The source for these names is http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/istorie/hi93.html, a list of the rulers of Moldavia from c.1351 to 1859, and http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/istorie/hi92.html, a list of the rulers of Wallachia from c.1247 to 1859. I have extracted the names found before 1600, 47 from Moldavia and 54 from Wallachia, and resorted them here according to frequency. The dates following each name are the dates of the bearer's rule. Because there are names from two different royal lines compiled here, there will be overlap in some of the dates; this is just meant to give a general idea for when the specific names were used. The most common names are Petru (11, 10.9%), Radu (8, 7.9%), and Stefan (8, 7.9%). Of the 101 people, 55 had surnames (54.4%). 4 of these people had two surnames.
I have given after each surname the modern Romanian translation of the elements; most of these translations are probably accurate for medieval Romanian, but I cannot say for sure.
There was one feminine name.
Name | Date | Notes |
Musatei | c.1374-1392 | She was known as Margareta in Latin. |
Name | Number | Dates | Notes |
Petru | 11 | c.1374-1392, 1444-1449, 1451-1452, 1454-1457, 1527-1528, 1534-1545, 1541-1546, 1559-1568, 1574-1579, 1583-1585, 1592 | |
Radu | 8 | c.1377-1383, 1420-1422, 1462-1475, 1495-1508, 1522-1524, 1523-1524, 1534-1545, 1552-1553 | |
Stefan | 8 | c.1394-1399, 1433-1447, 1457-1504, 1538-1540, 1551-1552, 1563-1564, 1591-1592, 1595 | |
Alexandru | 7 | 1400-1432, 1431-1436, 1540-1541, 1552-1568, 1568-1577, 1592, 1592-1593 | |
Vlad | 7 | 1394-1397, 1436-1442, 1456-1462, 1481, 1510-1512, 1530-1532, 1532-1525 | |
Ioan | 5 | 1552, 1561-1563, 1572-1574, 1577, c.1590 | |
Mircea | 5 | 1386-1418, 1442, 1481, 1509-1510, 1545-1559, | |
Basarab | 4 | c.1310-1352, 1442-1443, 1473-1476, 1477-1481 | |
Bogdan | 4 | c.1359-c.1365, 1449-1451, 1504-1517, 1568-1572 | |
Alexandrel | 3 | 1449, 1452-1454, 1455 | |
Vladislav | 3 | 1364-c.1377, 1446-1456, 1523-1524 | Also found once as Vlaicu. |
Aron | 2 | 1591-1592, 1592-1595 | |
Dan | 2 | c.1383-1386, 1422-1431 | |
Ilias | 2 | 1432-1433, 1546-1551 | |
Mihai | 2 | 1593-1600, 1600 | |
Mihnea | 2 | 1508-1509, 1577-1591 | |
Roman | 2 | 1392-1394, 1447 | |
Balc | 1 | 1359 | |
Barbat | 1 | c.1273-c.1290 | |
Ciubar | 1 | 1448-1449 | Also found as Csupor. |
Dragos | 1 | c.1351-1353 | |
Iacob | 1 | 1561-1563 | Found in the compound name Ioan Iacob. |
Iancu | 1 | 1578-1582 | |
Ieremia | 1 | 1595-1600 | |
Iuga | 1 | 1399-1400 | |
Latcu | 1 | c.1365-c.1374 | |
Litovoi | 1 | 1247-c.1273 | |
Mihail | 1 | 1418-1420 | |
Moise | 1 | 1529-1530 | |
Nicolae | 1 | 1599-1600 | |
Nicolae-Alexandru | 1 | 1352-1364 | |
Patrascu | 1 | 1554-1557 | |
Pirvu | 1 | c.1500 | |
Sas | 1 | c.1354-1358 | |
Seneslav | 1 | 1247 | |
Simion | 1 | 1600-1601 | |
Stefanita | 1 | 1517-1527 | A pet form of Stefan. |
Teodosie | 1 | 1521 | |
Tihomir | 1 | c.1290-c.1310 | Also found as Tugomir. |
Vintila | 1 | 1574 |
Much of the information about the grammatical constructions of the surnames and their meanings come from Walraven van Nijmegen, to whom I'm very grateful for his help. He says:
Three constructions in the data are locative: (1) <de la> [place], (2) [place] + <-escu>, and (3) [place] + <-eanu>. The latter two can also appear as patronymic endings in certain cases, but don't seem to be so in any of the names here.
