The line of the Drăculești began with Vlad II Dracul ("the Dragon"), son of one of the most important rulers of the Basarab dynasty, Mircea the Elder.

The name Drăculești is the patronymic of Dracul, which according to most historians is derived from the 1431 membership of Vlad II in the Order of the Dragon (Societas draconistarum) that had been founded in 1408 AD by Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.

[2][3][4] Another proposal holds that Vlad II earned the nickname "Dracul" (at the time also meaning "Devil") by Romanians, who associated the dragon imagery on the Order's insignia with a demon.

[6] It created a strong solidarity among central and southeastern Europe's Christians, in their fight against Ottoman and Tartar (from the Golden Horde and Crimean Khanate) Muslims.

[8] Members of the Drăculești line who held the throne of Wallachia include the following: Trașcă Drăculescu – Wallachian boyar, inhabitant of Oltenia, the "last legitimate" descendant of the dynasty, who died in the 18th century.