The Etymology of Romanian Place Names. Case Study: The Vrancea Region

Abstract

Toponomastics or toponymy is a branch of linguistics which focuses on the study of toponyms. The study of the places names is the result of the researches in various domains as for example: linguistic, dialectology, sociology, geography, history, economics, etc. Vrancea is a region situated at the boundary between the three historical Romanian provinces, Moldavia, Wallachia and Transylvania. This area has been populated since time immemorial. In this chapter, we talk about some geographical and historical aspects of the Vrancea region, we explore the origin of several place names from this area, highlighting their evolution in time, as well as influences exerted on them throughout the course of history, with special emphasis on river names (hydronyms). Moreover, we discuss several family names that are common in this area and emphasize the way in which these surnames have turned into toponyms (anthroponyms).