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Many of the etymologies of Romanian counties 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.
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| County name | Language of origin | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alba | Latin / Romanian | Named after the city of Alba-Iulia ("The white city of Julius/(the) Gyula; in Hungarian 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 / Jewish | Linked to the Jewish city, also present in the Bible, "Arad". | 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). |
| Argeș | Dacian | Named after the Argeș River, in ancient times Argessos, probably meaning "shiny". | |
| Bacău | Hungarian or Slavic or Cuman/Pecheneg (Turkic) or Latin | Named after the city of Bacău, in medieval times known as Bacovia in Latin, possibly meaning "the road of Bacchus". The area was an important source of wine for the Romans. Alternatively Bakovia or Bakova derives from a person name Bako, found in Transylvania and as well in Bulgaria. The name is considered Hungarian or a derivation from Proto-Slavic byk (meaning "ox" or "bull"), or of Cuman/Pecheneg origin. The region was very suitable for raising cattle. | |
| Bihor | Hungarian, Slavic | The county's name is the Romanian equivalent of the former Bihar County, which originates from the city of Bihar. The Hungarian Bihar derived from the word vihar (tempest, storm), that is of Slavic origin; vihor (whirlwind). | |
| Bistrița-Năsăud | Slavic and Hungarian or German | Named after Bistrița (Slavic, "rapid"), a city and river and the city of Năsăud (Hungarian Naszód, German Nussdorf, "walnut tree village"). It may be also possible it derived from a person name, documented in 1269 as Naswod (current Nesvady). | |
| Botoșani | Romanian /Mongolian | Several possible origins: botoș ("tick"), botos ("big-mouthed"), botoșei ("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. | |
| Brașov | 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. | |
| București | Romanian (Dacian) | From Bucur, personal name meaning "joyful", cognate with Albanian bukur ("beautiful"), assumed to be of Thraco-Dacian origin. | |
| Buzău | Romanian | Most probably coming from the Romanian word buză, meaning "lips". | |
| Caraș-Severin | Turkish and Old Romanian | Named after the Caraș River (Turkish Kara, "dark, black"), or it can be derived from the Romanian word a căra meaning "to carry" and Turnu Severin (Romanian, "Northern Tower": turn is a Latin/Old Romanian word, just how turris is in Latin; severin is a Latin/Old Romanian word, similar to the Latin severus or sever in Romanian, meaning "harsh/drastic/strict". | |
| Călărași | Romanian (Latin) | From călăraș, Historical term for "horseman" (military or courier). The word derives out of Romanian călare ("riding"), itself from cal ("horse"), Romanian cognate of Latin caballus. [1] | |
| Cluj | Hungarian, German or Latin | From the first part of Cluj-Napoca, deriving either from German Klause, "mountain pass"; Latin clusium, "enclosure", referring to the surrounding hills; or Hungarian Kolos, Miklós, after the first castellan of the local castle. But it is rather from the Latin/Old Romanian word, just how "Napoca" was already there on Roman maps of Dacia. | |
| Constanța | Latin | Named after Constanța. The city, originally called Tomis, was renamed Constantiana by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine, in honor of his sister, Flavia Julia Constantia. | |
| Covasna | Slavic | From Slavickvasny квасны, "soured, fermented", referring to the mineral waters of the region, with bubbles like beer and other fermented drinks. | |
| Dâmbovița | Slavic / Romanian | Named after the Dâmbovița River, from Дъб (dămb), meaning "oak" [2] Or coming from the Romanian word dâmb, meaning "small hill". | |
| Dolj | Slavic | From Dolu Jiu, the Jiu of the valley. The Jiu river flows through the county. | |
