Nosferatu comes from the Greek word nosophoros (which means "plague-carrier") that evolved into the Old Slavonic word "nosufur-atu".

The name used to qualify a Romanian undead vampire  became popular in fictional literature due to an article written by Emily Gerard titled "Transylvanian Superstitions" which was published in the the July, 1885 issue of the magazine XIX Century.

The article is based on what the author, an English woman, learned while living in Transylvania. The article was read by Bram Stoker, and the name became popular in fictional literature as the result of Stoker using the name in his novel Dracula.

Ironically, there are no other credible accounts of the name nosferatu being used in Romanian folklore.