italian surnames
Could anyone explain me the following italian surnames:
Berti
Biella
Rapa
Thanks a lot
Berti
Biella
Rapa
Thanks a lot
Replies
from bari south italy
Berti: appears in whole Italy, from names like Libertus, Adalbertus, Robertus, et cetera or from just Bertus, all composed at least of beraht meaning "bright".
Biella: is typical Lombardian, in some cases from placenames called Biella, but mostly an archaic form of the medieval name Bellus, meaning "beautiful".
Rapa: like Rapelli and Rapetti (-elli and -etti are diminutives) from the Italian word rapa meaning "turnip", probably denoting someone who cultivated turnips.
Biella: is typical Lombardian, in some cases from placenames called Biella, but mostly an archaic form of the medieval name Bellus, meaning "beautiful".
Rapa: like Rapelli and Rapetti (-elli and -etti are diminutives) from the Italian word rapa meaning "turnip", probably denoting someone who cultivated turnips.