Many Romanian surnames have the suffix -escu or (less commonly) -aşcu or -ăscu which 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 like -asco, -asgo, -esque, -ez, etc. they are present in other languages derived from Latin. Many Romanians in France changed this ending of their surnames to -esco, because the way it is pronounced in French better approximates the Romanian pronunciation of -escu.
Giga Popescu, possessor of 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 region of the river Jiu”, Pruteanu, “from the river Prut”, Mureşanu, “from the river Mureş”, Petreanu (meaning “ son of Petre ”).
Other suffixes present in Romanian surnames are -aru (or oru, -ar, -or), which indicates an occupation (like Feraru meaning "locksmith", Morar "miller") and -ei, usually preceded by A- in front of a female name, which is a female genitive inherited from the latib. Examples, Amariei meaning "from Maria", Aelenei "from Elena".
These last names with matrilineal roots are common in the historical region of Moldova. The most common surnames are Pop / Popa ("the priest"). Almost 200,000 Romanians have this surname. Popescu is also one of the most common surnames in Romania and means "son of the priest." Almost 150,000 Romanians have this surname.
Common Romanian surnames
Adam: English, French, German, Polish, Romanian, Jewish surname. Derived from the name Adam.
Albert: English, French, Catalan, Hungarian, Romanian, German. Derived from the name Albert.
Albescu: Romanian surname. Derived from the Romanian "alb" which means "white".
Albu: Romanian surname. From "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, which means "forest."
Balan: Romanian. It means "blond" in Romanian.
Cojocaru: Romanian. From Romanian cojoc which means "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. From Romanian dalca which means "lightning".
Dumitrescu: Romanian. It means "son of Dimitru."
Dumitru: Romanian. Derived from the name Dumitro.
Funar: Romanian. Romanian name meaning "rope maker".
Gabor: Romanian. Unknown meaning. Possibly from Romanian 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-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco is a famous bearer of this surname.
Ionescu: Romanian. It means "son of Ion."
Lungu: Romanian. Long County.
Lupei: Romanian. From lup, which is Romanian for "wolf."
Negrescu: Romanian. Derived from the Romanian negru «black». 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." It derives from the Slavic word pop.
Room: Italian, Spanish, Catalan, Romanian. It means "worker in a manor house"
Şerban: Romanian. It means "Serbian" in Romanian.
Ungur: Romanian. Romanian form of Ungaro.
Vaduva: Romanian. From the Romanian vãduvã which means "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 one with curly hair)
Grosu: Romanian. "Gros" means thick and "grosul", the thick.
Roşu: Romanian. It means "red", and "roşul" means "the red one."
Dascălu: Romanian. "Dascăl" means teacher and "dascălul" means "the teacher."
Craioveanu: Romanian. Craiova is a city in Romania. Craioveanu means “person from Krakow”.
Stoian: Romanian and Bulgarian surname. Derived from the Bulgarian Stoyan.
Stoica: Romanian surname. Its meaning is believed to be associated with "stoic."
Radu: Romanian surname. Last names beginning with "Rad" are associated with "happy, willing." Radu was the name of a 13th century ruler of Wallachia.
Enache: It is a Romanian name and also a surname. It is believed to be a surname that originates from the Hebrew name Menachem, which means "the one who comforts."
Mocanu: It is a Romanian female and male name and it is also a surname.
Sandu: It is a Romanian name and also a surname. It means "defender of humanity." It is a diminutive of "Alexandru".
Stefan: German, Austrian, Romanian surname. It originated in Prussia. It derives from the Greek "Stephanos" which means "crown". There are many versions of this surname in the Middle Ages associated with the Saint and martyr Saint Stephen.
Lazar: German, French, Ukrainian, Italian, Romanian surname. It derives from the Aramaic name Lazarus, which is the Hebrew form of the name Eleazar. The name means "God has helped."
Andrei: Romanian, Russian, French surname. Variants of the surname Andre, Andrea, Andrée, Andrey, Andress, Andriss, Andri and Anders, derives from the personal name Andrés, which comes from the Greek name "Andreas", a derivative of "anderios" meaning "manly". The surname was first registered in the early 13th century and the forms "Andre" and "Andreu" also originate at that time.
Bogdan: It is a name and also a Romanian surname that means "gift of God". It is also a common first and last name in Moldova.
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 "Son 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, approximately 200 thousand people have been registered 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. It derives from the ancient Greek name "Loucas", which means "man from Lucania" formerly a region of Italy. The Latin form of the name, Lucas, was a great favorite as a personal name in the Middle Ages, due in part to the popularity of Saint Luke the Evangelist.
Matei: Romanian surname whose origin is associated with the name Mateo.
References
- Campbell, M. (2002). Romanian Surnames. 3-18-2017, retrieved from behindthename.com.
- Gioa, M. (2011). Why do most Romanian last names end in «escu» or «u» ?. 3-18-2017, retrieved from quora.com.
- Sagani, A. (2004). Romanian surnames Radu and Stoica. 3-18-2017, retrieved from behindthename.com.
- House of names Archive. (2000-2017). Stefan surname. 3-18-2017, retrieved from houseofnames.com.
- Name Origin Research. (1980 - 2017). Last name: Andrei. 3-18-2017, retrieved from surnamedb.com.
- Nameslist Editors. (2014). Florescu meaning. 3-18-2017, from namelist.org.