Abano ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the town of Abano, Latin
Aponus, which was derived from the old Celtic root
ab meaning "water".
Abbiati ItalianOriginally a name for a person from the city of Abbiategrasso, near Milan in Italy, called
Abiatum in Latin.
Acconcio ItalianFrom the medieval Italian given names
Accuntius or
Acconcius, of uncertain meaning.
Acone ItalianPossibly from the name of a harbour in Bithynia (in modern Turkey).
Acqua ItalianMeans
"water" in Italian, indicating one who dwelt by or transported water.
Acquafredda ItalianDenoted a person who came from one of the various places in Italy with this name, derived from Italian meaning "cold water".
Acquarone ItalianMeaning uncertain, possibly from a place name or an occupation derived from Italian
acqua "water".
Acquati ItalianFrom the name of a village, part of the city of Lecco in Lombardy. Its name is presumably derived from Italian
acqua "water".
Addario ItalianDerived from the given name
Addarius, of unknown meaning.
Agani ItalianMeans
"son of Agano", a given name of unknown meaning.
Agnusdei ItalianFrom Latin
Agnus Dei meaning
"lamb of God". This was a nickname for someone who was particularly religious or someone who wore this symbol.
Alagona ItalianFrom the name of the Spanish region of Aragon, which was a medieval kingdom. The region was named for a river, which was itself derived from an Indo-European root meaning "water".
Alderisi ItalianMeans
"son of Alderissius", a Latinized form of a Germanic name of unknown meaning.
Aleppo ItalianFrom the name of the Syrian city of Aleppo, which is from Arabic
خالاب (Khālāb), of uncertain meaning.
Altamura ItalianFrom the name of the Italian city of Altamura, which means "high walls" in Italian.
Amantea ItalianFrom the name of a town in Calabria, Italy. It is possibly derived from Arabic (dating from the Arab raids of the 9th century) meaning "the fortress".
Aquino Italian, SpanishFrom the name of an Italian town near Rome, derived from Latin
aqua meaning "water", the home town of the 13th-century saint Thomas Aquinas. In Italy the surname is derived directly from the town's name. As a Spanish-language surname, it was sometimes bestowed by missionaries in honour of the saint as they evangelized in Spanish colonies.
Arnoni ItalianMeans
"son of Arnone" from the medieval name
Arnone, of uncertain origin.
Avellino ItalianFrom the name of a town in Campania, Italy, called
Abellinum in Latin, of unknown meaning.
Azzarà ItalianSicilian name, derived from Greek dialects of southern Italy. It is from Greek
ψαράς (psaras) meaning
"fisherman".
Baggio ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the Italian town of Baggio (now part of Milan). It is probably derived from Latin
Badalocum meaning "watch place".
Baldinotti ItalianDerived from the given name
Baldinotto, from the Latin name
Baldinoctus, a diminutive of
Baldo.
Bandini ItalianFrom the Latin name
Bandinus, a derivative of
Bandus, which is of unknown meaning.
Barsotti ItalianProbably from the medieval Latin word
baro meaning
"man, freeman" (of Frankish origin).
Bellandi ItalianMeans
"son of Bellando", from a medieval given name derived from Latin
bellandus meaning "which is to be fought".
Bellincioni ItalianMeans
"son of Bellincione", from a medieval name (borne for example by Dante's grandfather) that was probably a derivative of Italian
bello "beautiful, fair".
Benenati ItalianMeans
"son of Benenato", a given name derived from Latin
bene "good, well" and
natus "good".
Bologna ItalianFrom the name of the city of Bologna in northern Italy. It may derive from a Celtic word meaning "settlement".
Bondesan ItalianVenetian name derived from the name of the town of Bondeno in northern Italy.
Borgia ItalianItalian form of
Borja. This was the name of an Italian noble family who were influential during the Renaissance period.
Borgnino ItalianFrom a nickname derived from the Piedmontese dialect word
borgno meaning
"one-eyed". This was the real surname of American actor Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012).
Borgogni ItalianFrom the name of the French region of Burgundy (called Bourgogne in French), which is named after the Germanic tribe the Burgundians, meaning "people from the high land".
Brambilla ItalianDerived from the Italian town of Brembilla in Lombardy, itself named after the Brembo river.
Breda ItalianFrom the name of a town near Venice, possibly derived from a Lombardic word meaning "field".
Brioschi ItalianDerived from the town of Briosco, near Milan. It may be of Lombardic origin.
Brivio ItalianFrom the name of the town of Brivio in Lombardy. Supposed it derives from a Celtic word meaning "bridge".
