Romani Last Name Generator

Get Romani last names as families carry them in each country: Lakatos and Oláh in Hungary, Reinhardt and Winterstein among the Sinti, Heredia and Montoya among Spanish Gitanos, Boswell and Lovell among English Romanichal.

About Romani last names

There is no single stock of Romani surnames. Romani families took their family names in the countries where they lived, so the names follow the local languages. In Hungary many are trade words: Lakatos means locksmith, Kolompár bell maker, Kanalas spoon maker and Rézműves coppersmith. Romania has the same pattern in Căldăraru, Lingurar and Lăcătuș. Spanish Gitanos carry Castilian names such as Heredia, Montoya and Amaya, English Romanichal families carry Boswell, Lovell and Buckland, and German Sinti carry Reinhardt, Weiss and Winterstein.

The same name often changes its spelling at each border. Lakatos in Hungary is Lakatoš in Slovakia, Łakatosz in Poland and Lăcătuș in Romania. Rostás becomes Rostaș, and Weiss becomes Wajs or Weisz. This list keeps each country's own spelling, or the usual Latin one where another alphabet is used.

Almost every name here is also carried by families who are not Romani, and many Romani families have names that are not here, so a surname on its own says nothing certain about anyone's ancestry. Romani comes from the people's own language, while "Gypsy" is the older outside term, which many Roma find offensive, so this page says Romani. The list draws on Roma of central and eastern Europe and the Balkans, Sinti and Manouche, Gitanos, Romanichal and Welsh Kale, Finnish Kaale, and families in the Americas.

How to choose Romani last names

• Match the name to the country. A family from Budapest fits Lakatos, Oláh or Kolompár, a Sinti family from Germany fits Reinhardt, Laubinger or Mettbach, and a Gitano family from Andalusia fits Heredia, Amaya or Moneo.
• Keep the diacritics. Oláh, Čureja, Căldăraru and Höllenreiner are not the same names without their marks, and careful spelling is a simple form of respect.
• In Czech and Slovak, women's surnames take the ending -ová, so Giňa becomes Giňová and Horváth becomes Horváthová. Bulgarian, Macedonian and Russian names add an -a: Asenov, Asenova.
• Spanish Gitanos use two surnames like everyone else in Spain, the father's first and the mother's second. Pick two entries, such as Montoya and Bustamante, for a full family name.
• Write a Romani character as a person first. Give the family a home town, a line of work and a history as you would for any family, and let the surname simply place them on the map.

Frequently asked questions

What are common Romani last names?

It depends on the country. Lakatos, Oláh, Horváth and Balogh are widespread among Roma in Hungary, Stoica, Mihai and Căldăraru in Romania, and Heredia, Cortés and Montoya among Spanish Gitanos. English Romanichal families are often Smith, Lee, Boswell or Lovell, and Sinti families Reinhardt, Rose or Weiss.

Is there such a thing as a purely Romani surname?

Very few. Most Romani families carry names from the languages around them, which is why a Hungarian Roma family can be called Farkas and a Finnish Kaale family Lindeman. A handful of names, such as Kwiek, Taikon and Hangurbadžo, are closely tied to Romani families, but even they prove nothing about one person. Ancestry is a matter of family history, not of spelling.

What do Roma, Sinti, Kale and Gitano mean?

They are names of Romani communities. Roma is used widely in central and eastern Europe, Sinti in German-speaking countries, Manouche in France, Kale or Kaale in Wales and Finland, Gitanos in Spain and Romanichal in England. Each group has its own history and its own typical surnames, from Mettbach and Laubinger among the Sinti to Grönfors and Hagert among the Finnish Kaale.

Why do some names appear in several spellings?

Families crossed borders, and each state wrote the name in its own alphabet. Oračko in Slovakia is Oraczko in Poland, Čureja is Ciureja, and Kalányos in Hungary is Kalanjoš in Croatia. Each spelling on this page follows the one used in that country, in Latin letters.

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