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]
AGOSTINELLIItalian The earliest known instance of this name AGOSTINELLI was St. Aurelius Augustinus, also known as Augustine of Hippo (354-430) the greatest of the Latin church fathers. He was born in Tagaste in Numidia which is modern Tunisia.... [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.
ALBERTIItalian From given name Alberto, the Latin translation of Germanic Albert.
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.
ALGIERIItalian Algieri is classified as a geographical surname. Specifically, it is a nation name, referring to the country of Algeria in northern Africa.
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.
ALPINIItalian (or Alpino) possibly denoting a person from the Alpes.
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.
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.
ANZALONEItalian The surname Anzalone was first found in Bolgna (Latin: Bononia).
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".
AQUILAItalian Habitational name from L'Aquila in Abruzzo or from any of various smaller places called Aquila.
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).
ARGENTOItalian From argento "silver", perhaps sometimes applied as a nickname for someone with silvery gray hair, but more often a metonymic occupational name for a silversmith.
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.
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]
ARRAGalician, Sicilian Habitational name from a place in Galicia called Arra, this surname was also found in some parts of Sicily.
ARRIGOItalian Italian: from the medieval personal name Arrigo, a variant of Enrico.
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.
AUDINOItalian Derived from first name 'Alda' which means 'wise and experienced.'
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'.
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]
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".
BALDACCHINOMaltese, Italian, Sicilian Occupational name for an artisan who made the baldachin, also spelled baldaquin, a type of canopy used in cathedrals, from Italian baldacchino "baldachin". This word is derived from Italian Baldacca, a doublet of Bagdad "Baghdad", the city where the material originally came from.
BALISTRERISicilian Means "archer, crossbowman" or "crossbow maker" in Sicilian.
BALLERINIItalian Occupational name or nickname for a dancer, Italian ballerino, an agent derivative of ballare "to dance".
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.
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]
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]
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.
BATTISTELLAItalian From St. John the Baptist, the first bearers of this name were devoted to this saint. Another etymology would be a patronymic from the given name BATTISTA, anyway linked to the aforementioned saint.
BAVAROItalian Ethnic name from bavaro "Bavarian" someone from Bavaria, now part of Germany, but formerly an independent kingdom.
BAVIERASpanish, Portuguese, Italian, Catalan Means "Bavaria" in Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, and Catalan. Indicating for someone from Bavaria a state in Germany.
BEFFAItalian Nickname for a practical joker, from Italian beffa "trick, prank".
BELFIOREItalian Means "beautiful (as a) flower", derived from Italian bel "beautiful" combined with Italian fiore "flower". Two Italian sources claim that this surname was derived from the medieval masculine given name Belfiore (which has of course the same meaning), but I can find no evidence that this was an actual given name in medieval Italy... [more]
BELMONDOItalian Name of Italian origin meaning "beautiful world". Famous bearers of the name are the French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo (1933-) and the Italian cross-country skier, twice Olympic champion and four times World champion Stefania Belmondo (1969-).
BENANTIItalian From a derivative of Bene, a short form of the various omen names formed with this element (from Latin bene ‘well’), such as Benedetto, Benvenuto, etc.
BENELLIItalian The distinguished surname Benelli originated in an area of Italy, known as the Papal States. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adapt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent... [more]
BERGAMINItalian Traced to 1437, Bergamo. A 'bergamini' was known as a person famrmed and sold milk cows
BERGOGLIOItalian From the name of a village in Piedmont, Italy. A notable bearer is JorgeMario Bergoglio (1936-), better known as Pope Francis, the current head of the Catholic Church.
BERNASCONIItalian The surname of BERNASCONI is of Italian origin, a locational name meaning the dweller on or near a small hill. The names of habitation are derived from pre-existing names denoting towns, villages, farmsteads or other named habitations... [more]
BERNINIItalian Bernini was the surname of famous sculptor and architect Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680).
BERRETTAItalian From berretta, originally meaning ‘hooded cloak’ (Latin birrus), later ‘headdress’, ‘bonnet’, hence a metonymic occupational name for a maker of such headgear or a nickname for an habitual wearer.
BERTAGNIItalian Bertagni has a lineage in Genoa and one in Lucca. Possibly derives from Gothic, Lombard and Germanic names containing the root germanica bertha (bright) or the celtic bert (bearer).
BINETTIItalian Comes from a diminutive of Bino. Italianized form of French 'Binet'. Habitational name from a place called Binetto (named with Latin vinetum ‘vineyard’) in Bari province.
BINIItalian Comes from the given name ALBINO and other names ending with -bino ending.
BINOTTIItalian From Latin albus, "white", derivative of Albino.
