The name of Romania (România) comes from the Romanian ''Român'', which is a derivative of the
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
adjective ''Romanus'' (Roman). Romanians are a people living in
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
South-Eastern Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...
speaking a
Romance language
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European languages, I ...
.
Etymology of the ethnonym ''Romanian'' (român)
During the transition from
Vulgar Latin
Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...
to Romanian, there were some phonetical changes that modified ''romanus'' into ''român'' or ''rumân''. The accusative form ''romanum'' was retained.
* ending "-m" dropped (occurred in all Romance languages)
* ending "-u" dropped (regular change; in Old Romanian was however still present)
* "a" → "â" (regular change; vowels before
nasal stop
In phonetics, a nasal, also called a nasal occlusive or nasal stop in contrast with an oral stop or nasalized consonant, is an occlusive consonant produced with a lowered velum, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. The vast majorit ...
s turned into "â"/"î")
* "o" → "u" (regular change; however, in some regions of Romania, the variant with "o" was kept)
A reference to the name ''Romanian'' could be contained in the ''
Nibelungenlied'' (written between 1180 and 1210), where a "''Duke Ramunc of
Walachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and sou ...
,/with seven hundred vassals, galloped up before her/like flying wild birds men saw them ride''". It is argued that "''Ramunc''" could describe a symbolic figure, representing Romanians. In a document issued about the same period (1190 ?) by King
Béla III of Hungary, a count Narad was mentioned as having fought "against the fury of the Bulgarians and ". Hungarian historian Imre Nagy believed to be a mistranscription of , which would be in reference to Romanians in the then recent
uprising of the Bulgarians and Vlachs. However, the idea that refers to Romanians is disputed; Hungarian historian Imre Szentpétery, who co-edited the charter with Nagy, believed to be a mistranscription of "
Ruthenes
Ruthenian and Ruthene are exonyms of Latin origin, formerly used in Eastern and Central Europe as common ethnonyms for East Slavs, particularly during the late medieval and early modern periods. The Latin term Rutheni was used in medieval sourc ...
", while Romanian historian Alexandru Madgearu believes this passage to be referring to harassment by the Byzantines (') to a Hungarian army in the
Theme of Bulgaria
The Theme of Bulgaria () was a province of the Byzantine Empire established by Emperor Basil II after the conquest of Bulgaria in 1018. Its capital was Scupi (or Skoupoi) and it was governed by a strategos. The local inhabitants were ''Bulgaria ...
en route to the Holy Land in the
Third Crusade
The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...
.
In the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
Romanians begin to be mentioned in journey and political reports, providing information about the name they give themselves, about their language, customs and the countries they inhabit. The self-designation of
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
as Romans is mentioned in some 30 scholarly works as early as the 16th century by mainly
Italian humanists travelling in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
,
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
and
Walachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and sou ...
. Thus,
Tranquillo Andronico writes in 1534 that Romanians (Valachi) "now call themselves Romans". In 1532,
Francesco della Valle accompanying Governor
Aloisio Gritti
Alvise Gritti (born 29 September 1480, died 1534), whose first name may also be spelled Aloisio, Lodovico, Ludovico, Luigi or Louis (Hungarian ''Lajos''), was a Venetian politician. He was influential in the Hungarian Kingdom under the reign of K ...
to Transylvania, Walachia and Moldavia notes that
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
preserved the name of the Romans (''Romani'') and "they call themselves in their language Romanians (Romei)". He even cites the sentence "''Sti Rominest ?''" ("do you speak Romanian ?" for originally Romanian "știi românește ?") Further, this author reports what he could learn from local orthodox monks, that "in the present they call themselves Romanians (Romei)" . Reporting his mission in Transylvania, the Neapolitan Jesuit
Ferrante Capeci writes around 1575 that the inhabitants of those Provinces call themselves ''"Romanians"'' ("''romanesci''"), while
Pierre Lescalopier
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
, relating his voyage from Venice to Constantinople, notes in 1574 that those inhabiting Walachia, Moldavia and the most part of Transylvania say to be descendants of the Romans, calling their language ''"romanechte"'' (French transcription for Romanian ''românește'' - Romanian). The
Italian Dalmatian historian
Johannes Lucius writes in 1666: "''But the to-day Walachians, whatever Walachian language they speak, don't call themselves Wlachians or Walachians but Romanians and they boast their origin from the Romans and acknowledge to speak the Roman language''".
