Vlads father (Vlad II) was part of The Order of the Dragon, a chivalric order modeled after the Order of St. George. Its primary goal was to defend Christianity and to do battle against its enemies, particularly the Ottoman Turks. Vlad II adopted the last name Dracul, meaning dragon in old Romanian. Therefore, Vlad III took the diminutive epithet of Dracula meaning Son of the Dragon. Vlad loved the dragon so much, that he emblazoned his money with it and used it on familial decorations. Nice to know he had other hobbies than impalement, Eventually, Dracul came to be associated with the word devil as an insult to Vlad's family, though it actually means dragon. Vlad's nickname of Ţepe means Impaler and identifies his favorite form of execution and torture. This nickname came into use around 1550 after Vlad was already deceased. His Turkish contemporaries, however, did refer to him as Kaziklu Bey or Sir Impaler. It is interesting that a name intended to martyr the image of the Draculesti family can now be found on many menus in Romania. Yes, Chicken Ţepe is a thing.