There are two contructions in the surnames that may be translated into English as "the [POS]", where [POS] will stand for "part of speech". The construction <cel> + [adjective] can be translated as "the [adjective]", and [noun] + <-ul> can likewise be translated as "the [noun]". So, a <cel> construction means that the following word must originally be an adjective, never a noun.
Name | Number | Dates | Notes |
cel cumplit, cel Cumplit | 3 | 1572-1574, c.1590, 1591-1592 | cumplit, "terrible, grievous, ferocious, outrageous, grim." |
cel Rau | 3 | 1508-1509, 1592, 1592-1593 | 'the evil' |
cel Tinar | 3 | 1477-1481, 1510-1512, 1559-1568 | 'the young' |
Aron | 2 | 1451-1452, 1454-1457 | patronymic from Aron |
cel Batrin | 2 | 1386-1418, 1473-1476 | 'the old' |
cel bun, cul Bun | 1 | 1400-1432, 1554-1557 | 'the good, kind' |
cel Mare | 1 | 1457-1504, 1495-1508 | 'the big, great' |
Movila | 1 | 1595-1600, 1600-1601 | 'mound, knoll, hillock' |
Rares | 2 | 1527-1538, 1541-1546 | 'rarely, seldomly, sometimes' |
Tiranul | 2 | 1591-1592, 1592-1595 | 'the tyrant' |
Viteazul | 2 | 1593-1600, 1600 | 'the brave man' |
Voda | 2 | 1572-1574, c.1590 | 'prince' |
Badica | 1 | 1523-1524 | |
Calugarul | 1 | 1481 | 'the monk' |
Cazacul | 1 | 1592 | 'the Cossack' |
cel Frumos | 1 | 1462-1475 | 'the handsome' |
cel orb | 1 | 1504-1517 | 'the blind' |
cercel | 1 | 1583-1585 | 'earring' |
Ciobanul | 1 | 1545-1559 | 'the shepherd' |
Cornea | 1 | 1540-1541 | |
Craiovescu | 1 | c.1500 | 'from Craiova' |
de la Afumati | 1 | 1522-1524 | 'from Afumati' |
de la Arges | 1 | 1534-1545 | 'from Arges' |
de la Slatina | 1 | 1532-1535 | 'from Slatina' |
Dracul | 1 | 1436-1442 | 'the dragon' [1] |
Eraclid | 1 | 1561-1563 | This is a Byzantine byname, Heraclid |
Haidaul | 1 | 1552-1553 | 'the cowherd' |
Ilie | 1 | 1552-1553 | Probably a patronymic from Ilias |
Inecatul | 1 | 1530-1532 | 'the drowned man' |
Joldea | 1 | 1552 | |
Lacusta | 1 | 1538-1540 | Possibly from modern lâcustâ, "locust." |
Lapusneanu | 1 | 1552-1568 | 'from Lapusna' |
Ologul | 1 | 1399-1400 | 'the lame man' |
Paisie | 1 | 1534-1545 | |
Patrascu | 1 | 1599-1600 | |
Potcoava | 1 | 1577 | 'the horseshoe' |
Prasnaglava | 1 | 1420-1422 | |
Razvan | 1 | 1595 | |
Sasul | 1 | 1578-1582 | 'the [Transylvanian] Saxon' |
Schiopul | 1 | 1574-1579 | 'the lame man' |
Surdul | 1 | 1591-1592 | 'the deaf man' |
Tepes | 1 | 1456-1462 | 'the impaler'; this byname was unique to Vlad Tepes, aka Dracula |
Tomsa | 1 | 1563-1564 | Possibly a patronymic from a form of Thomas. |
Turcitul | 1 | 1577-1591 | 'the Turkified' |
Vintila | 1 | 1532-1535 |
Sources & Notes:
http://www.dictionare.com/english/dictionary.htm
http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/istorie/hi93.html
http://www.ici.ro/romania/en/istorie/hi92.html
[1] The byname <Dracul> derives from the membership of Vlad Dracul in the Hungarian Order of the Dragon [Boulton, D'Arcy J. D., The Knights of the Crown (New York: St. Martin's Press. 1987, ISBN 0-312-45842-8)].