Other first-hand evidence about the name
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
used to call themselves comes from authors having lived in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...
and/or
Romanian principalities
The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...
: the learned Lutheran preacher and first
Transylvanian Saxon
The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ...
historiograph Johann Lebel attests in 1542 that ''common Romanians call themselves "Romuini"'', the Polish Humanist
Stanislaus Orichovius notes as late as 1554 that "''these left behind Dacians in their own language are called Romini, after the Romans, and Walachi in Polish, after the Italians''",. Another humanist, who took up residence in Transylvania as a bishop of
Alba Iulia, the Dalmatian
Antonius Verantio, who later would become cardinal and viceroy of Habsburg Hungary, also states in 1570 that "the Wallachians call themselves Romans" and provides an example: "When they ask somebody whether they can speak Wallachian, they say: do you speak Roman? and
hen they askwhether one is Wallachian they say: are you Roman?" while the Jesuit Theology professor
Martinus Szent-Ivany cites in 1699 Romanian expressions: "''Sie noi sentem Rumeni''" (modern standard Romanian "Și noi suntem români") and "''Noi sentem di sange Rumena''" (in modern standard Romanian "Noi suntem de sânge român") The geographer
Anton Friedrich Büsching
Anton Friedrich Büsching (27 September 172428 May 1793) was a German geographer, historian, educator and theologian. His ''Erdbeschreibung'' ("Earth description") was the first geographical work of any scientific merit. He also did significant wo ...
writes in 1754 that "''the Wallachians, who are remnant and progeny of the old Roman colonies thus call themselves Romanians, which means Romans''" The Hungarian writer
András Dugonics in 1801 states: ''"But those Romans who remained in Dacia mixed their Roman language with the language of the Sarmatians
f the Slavsand that of the Dacians. Thus a special language was formed, the Wallachian language (oláh nyelv), which is nothing else but a mixture of the Latin language with the Slavic and Dacian language (dákus), and they themselves are today called the Romans (rómaiak), ie rumun"'' the English author
John Paget, in 1839, in his book, ''"Hungary and Transylvania"'' writes: "''"the Wallack of the present day calls himself "Rumunyi" and retains a traditional pride of ancestry, in spite of his present degradation.''"
Historical Romanian documents display two variants of "Romanian": "''român''" and "''rumân''". For centuries, both spelling forms are interchangeably used, sometimes in the same phrase. Historically, the variant ''rumân'' was preferred in Wallachia and Transylvania, with ''român'' only common in Moldavia. This distinction was preserved in local dialects even by the mid-20th century: ''rumân'' was the preferred form in Transylvania and
Oltenia
Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
, while ''român'' was used in northern and eastern parts of
Western Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova), also called Western Moldavia or Romanian Moldavia, is the historic and geographical part of the former Principality of Moldavia situated in eastern and north-eastern Romania. Until its union with Wallachia in 1859, the Pr ...
. Both variant were attested in contact zones such as
Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...
and southern Moldavia, as well as in most of
Muntenia
Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in R ...
; the later occurrence may either be an old phenomenon insufficiently attested in older documents, or it may be a more recent innovation due to the cultural influence of standard Romanian.
In the 17th century, the term "Romanian" also appears as ''Rumun'' (Johann Tröster), ''Rumuny'' (Paul Kovács de Lisznyai), ''Rumuin'' (Laurentius Toppeltinus), and ''Rumen'' (Johannes Lucius and Martin Szentiványi).
In the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
the ethno-linguistical designation ''rumân/român'' also denoted ''common people''. During the 17th century, as serfdom becomes a widespread institution, ''common people'' increasingly turns into ''bondsman''. In a process of semantic differentiation in 17th-18th centuries the form ''rumân'', presumably usual among lower classes, got merely the meaning of ''bondsman'', while the form ''"român"'' kept an ethno-linguistic meaning. After the abolition of the serfage by Prince
Constantine Mavrocordato in 1746, the form ''"rumân"'' gradually disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form ''"român", "românesc"''.
