This literary count was based in part on a Romanian prince named Vlad the Impaler
... 
Vlad) "Dracul" - word meaning both "the devil" and "the dragon" in Romanian and
... [DOC] [TLE] Dracula, Myth and History [PAR] The name "Dracula" has links with the Romanian word "drac" (derived from the 
Latin "draco") ... reputation, and it reinforces the connection to Stoker's vampire 
Count.