If someone says they are from “Moldavia”, what current country would you expect them to be from?
August 26, 2025
Someone said this to me and I assumed she meant Moldova. I then learned Moldavia is a region across several different countries.
17 comments
Moldavien is the name of the country in Swedish so I would probably think they were from Moldova (while still erroneously believing the name to be Moldavia). TIL
Romanian from Romanian region of Moldavia would say he/she is Romanian first, so Moldavian would mean person from the state of Moldavia/Moldova
I would expect them to be from Moldova 🙂
By the way, this probably isn’t the best place but it’s such a bloody cool novel I can’t help myself but recommend it here. Gregor von Rezzori’s *Ermine in Czernopol* is one of the best novels ever written, the guy was basically Oscar Wilde from Bukovina.
I had always thought Moldova is just the English name for the country but in their language it’s Moldavia – not sure but this is what I had previously understood.
Moldova, because I would think I didn’t understand them properly and they probably would have said Moldova
Moldavia is the Italian name for Moldova so I had a bit of trouble when I first read your title 😂
Both can be used in Italian but Moldavia is the most used commonly
Moldavia is Moldova in Italian, so I (as Italian) would assume they are from Moldova.
But Moldavia is also an historical region spanning Romania* and Moldova, and (today) the region in East Romania (Iași). While today’s Moldova is mainly what was called Bessarabia in the past.
*historical Romania is the union of Moldavia, Transylvania, and Wallachia.
What?
I would expect them to be from Moldova. Actually I always thought the name of the country was Moldavia. With *Moldova* being the Romanian endonym.
And I dobt anyone introduces themselves by their region as opposed to their country.
“I’m from Macedonia”. Nobody from Greek Macedonia would say that.
“I’m Frisian”. Could be German, Netherland or maybe even Danish?
The only Romanian citizens that flaunt their local affiliation first are the Transylvanians because the Transylvania “brand” (Dracula, multikulti, Central European) is somewhat cooler than the Romania “brand”. Therefor if someone says they are from Moldova I would assume the Republic.
I would expect you to be from *Moldavien* (“Moldova, the country”).
Mostly because when introducing yourself, you usually start with the country (or continent), then narrow it down to the local region and area. So I would not expect anything to be amiss.
Of course, this doesn’t always apply when speaking with people from your own or neighbouring countries, since they may already have a good understanding of the local geography.
I would expect them to be from Moldova and assume they made a common mistake in the name of the country. Same how I’d expect someone to be from France if they had told me they’re from Frence.
IIRC in Spanish both the region and the country are written Moldavia.
So I would assume the country, because I’m not perfect on geography in English.
By the way, another frequent confusion is Galicia. There’s a Spanish one, and a Polish one
Hands down Moldova because “Moldavia” (or Mołdawia or something close) is how the country Moldova is known in a bunch of languages. People might simply be English-ifying their mother tongue name instead of using the actual English word.
Moldavia is the older English name for what is now called Moldova. It only became standard in English to call it that when the country gained independence in 1991.
Porbably Moldova, which is also called “Moldavija” in my language. The eastern part of Romania would be the second option.
If the region is spread between a few countries, the likelihood of someone describing themselves as being from “Moldavia” instead of their country is exeedingly low. Like, nobody talking to a foreigner would say “I’m from Pomerania”, instead of “I’m from Poland” or “I’m from Germany”.
But if it did happen, in my language Moldova is called Mołdawia, pronounced almost exactly like Moldavia, so yeah, I’d assume Moldova.
In English, Moldova designates today’s Republic, while Moldavia is a more archaic term that refers to the historical Principality, which—besides the territory of the present Republic—also included the Romanian region of Moldova, Southern Bukovina, and the areas of Northern Bukovina and the Bugeac, which are now part of Ukraine. I assume English ended up with both variants via borrowing from French (they use Moldavia for both). Note, however, that this distinction is particular to English; in Romanian there is only one term, Moldova, which designates the Republic, the historical Principality, and the Romanian region alike.
As a Romanian, if I hear someone say they are from Moldova, I would assume they mean the Romanian region of Moldova (the western half of the historical Principality). People from the Republic of Moldova, when speaking to Romanians, typically say they are from the Republic or from Basarabia.
For foreigners, however, the assumption works the other way around: if someone says they are from Moldova, it should be understood as the Republic of Moldova. Romanians from the region of Moldova would usually just say they are from Romania, since they would not expect foreigners to be familiar with Romania’s internal regions.
