His mother was Maria Răreșoaia of Hârlău, whose existence is not historically documented but who is said to have been the wife of a wealthy boyar fish-merchant nicknamed Rareș "rare-haired" (i.e., bald). Rareș thus was not Petru's actual name but a nickname of his mother's husband.
Maria Răreșoaia of Hârlău, whose existence is unverified in history, was the wife of a wealthy boyar fish-merchant nicknamed Rareș "rare-haired" (i.e., bald). This Rareș was not Petru's actual name but rather a nickname for his mother's husband.