This is a list of notable people, of all ethnicities, born in the Republic of Moldova, the Moldovan SSR or the historical province of Bessarabia.

Painters, sculptors, architects, photographers

Writers

Moldovans (in Moldovan/Romanian moldoveni pronounced [moldoˈvenʲ]) are the largest population group of the Republic of Moldova (75.8% of the population), and a significant minority in Ukraine and Russia. Under the variant Moldavians, the term may also be used to refer to all inhabitants of the territory of historical Principality of Moldavia, currently divided among Romania (47.5%), Moldova (30.5%) and Ukraine (22%), regardless of ethnic identity.

This article refers primarily to the Romance-speakers of the Republic of Moldova, the historical Bessarabia and diaspora originating from these regions. There is an ongoing controversy whether Moldovans are a fully fledged ethnic group or a subgroup of the Romanian ethnic group.

Population

Moldovan self-awareness

A poll conducted in the Republic of Moldova by IMAS-Inc Chișinău in October 2009 presented a detailed picture. The respondents were asked to rate the relationship between the identity of Moldovans and that of Romanians on a scale between 1 (entirely the same) to 5 (completely different). The poll showed that 26% of the entire sample, which included all ethnic groups, claimed the two identities were the same or very similar, whereas 47% claimed they were different or entirely different. The results varied significantly among different categories of subjects. For instance, while 33% of the young respondents (ages 18–29) chose the same or very similar and 44% different or very different, among the senior respondents (aged over 60) the corresponding figures were 18.5% and 53%. The proportion of those who chose the same or very similar identity was higher than the average among the native speakers of Romanian/Moldovan (30%), among the urban dwellers (30%), among those with higher education (36%), and among the residents of the capital city (42%).

Moldovan and Moldavian refer to something of, from, or related to Moldova or Moldavia. In particular, it may refer to:

See also

Moldavia (Romanian: Moldova pronounced [molˈdova]) is a historical region, and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river. An initially independent and later autonomous state, it existed from the 14th century to 1859, when it united with Wallachia as the basis of the modern Romanian state; at various times, the state included the regions of Bessarabia (with the Budjak) and all of Bukovina. The western half of Moldavia is now part of Romania, the eastern side belongs to the Republic of Moldova, while the northern and southeastern parts are territories of Ukraine.

Name and etymology

The original and short-lived reference to the region was Bogdania, after Bogdan I, the founding figure of the principality. The names Moldavia and Moldova are derived from the name of the Moldova River; however, the etymology is not known and there are several variants: