Alternative names for Maramureș include Ukrainian: Мармарощина (Marmaroshchyna), Rusyn: Мараморош (Maramoroš), Russian: Мармарош (Marmarosh), Hungarian: Máramaros, German: Maramuresch or Marmarosch and Latin: Marmatia.

The limits of the region are between the parallels of 47°33' N and 47°02' N and the meridians of 23°15' E and 25°03' E. Maramureș represents one of the largest depressions in the Carpathians, covering an area of about 10,000 km2.

The main mountain passes linking Maramureș with the neighboring regions are high and in the past were hardly accessible in the winter.

A few peaks reach above 2,000 m, such as Pietrosul (2,303 m) in the Rodna Mountains to the south and Hovârla (2,061 m) in Muntele Negru (Cernahora) to the north.

Initially, the Romanian inhabitants of the region were allowed to preserve their political organization, the Voivodeship of Maramureș, divided into many small autonomous areas.

The King long struggled[citation needed] to convince the Voivodes to accept the title of Count, with the implied loss of independence in political and financial matters.

The origin of the word is disputed: in the Kingdom of Hungary, free people possessing land were called nemes in Hungarian.

In Romanian neam means extended family, but this name's root is better explained[citation needed] as deriving from the Greek verb νέμω némō, meaning to divide something (mainly land) into parts and give it to νοµεῖς nomeîs (people with the right to use it, either to rent it or use it for free; singular νομεύς nomeús).