The Most Popular Romanian Last Names
Romanian last names are traditionally patronymic, meaning they are taken after the fathers name. As such, they commonly use suffixes that denote the origin of the name. Patronymic surnames will end in -escu, meaning “son of.” Other Romanian suffixes include; -ăscu, -eanu, -anu, -an, -aru, -atu, or -oiu. These Romanian suffixes identify ancestral nationality. Romanian last names also have a strong Slavic influence and quite a few of them are of Slavic origin.
Of all Romanian surnames the most popular of them is Popa, meaning Priest. (Popescu is a variation of this popular last name, meaning son of the Priest.) We have put together the most common Romanian surnames along with their meaning and/or origin.
Read: Australian Last Names

Most Popular Romanian Surnames With Meanings
Below are the most popular Romanian surnames in alphabetical order. The meanings are also included for you to get a better understanding od their origin.
Albescu – White
Albu – Also derived from the word ‘alb,’ which means ‘white’ in Romanian.
Aldea – Village
Andrei – Romanian version of Andrew.
Ardelean – Derived from ‘Ardeal,’ the Romanian name for the region of Transylvania.
Baciu – Shepard
Balan – Blonde. Balan is also a town in Romania.
Barbaneagra – Black Beard
Barbu – Bushy Beard
Bogdan – God given, or Gift of God.
Botezatu – Baptized
Bucur – Happiness, Delight, Joy
Cel Tradat – The Betrayed
Ciobanu – Shepard (Occupational Name)
Cojocaru – Sheepskin
Creţu – Curly (haired)
Dalca – Lightning
Dascălu – Teacher, Schoolmaster (Occupational name)
Erner – Serbian
Fieraru – Smith (Occupational name)
Fischer – German word for ‘fisherman.’
Floarea – Flower
Funar – Rope Maker (Occupational name)
Gheata – Ice
Grosu – Thick, Coarse, Bulky
Ioveanu – Son of Ivan.
Luca – Romanian version of Luke.
Lupu – Wolf
Maier/Mayer – Farmer (Occupational name)
Muller – Miller (Occupational name)
Nectaria – Nectar
Popa – Priest, Pastor
Radu – Happy
Roşu – Red
Stefan – Stephen
Suta – Left-handed
Tarniceriu – Saddler (Occupational name)
Ungureanu – Hungarian
Vulpe – Fox
Weber – German origin meaning weaver. (Occupational name)
Zamfir – Sapphire, name for a jeweler (Occupational name)
Zugravescu – Portray, Depict
You can read more of our worldlastnames.com articles below.
- British last names
- French Last Names
- Arabic Last Names
- Spanish Last Names
- Polish Last Names
- Swedish Last Names
- Turkish Last Names
- Vietnamese Last Names
- Pakistani Last Names
- Danish Last Names