AccettaItalian From the female form of southern Italian Accetto, a medieval personal name from the Latin name Acceptus (from acceptus 'welcome', 'well-liked').
AgassiArmenian, Persian, Italian The surname Agassi most likely evolved from a nickname for someone resembling a mappie, perhaps jokingly referred to as chattering or nagging person. ... [more]
AgirmoItalian two hypotheses: either from the Greek agyrmos meaning "symposium, meeting" which was the name of the first day of the Misteri Eleusini in Athens.... [more]
AlbaneseItalian Southern Italian : ethnic name from albanese ‘(an) Albanian’, applied to someone from Albania or from one of the Albanian settlements in Abruzzo, Apulia, Campania, and Sicily.
AlfaniItalian (or Alfano) three possibilities: from the German word halfer ("helper"), from a place called Alfano, which is supposed to be from the Arab al fannan ("wild donkey"), and Alfana is the name of a race (as in type) of Arab horses, so could be someone related to horses.
AlfieriItalian From Italian alfiere "standard-bearer, ensign", ultimately from Arabic فارس (al-faris) "horseman, rider; knight, cavalier". May alternately derive from the Germanic given name Adalfarus, meaning "noble journey".
AlighieriItalian From the given name Alighiero, Italian form of Aldiger. A famous bearer of this surname is Dante Alighieri (1265-1321), author of the Divine Comedy.
AmanziItalian Possibly from amate "to love". Alternately, may be from the dialectical word manzu "tame, gentle, docile", or from the given name Mantius.
AmaraItalian Meaning bitter, unhappy or unfortunate.
AmecheItalian (Anglicized) Americanised form of Amici. A famous bearer was American actor, comedian and vaudevillian Don Ameche (1908-1993). After portraying the title character in the movie The Story of Alexander Graham Bell (1939), his surname led Americans to use the word ameche as a juvenile slang for a telephone.
AmeglioItalian There are two hypotheses: the first is it derived from the Latin name Amelius which came from Amius, name of Etruscan origin; the other is it derived from Amali, name of a mighty Ostrogothic family, which means "virgin of the forest".
AmendolaItalian Southern Italian: habitational name from any of several places in southern Italy named Amendola or Mendola, named with the dialect word amendola 'almond', 'almond tree' (from Greek amygdalea), or a topographic name for someone who lived by an almond tree or trees.
AneddaItalian Possibly from Sardinian anedda "ring", referring to a walled ring in which animals were tied. May alternately be a diminutive form of the given name Ana.
AngeloItalian From a popular medieval personal name, Angelo, Latin Angelus, from Greek angelos "messenger, angel" (considered as a messenger sent from God).
AngeloniItalian Means "great angels" in Italian. It derives from Biblical Latin angelus meaning "angel", ultimately from Ancient Greek angelos, originally meaning "messenger", changing meaning in the Bible.
AngioniItalian From Sardinian angioni "lamb", denoting a shepherd, or perhaps a nickname.
AngiusItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly linked to Sardinian angioni "lamb", Ancient Greek άγγος (àngos) "vessel, jug" or άγχω (ankho) "to strangle; anguish, stress", or from a modification of Latin balneum (see Bagni) "bath", indicating a place with hot springs.
AngottItalian (Anglicized) The origin of this surname is unknown but is most likely an anglicized version of the Italian surname 'Angotti'.... [more]
AngrisaniItalian From Angrisano, a habitational name for someone from Angri in Salerno province.
AnguissolaItalian Sofonisba Aguissola was a celebrated artist of the Italian Renaissance.
AntoliniItalian The family originated from Sarnano (Macerata) and at the end of the century XVII transplanted to Montealbodo today Ostra (Ancona) where it was aggregated to that nobility.
ApicellaItalian Southern Italian: from a diminutive of apa ‘bee’, probably applied as a nickname for an industrious person, or possibly as a metonymic occupational name for a beekeeper.
ApolloItalian, Spanish From the Greek personal name Apollo. There are several saints Apollo in the Christian Church, including an Egyptian hermit and monastic leader who died in 395 ad. The personal name derives from the name in classical mythology of the sun god, Apollo, an ancient Indo-European name, found for example in Hittite as Apulana "god of the gate" (from pula "gate", cognate with Greek pylē), therefore "protector, patron".
AquinasItalian Aquinas indicates ancestral origins from the Italian county "Aquino." Aquino comes from the latin word "Aquinum" which itself probably comes from the latin word aqua. Aqua means water in English.
AràbiaItalian, Spanish Ethnic name for someone from Arabia or some other Arabic-speaking country or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with one of these countries.
AraldiItalian Means “heralds” in Italian. Famous bearers include Italian painters Alessandro Araldi (c. 1460 – c. 1529) and Paolo Araldi (18th century – after 1820).
ArcidiaconoItalian Means "archdeacon", denoting someone who worked for or was related to an archdeacon.
ArditiItalian The heraldic tradition has it that this illustrious family, called Ardito or Arditi, is the same one that flourished in Lombardy with the name of Conti, and that, transplanted in the Neapolitan with the Lombard hostages taken by the emperor Federico II, left that name, changing it.
ArgentoItalian Means "silver" in Italian, originally used as an occupational name for a silversmith or a nickname for a person with gray hair.
ArgenzianoItalian Derived from a diminutive of the given name Argenzio, ultimately from Latin argenteus meaning "silver". A famous bearer was American actor Carmen Argenziano (1943-2019).