Etymology of ''Romania'' (România)
The earliest preserved document written in the
Romanian language
Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Moldova, Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communi ...
is a 1521 letter that notifies the mayor of
Brașov about an imminent attack by the Turks. This document, known as
Neacșu's Letter, is also notable for having the first occurrence of "Romanian" in a Romanian text,
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
being called here ''the Romanian Land''—''Țeara Rumânească'' (Țeara < Latin ''Terra'' = land). As in the case of the ethnonym "român/rumân", Romanian documents use both forms, ''Țara Românească'' and ''Țara Rumânească'', for the country name, though the first version was preferred in Wallachia.
A common Romanian area called ''The Romanian Land'' and embracing Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania is mentioned by the chronicler
Miron Costin
Miron Costin (March 30, 1633 – 1691) was a Moldavian (Romanian) political figure and chronicler. His main work, ''Letopiseţul Ţărâi Moldovei e la Aron Vodă încoace' (''The Chronicles of the land of Moldavia Aron Vodă]'') was meant to e ...
in the 17th century.
In the first half of the 18th century the erudite prince
Dimitrie Cantemir systematically used the name ''Țara Românească'' for designating all three Principalities inhabited by
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
.
Ioan-Aurel Pop
Ioan-Aurel Pop (born 1 January 1955) is a Romanian historian. Pop was appointed Professor of History at Babeș-Bolyai University in 1996. He has since been Chairman of the Department of Medieval History and the History of Premodern Art at Babeș ...
argued the name "Romania" isn't but a version of the name "Romanian Land", just as in England - Anglia, or Scotland - Scotia.
The etymology of ''"România"'' didn't follow the Romanian pattern of word formation for country names, which usually adds the suffix "-ia" to the ethnonym by keeping its accent, like in ''"grec" → "Grecia", "Bulgar" → "Bulgaria", "rus → "Rusia"'', etc. Since it is a self-designation, the word ''"România"'' has an older history, coming from ''"românie"'' which in turn resulted as a derivation of the word ''"român"'' by adding the suffix "-ie" with an accented last syllable, like in ''""moș → moșie", "domn" → "domnie"'' or ''"boier" → "boierie"'' (lord → lordship). Initially, ''"românie"'' may indeed have meant ''"Romanianship"'' (just like ''"rumânie"'' meant ''"serfdom"'' before disappearing), as suggested by
Nicolae Iorga's theory of the ''"Romaniae"'', i.e. self-organized communities of
romanophone peasants all across medieval Europe.
The name "România" as common homeland of the Romanians is first documented in the early 19th century.
[The first known mention of the term "Romania" in its modern denotation dates from 1816, as the Greek scholar ]Dimitrie Daniel Philippide Daniel Philippidis ( el, Δανιήλ Φιλιππίδης; ro, Dimitrie Daniil Philippide; c. 1750 – 1832) was a Greek scholar, figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment and member of the patriotic organization Filiki Etaireia. He was one of the ...
published in Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
his work "The History of Romania", followed by "The Geography of Romania". On the tombstone of Gheorghe Lazăr
Gheorghe Lazăr (5 June 1779 – 17 September 1823), born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian, later Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school in Bucharest, 1817.
Biography
A Habsburg Empire subject, ...
in Avrig
Avrig (; german: Freck/Fryck, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Freck/Fraek'', hu, Felek) is a town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. It has a population of 12,815 and the first documents attesting its existence date to 1346. It officially ...
(built in 1823) there is the inscription: "Precum Hristos pe Lazăr din morți a înviat/Așa tu România din somn ai deșteptat."
The name "Romania" (România) was first brought to
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
by young Romanian intellectuals in the 1840s, where it was spelled "Roumanie" in order to differentiate Romanians (fr.: Roumains) from Romans (fr.: Romains). The French spelling version (Roumanie) spread then over many countries, such as Britain, Spain, Italy, Germany.
In English, the name of the country was originally borrowed from French "Roumania" (<"Roumanie"), then evolved into "Rumania", but was eventually replaced after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by the name used officially: "Romania". With a few exceptions such as English and Hungarian ("Románia"), in most languages the "u" form is still used (German and Swedish: ''Rumänien''; Bulgarian: ''Румъния''; Serbian: ''Румунија / Rumunija'', Polish: ''Rumunia'', etc.). In Portuguese, to distinguish them from the Romans, the Romanians are called ''romenos'' and their country ''Roménia''. The ''e'' reflects the distinct quality of the Romanian ''â'', even though it's not very similar.
