the city of Satu Mare. Satu Mare means "Big village" in Romanian. |
| Sălaj | Hungarian | From szállás', "house, hut". |
| Sibiu | Slavic or possibly Latin | Slavic: from sviba, "horn". Latin: from Cibinum, the name of the town of Sibiu as mentioned in 1191 - ultimately derived from the name of the river Cibin that passes through the town, possibly of Latin origin |
| Suceava | Hungarian | From Szűcsvár, "Town of the skin-workers", from szűcs, "fourrier" and vár, "city". |
| Teleorman | Cuman | From deli orman "thick forest" (lit. "mad forest"). |
| Timiş | Possibly Latin | After the Timiş River, known to the Romans as Tibisis or Tibiscus, of uncertain etymology. |
| Tulcea | Uncertain, possibly Tatar | Named after the city of Tulcea. Meaning unknown. -cea is a common Turkish ending. There is a town with a similar name (Tulchin) in Southern Ukraine, reinforcing the Tatar hypothesis. |
| Vaslui | Cuman | Named after the Vaslui River, which shows a typical Cuman ending for hydronyms: -ui, "water". |
| Vâlcea | Romanian/Slavic | Romanian for "little valley", from vale, "valley" (Latin vallis). Also possibly from vlk ("wolf"), the name of a Dark Age Slavic warlord mentioned in Hungarian chronicles.[1] |
| Vrancea | Slavic | Ultimately from vrana, "raven". |
| County name | Language of origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Bălţi | Romanian | "ponds" |
| Covurlui | Cuman | From kurgu, "dry" + suffix -ui, "water" |
| Cetatea Albă | Romanian | "White fortress" |
| Câmpulung | Romanian (Latin) |
"long plain" |
| Odorhei | Hungarian | First part of Odorheiu Secuiesc, from Székelyudvarhely, "Market-town of the Székely" |
| Muscel | Romanian (Dacian?) |
"hillock" |
| Soroca | Slavic | "magpie" |