The city appeared for the first time in historical records under its medieval Greek name of Argyrocastron (Greek: Αργυρόκαστρον), as mentioned by John VI Kantakouzenos in 1336.The name comes from the Greek Αργυρό ("Αrgyro"), meaning "silver", and Κάστρον ("Kastro"), meaning castle, thus "Silver castle".
The theory that the city took the name of the Princess Argjiro, a legendary figure about whom Ismail Kadare wrote a poem in the 1960s, is considered a folk etymology, since the princess is said to have lived later, in the 15th century.[8] The definite Albanian form of the name of city is Gjirokastra, while in the Gheg Albanian dialect it is known as Gjirokastër, both of which derive from the Greek name. In Aromanian the city is known asLjurocastru, while in modern Greek it is known Αργυρόκαστρο (Argyrokastro). During the Ottoman era the town was known in Turkish as Ergiri.