17 comments
Moldavien is the name of the country in Swedish so I would probably think they were from Moldova (while still erroneously believing the name to be Moldavia). TIL
Romanian from Romanian region of Moldavia would say he/she is Romanian first, so Moldavian would mean person from the state of Moldavia/Moldova
I would expect them to be from Moldova 🙂
By the way, this probably isn’t the best place but it’s such a bloody cool novel I can’t help myself but recommend it here. Gregor von Rezzori’s *Ermine in Czernopol* is one of the best novels ever written, the guy was basically Oscar Wilde from Bukovina.
I had always thought Moldova is just the English name for the country but in their language it’s Moldavia – not sure but this is what I had previously understood.
Moldova, because I would think I didn’t understand them properly and they probably would have said Moldova
Moldavia is the Italian name for Moldova so I had a bit of trouble when I first read your title 😂
Both can be used in Italian but Moldavia is the most used commonly
Moldavia is Moldova in Italian, so I (as Italian) would assume they are from Moldova.
But Moldavia is also an historical region spanning Romania* and Moldova, and (today) the region in East Romania (Iași). While today’s Moldova is mainly what was called Bessarabia in the past.
*historical Romania is the union of Moldavia, Transylvania, and Wallachia.
What?
I would expect them to be from Moldova. Actually I always thought the name of the country was Moldavia. With *Moldova* being the Romanian endonym.
And I dobt anyone introduces themselves by their region as opposed to their country.
“I’m from Macedonia”. Nobody from Greek Macedonia would say that.
“I’m Frisian”. Could be German, Netherland or maybe even Danish?
The only Romanian citizens that flaunt their local affiliation first are the Transylvanians because the Transylvania “brand” (Dracula, multikulti, Central European) is somewhat cooler than the Romania “brand”. Therefor if someone says they are from Moldova I would assume the Republic.
I would expect you to be from *Moldavien* (“Moldova, the country”).
Mostly because when introducing yourself, you usually start with the country (or continent), then narrow it down to the local region and area. So I would not expect anything to be amiss.
Of course, this doesn’t always apply when speaking with people from your own or neighbouring countries, since they may already have a good understanding of the local geography.
I would expect them to be from Moldova and assume they made a common mistake in the name of the country. Same how I’d expect someone to be from France if they had told me they’re from Frence.
IIRC in Spanish both the region and the country are written Moldavia.
So I would assume the country, because I’m not perfect on geography in English.
By the way, another frequent confusion is Galicia. There’s a Spanish one, and a Polish one
Hands down Moldova because “Moldavia” (or Mołdawia or something close) is how the country Moldova is known in a bunch of languages. People might simply be English-ifying their mother tongue name instead of using the actual English word.
Moldavia is the older English name for what is now called Moldova. It only became standard in English to call it that when the country gained independence in 1991.
Porbably Moldova, which is also called “Moldavija” in my language. The eastern part of Romania would be the second option.
If the region is spread between a few countries, the likelihood of someone describing themselves as being from “Moldavia” instead of their country is exeedingly low. Like, nobody talking to a foreigner would say “I’m from Pomerania”, instead of “I’m from Poland” or “I’m from Germany”.
But if it did happen, in my language Moldova is called Mołdawia, pronounced almost exactly like Moldavia, so yeah, I’d assume Moldova.
In English, Moldova designates today’s Republic, while Moldavia is a more archaic term that refers to the historical Principality, which—besides the territory of the present Republic—also included the Romanian region of Moldova, Southern Bukovina, and the areas of Northern Bukovina and the Bugeac, which are now part of Ukraine. I assume English ended up with both variants via borrowing from French (they use Moldavia for both). Note, however, that this distinction is particular to English; in Romanian there is only one term, Moldova, which designates the Republic, the historical Principality, and the Romanian region alike.
As a Romanian, if I hear someone say they are from Moldova, I would assume they mean the Romanian region of Moldova (the western half of the historical Principality). People from the Republic of Moldova, when speaking to Romanians, typically say they are from the Republic or from Basarabia.
For foreigners, however, the assumption works the other way around: if someone says they are from Moldova, it should be understood as the Republic of Moldova. Romanians from the region of Moldova would usually just say they are from Romania, since they would not expect foreigners to be familiar with Romania’s internal regions.