Bulgari ItalianOriginally denoted a person who came from Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".
Buonarroti ItalianFrom the medieval Italian given name
Buonarroto meaning "good increase". This was the surname of the Renaissance painter and sculptor Michelangelo (1475-1564).
Busto Spanish, ItalianFrom the name of towns in Spain and Italy, derived from Late Latin
bustum meaning "ox pasture".
Caiazzo ItalianFrom the name of a city near Naples, originally
Caiatia in Latin, a derivative of the given name
Caius.
Caivano ItalianFrom the name of the town of Caivano near Naples, derived from Latin
Calvianum, derived from the Roman cognomen
Calvus.
Calabrese ItalianOriginally given to a person who came from the region of Calabria in southern Italy.
Campana Italian, SpanishOccupational name from Late Latin
campana meaning
"bell", ultimately derived from the Italian region of Campania, where bells were produced.
Cantù ItalianFrom Cantù, an Italian town located in Lombardy, itself of uncertain origin.
Carrara ItalianFrom the name of a city in Tuscany famous for its marble quarries. It is probably derived from Late Latin
quadreria meaning "quarry".
Cassano ItalianIndicated a person from any of the various towns named Cassano in Italy.
Cingolani ItalianFrom Cingoli, a town in the Marche region of Italy. It is derived from Latin
cingo "surround, ring".
Cino ItalianFrom the given name
Cino, a short form of names ending in
cino.
Cisternino ItalianFrom the name of the town of Cisternino, near the city of Bari in southern Italy.
Colombera ItalianFrom a derivative of Italian
colomba "dove" indicating a house where doves were held.
Colombo ItalianEither from Italian
colomba "dove" indicating a dove keeper, or from the given name
Colombo, which is derived from the same word. This was the Italian surname of the 15th-century explorer Christopher Columbus.
Como 2 ItalianFrom the name of the city of Como in Lombardy, the rival city of Milan during the Middle Ages. Its name may come from a Celtic root meaning "valley".
Coppola ItalianFrom the name of a type of hat characteristic of Sicily and southern Italy. This surname indicated a person who wore or made these hats. A famous bearer is the filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (1939-), as well as other members of his extended family also in show business.
Corleone Sicilian, LiteratureFrom the name of the town of Corleone in Sicily, which is of uncertain meaning. This surname is well known from the novel
The Godfather (1969) by Mario Puzo, as well as the films based on his characters. The story tells how Vito Andolini comes to America from Sicily, receiving the new surname
Corleone at Ellis Island, and starts a criminal empire based in New York.
Corna ItalianDerived from the names of places in northern Italy, especially Lombardy, from a word that means
"crag, cliff" in the Lombard dialect.
Cremaschi ItalianFrom the name of the city of Crema in Lombardy, northern Italy.
Cremona ItalianFrom the Italian city of Cremona, south of Milan, in Lombardy.
Di Caprio ItalianFrom the name of the island of Capri near Naples, itself possibly derived from Latin
capra meaning "goat" or Greek
κάπρος (kapros) meaning "wild boar".
Farro ItalianDerived from the name of a place on Sicily, Italy, derived from Latin
far meaning "wheat, spelt".
Fava ItalianFrom Italian
fava referring to a type of broad bean.
Fermi ItalianOriginally indicated a person from the town of Fermo in the Marche region of Italy, originally called
Firmum in Latin meaning "strong, steady, firm".
Ferrari ItalianOccupational name for a metalworker or smith, derived from Latin
ferrarius, a derivative of
ferrum meaning "iron".
Fonda ItalianOf Italian origin, possibly from a place derived from
fondo meaning
"deep". The family of Henry Fonda (1905-1982) came from the Netherlands, but they were of Genoese origin.
Franzese ItalianFrom a nickname that indicated a person who came from France. It is typical of the area around Naples.
Furlan Italian, SloveneFrom the name of the Italian region of
Friuli, in the northeast of Italy, which is derived from the name of the Roman town of Forum Iulii meaning "forum of Julius".
Ganza ItalianProbably from the feminine medieval given name Allegranza or Alleganza, a derivative of
Allegra. It comes from northern Lombardy.
Garbo ItalianFrom a nickname meaning
"politeness" in Italian. A famous bearer of this name was the Swedish actress Greta Garbo (1905-1990), born Greta Lovisa Gustafsson.
Garfagnini ItalianOriginally denoted one from the region of Garfagnana in Tuscany, Italy, near the historical city of Lucca.
