This is a reply within a larger thread: view the whole thread

Re: Alighieri
In fact the names has come into Italian Through the medieval LatinAlagherius, Alaghieri. In germanic countries Alaker.
At the moment the first name Alighiero is very rare in Italy.
vote up1vote down

Replies

That's great, thanks. With this info I discovered that the ghieri part goes back to Germanic 'gaira' meaning lance. The ali (ala) bit is said to mean something like all or every. However, it should mean 'shake', because I heard that Alighieri means 'Shake-Spear'! So does ali or ala mean shake in any European language?
vote up1vote down