I will quote someone else's post on the surname Vernetti or Fernet
This comes from behind the name message boards where someone made this post "the surname in question is Vernetti (or Vernatti). We know very little about the origins, other than we are Italian and the name was changed to Fernatt once my grandfather entered the Army. Does anyone have any ideas about the meaning/origin? Thanks!"It seems very interesting to me that somehow the surname Vernatti could end being Fernet (the post doesn't say so but if it could end as Fernatt it could end as Fernet) and Vernatti could be a dutch-italian name (Van der Natti-->Vernatti) but this is just an unproven hypothesis... anyone knows better?
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The origin of Fernatt is Dutch Van Etten 'from Etten', a placename in Holland. The sequence of stages is Fernatt < Vernatt < Vannatter < Vannator < Vanatta < Van Natta < Van Etten.
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Thanks! And then what would that Fernatt and this Fernet ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernet ) be related? Because I cannot find the etymology of the amaro called "Fernet"...
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Thank you both for your assistance. I know it was a shot in the dark. I've never been able to figure out why the name was changed to Fernatt (upon entrance into the Army) other than "it didn't sound so Italian." Thank you once again!
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I still wonder what's the etymology of the place name Etten (I cant find it yet) or of the liquor called Fernet...
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