Spelling reforms
After
the Communist seizure of power, a
spelling reform
A spelling reform is a deliberate, often authoritatively sanctioned or mandated change to spelling rules. Proposals for such reform are fairly common, and over the years, many languages have undergone such reforms. Recent high-profile examples ar ...
simplified the
Romanian alphabet substituting ''
î'' for ''
â''.
The name of the country became officially ''
Republica Populară Romînă''.
Soon an exception was made to allow ''â'' for ''român'' and its derivations, while ''î'' kept used elsewhere.
Since, and even after the post-Communist spelling reform, ''român'' is spelled with ''a''.
Other uses of ''Romania'' and other derivatives of ''Romanus''
* Since 7th century, name for region surrounding
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
(''
Romagna
Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...
'' in Italian) where the Byzantines kept off the Germanic rulers.
* The
Eastern Roman
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, or
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, Empire was known during the Middle Ages as the ''Roman Empire'', or more commonly ''Romania'' (''Ρωμανία'' in Greek; compare with the modern name ''Ρουμανία'' "Roumanía" for
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
). In Western Europe for political and linguistic reasons the Empire came to be referred to as the ''Greek Empire'' and eventually the ''Byzantine Empire''. The Greek-speaking Ottoman Christians continued to refer to themselves as ''Romans'' (Ρωμαίοι "Romaioi", also the origin of the first name
Romeo) long after being absorbed by the Ottoman Empire, only adopting the ''Greek'' identity in the 19th century. In the Arabic and
Ottoman Turkish language
Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...
s, ''Romania'' came to mean further Eastward regions of the empire, like
Rûm
Rūm ( ar, روم , collective; singulative: Rūmī ; plural: Arwām ; fa, روم Rum or Rumiyān, singular Rumi; tr, Rûm or , singular ), also romanized as ''Roum'', is a derivative of the Aramaic (''rhπmÈ'') and Parthian (''frwm'') te ...
and
Rumelia
Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...
in Asia. ''Rumi'' was also an Arabic word for Christian.
* It has been an alternative name for the
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzanti ...
, centred on
Byzantium
Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...
, set up by
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Crusade
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were i ...
rs of the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
with the intention of replacing the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
Byzantine Empire with a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
empire.
* In
Romance linguistics
Romance linguistics is the study of linguistics of Romance languages.
Basic features
Romance languages have a number of shared features across all languages:
* Romance languages are moderately inflecting, i.e. there is a moderately complex system ...
it designates all Romance linguistic areas.
* The word Romanus is also kept elsewhere in other parts of the Roman Empire in the name of the
Romansh language
Romansh (; sometimes also spelled Romansch and Rumantsch; Sursilvan: ; Vallader, Surmiran, and Rumantsch Grischun: ; Putèr: ; Sutsilvan: , , ; Jauer: ) is a Gallo-Romance language spoken predominantly in the Swiss canton of the Grison ...
of
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
* In the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
there are Romanic people that have an ethnonym derived from "Romanus", including
Aromanians
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an Ethnic groups in Europe, ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian language, Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Alba ...
(''armâni'', ''arumâni'' or ''rămăni'') and
Istro-Romanians
The Istro-Romanians ( ruo, rumeri or ) are a Romance ethnic group native to or associated with the Istrian Peninsula. Historically, they inhabited vast parts of it, as well as the western side of the island of Krk until 1875. However, due to se ...
(''rumâri''). The
Megleno-Romanians
The Megleno-Romanians, also known as Meglenites ( ruq, Miglinits), Moglenite Vlachs or simply Vlachs ( ruq, Vlaș), are a small Eastern Romance people, originally inhabiting seven villages in the Moglena region spanning the Pella and Kilkis reg ...
originally used the form ''rămâni'', but it was lost by the 19th century and used the word ''Vlași'' borrowed from Bulgarian.
See also
*
Origin of the Romanians
*
History of Romania
This article covers the history and bibliography of Romania and links to specialized articles.
Prehistory
34,950-year-old remains of modern humans with a possible Neanderthalian trait were discovered in present-day Romania when the ''Peș ...
*
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
,
Vlachs
"Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...
*
Names of the Aromanians
References
External links
Origin of the name of Romania
{{Europe topic, Name of, title=Names of European states and territories
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
Romanian language
Modern history of Romania
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...