Garofalo ItalianFrom a nickname, from a southern variant of the Italian word
garofano meaning
"carnation".
Grimaldi ItalianFrom the given name
Grimaldo. It is the surname of the royal family of Monaco, which came from Genoa.
Gronchi ItalianFrom the Tuscan word
gronchio meaning
"numb, bent". This is an Italian regional surname typical of Tuscany. A famous bearer was the Italian president Giovanni Gronchi (1887-1978).
Guttuso ItalianFrom a Sicilian nickname meaning
"sad". It was name of the famous Italian painter Renato Guttuso (born 1912).
Labriola ItalianOriginally indicated a person from the town of Abriola in southern Italy.
Lagorio ItalianFrom a nickname derived from Ligurian
lagö, referring to a type of lizard, the European green lizard. This little reptile is respected because it supposedly protects against vipers.
Laguardia ItalianOccupational name meaning
"sentry, sentinel" in Italian, also a locative name referring to a person who lived near a watchtower. Fiorello Laguardia (1882-1947) was the first mayor of New York of Italian origin.
Lamon ItalianFrom the name of the village of Lamon near the city of Belluno in Veneto, Italy.
Laterza ItalianFrom the name of the town of Laterza near Taranto in Apulia. It is typical of southern Italy.
Laurito ItalianFrom the name of the town of Laurito, near Salerno in the area of Naples.
Locatelli ItalianFrom Locatello, a town in Lombardy, northern Italy, near the city of Bergamo.
Lombardi ItalianOriginally indicated someone who came from the Lombardy region of northern Italy, which was named for the Lombards, a Germanic tribe who invaded in the 6th century. Their name is derived from the Old German roots
lang "long" and
bart "beard".
Luzzatto ItalianFrom an Italian form of
Lusatia, a region of eastern Germany.
Manfredonia ItalianOriginally indicated a person from Manfredonia, Italy. The city was named for the 13th-century King
Manfred of Sicily.
Mantovani ItalianFrom the name of the city of Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy (
Mantova in Italian).
Marchegiano ItalianFrom the name of the Marche region in Italy, derived from Late Latin
marca meaning "borderland". It was the real surname of the American boxer Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), who was born Rocco Marchegiano.
Marchesi ItalianFrom the Italian title
marchese meaning
"marquis". It was probably a nickname for a person who behaved like a marquis or worked in the household of a marquis.
Merlo Italian, SpanishMeans
"blackbird", ultimately from Latin
merula. The blackbird is a symbol of a naive person.
Messina ItalianFrom the name of the Sicilian city of Messina, founded by Greek colonists. The city was named after the Greek city
Μεσσήνη (Messene).
Modugno ItalianFrom the town of Modugno, in Apulia in southern Italy. It is the surname of the Italian actor and singer Domenico Modugno (1928-1994).
Mondadori ItalianFrom Italian
mondatore meaning
"weeder". This was an occupational name for someone who kept fields clear of weeds.
Moschella ItalianFrom a diminutive of Italian
mosca meaning
"housefly", perhaps originally a nickname for an annoying person.
Motta ItalianFrom various names of places around Italy. It is derived from a Gaulish word meaning "hill".
Muggia ItalianFrom the town of Muggia in northeastern Italy near the Slovenian border. It was called
Muglae in Latin.
Mussolini ItalianFrom Italian
mussolina meaning
"muslin", a type of cloth, itself derived from the city of Mosul in Iraq. This name was borne by the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini (1883-1945).
Naggi ItalianOriginally denoted a person from the town of Naggio in Lombardy, Italy.
Necchi ItalianPossibly from Italian
neccio, a type of flat bread.
Nepi ItalianFrom the town of Nepi in central Italy, which is of uncertain origin.
Nervi ItalianFrom the name of the town of Nervi in Liguria, northwestern Italy.
Nespoli ItalianFrom the name of towns such as Nespoli and Nespoledo, derived from Italian
nespola meaning "medlar (tree)".
Nicastro ItalianFrom the name of the town of Nicastro in Calabria, southern Italy.
Nicolosi ItalianFrom the name of the town Nicolosi on Sicily, itself named for Saint Nicholas.
Nisi ItalianMeans
"son of Niso", an Italian form of the mythological name
Nisus.
Nizzola ItalianFrom the name of the Italian town of Nizzola near Modena.
Noschese ItalianFrom the name of the town of Nusco in Campania, southern Italy.
Padovano ItalianOriginally denoted one who came from the city of Padua in Italy, from Italian
Padova, itself from Latin
Patavium, of unknown meaning.