There have been several hypotheses on the origins and semnification of the name of the town:
      -according to one of them the name "Zalau" means "belt" in the Avar language
      -another translation is "the bed with elms" from the Hungarian "Sil es Agz"
    -some believe that "Zalau" is the transcription in the Hungarian of the German town "Zillenmarkt" (market place)