View Message

[Surname] Caravaggio
Anyone knows the etymology of this old Italian surname? and if it derives through toponymy, the etymology of the place name after which it is named?
vote up1vote down

Replies

It is a place in Sicily. The family for whom the place is named was originally Cara, which means dear, beloved. Vaggio is probably a Sicilian dialectical form of viaggio, journey. In contemporary Italian, everyone says "Buon viaggio!" when departing; the English equivalent is "Have a nice trip!" If I were going to Sicily, I would certainly have every expectation of a nice trip, even if I risked dealing with characters like the painter, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.
vote up1vote down
Caravaggio is in Lombardy and nobody knows the origin of the name as you can see at tinyurl.com/y9qjlctf.
vote up1vote down