| Galați | Slavic Latin Cuman Turkic | Onomastic slavo-român „Gal” căruia i s-a adăugat sufixul „aț”, formă destul de răspândită în slava meridională. Rădăcina „Gal” aparține fondului de cuvinte slave, având sensul de „murdar” sau „noroi”, care, ulterior, a suferit o transformare semantică, căpătând înțelesul de „negru”. Astfel, adjectivul „Gal”, prin sufixul „aț” s-a substantivizat. Alta ipoteza: în anul 313, împăratul Constantin cel Mare a înființat un vicariat condus de vicarul Cocceius Galatus. A luat ființă și o colonie numită Galati.[necesită citare] Evenimentul este confirmat de o piatră funerară a unui cetățean roman din Histria datând din anul 157 d.Hr. From gala(t), borrowed to Turkish kala ("fortress") (also, an unsourced speculation, ascribe the origin to a certain Galatian Celtic tribe) | |
| Giurgiu | Romanian or possibly Italian | Similar to the word ghiurghiuliu. 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 Argeș (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. | |
| Hunedoara | Hungarian | Transliteration of the Hungarian name Hunyadvár meaning "Castle of Hunyad." From Proto-Uralic *kuńa- ("to close eyes, blink"). | |
| Ialomița | Slavic | Named after the Ialomița river, formerly known as Ialovnița, from Slavic jalov, "barren" [2] | |
| Iași | Possibly Sarmatian | Named after the Sarmatian Iazygi which lived in the 1st century. However, this does not explain the existence of other localities called Iași throughout Romania. | |
| Ilfov | Slavic | Named after the Ilfov River, from Slavic elhovo meaning "alder" (Alnus glutinosa). [2] | |
| Maramureș | Old Romanian | It originates from the Mara river which name is possibly derives from the Old Romanian mori (sea, still water) and mors (dead). | |
| Mehedinți | Romanian (Latin) | From the town of Mehadia, possibly be derived from the ancient Latin name of the colony: Ad mediam ("in the middle"). Mehedinți might also come from Mehadianți, as -ianțiu/-ianțu is a common ending for family names in the area. | |
| Mureș | Latin or Old Romanian | Named after the Mureș river, in Latin, or the Latin word maris ("murky"). | |
| Neamț | Romanian (Slavic) | Named after Piatra Neamț, neamț means "German" (from Slavic nemeti). The Teutons built a fortress there to protect the Bicaz Pass, which leads to Transylvania and piatra means "stone" in Romanian | |
| Olt | Dacian or unknown | Named after the Olt river, known to the Dacians as Alutus (etymology unknown). Contemporarily it has been also described as Alouta (Aλoύτα) and Aloutaz (Aλoύταζ). 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"). [2] Prag can also mean "threshold" in Romanian | |
| Satu Mare | Romanian | Sat means "village" in Romanian and Old Romanian, with similar Latin roots in satum (a form of the verb "to plant", "to sow", the basic activity in a village) and mare which means "big" in Romanian, but also "sea", which are also present in Latin. These names are older than Hungarian occupation, Dacian presence can be seen on many Roman maps throughout the centuries, when the name is replaced by "Vlah/Valahian". | |
| Sălaj | Hungarian | Named after the Sălaj River, from Hungarian Szilágy "elm creek", composed from szil , "elm" and ágy "riverbed". [3] | |
| Sibiu | Latin | Latin: from Cibinum, the name of the town of Sibiu as mentioned in 1191; ultimately derived from the name of the river Cibin [4] that passes through the town. | |
| Suceava | Romanian or Latin / Hungarian | A form of the Romanian word succeda, meaning "come after", word present in other Romance languages like French (succeder) or Italian (succeve), from Latin (succedere). | From Szűcsvár, "Town of the skin-workers", from szűcs, "furrier" and vár, "city". |
| Teleorman | Romanian or Old Latin / Cuman (Turkic) | Coming from the Latin and Romanian word, tele, meaning "from afar". | From deli orman "thick forest" (lit. "mad forest"). |
| Timiș | Possibly Latin | After the Timiș 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 | Romanian / Cuman (Turkic) | Coming from the Romanian word vas, which means "pot/bowl/vessel". | 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). Or from the word val which means "wave" in Romanian or Old Romanian. Also possibly from vlk ("wolf"), the name of a Dark Age Slavic warlord mentioned in Hungarian chronicles. [5] | |
| Vrancea | Slavic | Ultimately from vrana, "raven". | |