Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
Etymological list of counties of Romania
This is a list of the origins of the names of counties of Romania.
| County name | Language of origin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Alba | Romanian (Latin) |
The city of Alba-Iulia ("The white city of Julius"; also Bălgrad, in Slavic - "White city"), probably from the white colour of the city walls |
| Arad | Hungarian | The city of Arad, named in the 11th century Urod after the name of a Hungarian knight, probably from the root ur meaning lord |
| Argeş | Dacian | Argeş river, named in ancient times Argessos, probably meaning "shiny" |
| Bacău | Slavic? | possibly named after a local warlord called Bako |
| Bihor | Slavic | vihor (whirlwind) |
| Bistrita-Nasaud | Slavic and German |
|
| Botoşani | Romanian | several variants:
|
| Braşov | Slavic? | ? |
| Brăila | Slavic | old name Brailov, unknown meaning |
| Buzău | Romanian (Dacian) |
from the word buză (lip) |
| Caraş-Severin | Turkish and Latin |
|
| Călăraşi | Romanian (Latin) |
călăraş a military auxiliary corp of cavalery during the Middle Ages in Wallachia |
| Cluj | Latin | clusium a medieval castre, name given by the German colonists (Klausenburg) |
| Constanţa | Latin | the city of Constanţa was named Constantiana by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine |
| Covasna | Slavic | cvaz (sour) reffering to the taste of the mineral waters of the area |
| Dāmboviţa | Slavic? | ? |
| Dolj | Slavic | Dolu Jiu, the Jiu of the valley |
| Galaţi | Cuman (Arabic) |
gala(t), from Arabic kalhat (fortress) |
| Giurgiu | Italian | The city of Giurgiu was founded by the Genoese in the 14th century and named after San Giorgio, the patron of their city |
| Gorj | Slavic | Gora Jiu, the Jiu of the mountains |
| Harghita | ? | ? |
| Ialomiţa | Slavic | Ialomiţa river, from Slavic jalov = barren |
| Iaşi | Sarmatian | From the Sarmatian Iazygi which lived in the 1st century |
| Ilfov | Slavic | ? |
| Maramureş | Dacian | from Mureş ("murky") |
| Mehedinţi | ? | ? |
| Mureş | Dacian | Mureş river, known by the Dacians as Maris, meaning "murky" |
| Neamţ | Romanian (Slavic) |
The city of Piatra Neamţ, neamţ meaning "German", as the Teutons built a fortress there |
| Olt | Dacian | Olt river, known by the Dacians as Alutus |
| Prahova | Slavic | Prahova river, from Slavic :
|
| Satu Mare | Romanian (Latin + Dacian) |
Satu Mare city, meaning "Big village" |
| Sălaj | Slavic? | ? |
| Sibiu | Slavic | sviba horn |
| Suceava | Slavic? | ? |
| Teleorman | Cuman | deliorman, meaning "mad forest", "endless forest" |
| Timiş | Dacian | known as Tibisis by the Romans and it was probably a Dacian name |
| Tulcea | ? | ? |
| Vaslui | Cuman | ? |
| Vālcea | Slavic | vlk (wolf); name of a Dark Age Slavic warlord |
| Vrancea | Slavic | vrana (raven) |
See also
10-26-2009 08:16:03
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The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details