Prefer the modern English spelling, Romania, to the variants Rumania and Roumania. Prior to the 1970s, the standard English name for the southeast European country was Rumania, sometimes Roumania. These spellings partially imitate French pronunciation, which sought to differentiate Romanians (Roumains) from Romans (Romains). Since English does not suffer from this same conundrum, the standard name has been, since the 1970s, Romania, which more closely reflects the country’s name in Romanian (România).