section_path: Etymology
section_name: Etymology
paragraph_text: Etymology
  
  Romania derives from the local name for Romanian (Romanian: român), which in turn derives from Latin romanus, meaning " Roman " or "of Rome ". This ethnonym for Romanians is first attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia. The oldest known surviving document written in Romanian that can be precisely dated, a 1521 letter known as the " Letter of Neacșu from Câmpulung ", is notable for including the first documented occurrence of Romanian in a country name: Wallachia is mentioned as Țara Rumânească.