Given name & surname
Radu
“glad, dear”
Radu is a masculine given name from Old Church Slavonic, ultimately from Proto-Slavic. It is used in Romanian.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Radu goes back to Proto-Slavic *radъ, meaning “glad, dear.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Radu comes from Old Church Slavonic, and ultimately from Proto-Slavic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
Radu is a short form of Radosław.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1976. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Radu through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 30
- 30 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1976
- 5 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2022. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,165 as a first name in 2020; 1,113 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Radu’s family of names
Radu is a short form of Radosław. In Romanian usage, Radu has a diminutive in Răducu. In Romanian usage, Radu has a diminutive in Răduleț.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 5
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Radu
- Radu DrăgușinRomanian association football player (born 2002)
- Radu Vasile57th Prime Minister of Romania (1998-1999)1942–2013
- Radu JudeRomanian film directorborn 1977
- Radu LupuRomanian pianist (1945–2022)
- Radu the HandsomeSon of Vlad II Dracul
- Radu AlbotMoldovan tennis playerborn 1989
- Radu NegruPrince of Wallachia1269
- Radu IV the GreatPrince of Wallachia1467–1508
- Radu MihăileanuRomanian-French film director and screenwriter (born 1958)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Radu, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Raffi
“lofty”
>99% boys
Tito
“of the giants” · “a great defender”
>99% boys
Kam
“having a crooked nose”
>99% boys
Boris
“a warrior; having battle glory”
>99% boys
Damon
“one who tames or subdues others”
>99% boys
Brian
“noble” · “of noble birth”
>99% boys
Ryan
“the little ruler; little king”
90% boys · 10% girls
Jarek
“born during the spring”
>99% boys