AriostoItalian From the Germanic given name Ariost, meaning "battle-ready". A famous bearer of this surname is Italian poet Ludovico Ariosto (1474-1533).
ArlottaSicilian From the French personal name Arlot, recorded in the Latinized form Arolottus from the 13th century.
ArmellinoItalian Italian: of uncertain origin; possibly from a masculinized form of Armellina, an old female personal name derived from Latin animula, a diminutive of anima ‘spirit’, ‘soul’.
ArmeniaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Armenia or who had connections with Armenia. This surname is derived from the feminine form of Armenio, which is ultimately from Greek Αρμένιος (Armenios) meaning "Armenian"... [more]
AruItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Sardinian aru, a forked branch used to close hedges (possibly related to Latin varus "bent outwards, bow-legged"), or from arru "ring".
AscencioSpanish, Italian From the personal name (Latin Ascensius), favored by the early Christians, by whom it was bestowed with reference to the ascension of Christ (Late Latin ascensio).
AstoniItalian It is the surname of the Home and Away family, The Astoni family, consisting of 4 members, Ben, Maggie, Coco and Ziggy.
AstoreItalian Derived from Italian astore meaning "goshawk", which is a bird of prey that was used for hunting in the Middle Ages. The surname had first started out as a nickname: either for a falconer, or for a person who had aquiline features or who was cunning by nature.
AugelloItalian Italian (Campania) dialect variant of Uccello ‘bird’, hence either a nickname for a diminutive, birdlike person or an occupational name for a fowler. Compare Auciello.
AvenaSpanish, Italian A traditionally Spanish and Italian occupational surname for a "grain grower or merchant", or the Italian habitation surname for Avena, Calabria. Means "oats". From the Latin avēna meaning 'oats, wild oats, straw'.
AvogadroItalian An occupational name for a lawyer or public official with administrative duties. Ultimately from Latin advocator, "advocate".
Azuaje-fidalgoPortuguese (Rare), Spanish, Italian Fidalgo from Galician and Portuguese filho de algo — equivalent to "nobleman", but sometimes literally translated into English as "son of somebody" or "son of some (important family)"—is a traditional title of Portuguese nobility that refers to a member of the titled or untitled nobility... [more]
BaccellieriItalian From baccelliere "batchelor", a title for a young knight, or a university disciple who had studied Canon Law for 5 years and Civil Law for 7 years.
BacigalupoItalian From Ligurian bacigare "to beat with a stick" and lupo "wolf", or from Genoese basigâ "to swing, to tease" and lupo "wolf". Possibly a nickname for someone considered courageous or cowardly, or an occupational name for a hunter.
BaffaItalian The origins of this surname are uncertain, but it may be from Italian baffo "mustache", with the Latinate feminine suffix probably due to the influence of the word famiglia "family". Alternatively it may be Albanian in origin, of unexplained meaning.
BaioItalian From a nickname for someone with light brown or reddish-brown hair or beard, from baio meaning "bay horse", ultimately derived from Late Latin badius meaning "red-brown".
BalsanoGerman (Austrian), Italian The roots of the distinguished surname Balzano lie in Austria. The name derives itself from "Balthasar," the name of one of the three Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem, and was popular as both a first name and a family name during the 18th century.... [more]
BandiItalian Derived from Late Latin Bandus itself from the Germanic band and the Latin banda, all meaning "sign, emblem, banner". It can also derive from the Italian word bando meaning "announcement" from the Germanic bann.
BandieraItalian from bandiera "banner flag" hence presumably a status name for a standard bearer. Italian cognitive of Banner
BarbagelataItalian Named after the hamlet of Barbagelata, located in the commune of Lorsica, Genoa, Liguria, Italy. The name possibly means "cold beard", as it derives from "barba" (beard) and "gelata" (female form of cold).
BarberaItalian Derogatory nickname from barbera ‘barber’s wife’, a term also used to denote a prostitute or dishonest woman. Catalan (Barberà): habitational name from a place in Tarragona province, named with Late Latin Barbarianum ‘place of Barbarius’, a derivative of Barbarus (see Barbaro)... [more]
BaresiItalian Variant of Barrese. A famous bearer is Franchino "Franco" Baresi (1960-), as well as his brother Giuseppe Baresi (1958-), both former Italian soccer players.
BarnoItalian, Ukrainian, French, Ancient Aramaic, Russian The surname Barno was first found in the north of Italy, especially in Tuscany. The name occasionally appears in the south, usually in forms which end in "o," but the northern forms ending in "i" are much more common... [more]
BarracoItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Arabic بَرَّاق (barraq) "shining, lustrous".
BarreseItalian, Sicilian Denoted a person from any of the various minor places named Barra in southern Italy (for example the large district in the eastern part of Naples), derived from Italian barra meaning "barrier, bar, obstacle".
BartolottaItalian Bartolotta was the name taken by the followers of Saint Bartholomew. Bartholomew was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. He is credited as bringing Christianity to Armenia in the 1st century.
BarzagliItalian Probably from barezzo, an old word of Germanic origin used to denote people who bred pigs or sold ham.
BascianiItalian The surname Basciani derives from a nickname probably given to the family of origin (from the Latin "Bassus"), for the probable short stature of some components, although the derivation from the Campania family "Bassus" is not excluded.
BatistutaItalian Possibly from a diminutive of the given name Battista. A famous bearer is the former Argentinian soccer player Gabriel Batistuta (1969-).