BINOTTOItalian Possible diminutive of Bini or Bino. Possible variant of German BINOTH
BIRINDELLIItalian It is a regional surname of Tuscany common in provinces like Pisa, Lucca or Livorno.... [more]
BISTOLFOItalian Bistolfi has a lineage between Alessandria Casale Monferrato, Acqui Terme and Prasco, Genoa and Savona. Bistolfo may derive from a modified form of the medieval name Guisulfus. In an act of 1327 Gui-sulfus Cottalorda (Mayor of Breil) signed an important peace agreement with Tenda, probably passing by the name Wisulfus, and therefore by common substitution of W with B.
BOCCHINOItalian The Italian family name is classified as being of nickname origin. The most obvious are those names which are based on a physical characteristic or personal attribute of the initial bearer. In this particular instance, according to the author Emedio De Felice, the family name Bocchino derives from "bocca", meaning "mouth", in turn derived from the Latin word "bucca".De Felice states that this family name may not only have arisen from a nickname which described the mouth in a literal sense, since "bocca" in a figurative sense designated such things such things as intelligence and veracity.... [more]
BONACCIItalian "Bona" comes from the Italian for good, "Buona" and "cci" is ancient Latin form for "man." Thus, "the good man." A derivation of FiBonacci, or "son of Bonacci." Was the name of the famous mathematician, Leondardo de Pisa: Leonardo of Pisa is now known as Fibonacci pronounced fib-on-arch-ee short for filius Bonacci... [more]
BONAIUTOItalian Derived from the Medieval names Bonaita or Bonaiutus or also from the Medieval Italian bon meaning "good" and aita meaning "help"... [more]
BONANNOItalian From the medieval personal name BONANNO, an omen name meaning "good year". Mainly found throughout southern Italy.
BONGIORNOItalian Italian from the medieval personal name Bongiorno (composed of bono ‘good’ + giorno ‘day’), bestowed on a child as an expression of the parents’ satisfaction at the birth (‘it was a good day when you were born’).
BONGIOVANNIItalian Comes from the personal name GIOVANNI composed of the elements bon ‘good’ + Giovanni, Italian equivalent of John
BONGIOVIItalian Comes from the given name GIOVI, combination of bon 'good' + Giovi.
BORGOItalian Borgo is an Italian surname, which means 'village' or 'borough'.
BORRELLIItalian There are three possible origins of this surname. It could derive from some place names located in Catania and Campania -two Italian southern regions. Another hypothesis is that it derives from the Celtic word borro, meaning "proud" or maybe "ditch"... [more]
BOSOItalian From the medieval personal name Boso, from a Germanic personal name derived from a pejorative nickname meaning ‘leader’, ‘nobleman’, or ‘arrogant person’. Compare Dutch Boos.
BOTTICELLIItalian Etymology uncertain. It can derive from the Italian word botte meaning "barrel" and from the occupation bottaio meaning "cooper". In the case of Sandro Botticelli it has probably another origin... [more]
BRANCACCIAItalian (Rare) Derived from the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, which is the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information, please see the entry for the patronymic surname BRANCAZIO... [more]
BRANCACCIOItalian Variant form of BRANCAZIO. There are a few sources that claim that the surname is derived from a place name (which would make it a locational surname), but that claim is incorrect, as all Italian geographical places carrying the name Brancaccio were either established long after the Middle Ages (by which time virtually all Italians already had a hereditary surname) or were named after a person who had Brancaccio for a surname... [more]
BRANCALEONEItalian Derived from the medieval Italian masculine given name Brancaleone, which means either "a lion's paw" or "he who captures the lion". In the case of the former meaning, the name is derived from Italian branca meaning "paw, claw" combined with Italian leone meaning "lion"... [more]
BRANCATELLAItalian (Rare) Derived from the feminine given name Brancatella, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazia, the feminine form of the masculine given name Brancazio. For more information about this, please see the entry for the patronymic surname of BRANCAZIO... [more]
BRANCATELLOItalian (Rare) Derived from the masculine given name Brancatello, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Brancazio, itself ultimately derived from the late Latin given name Brancatius... [more]
BRANCATOItalian This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a place name (thus making it a locational surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval Italian given name Brancato, which is a variant form of the given name Brancazio, itself ultimately derived from the late Latin given name Brancatius... [more]
BRANCAZIOItalian (Rare) Derived from the medieval Italian masculine given name Brancazio, which itself is derived from Brancatius (also found spelled as Brancaccius and Brancatus), a late Latin corruption of the given name PANCRATIUS... [more]
BRENARIJewish, Italian Jewish family and possible place-name in N.E.Italy in 1500's.
BRIATOREItalian This surname originates from the province of Cuneo in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is probably derived from Piedmontese brijador meaning "postilion, coachman", which itself is ultimately derived from Piedmontese bria meaning "bridles, reins".... [more]
BULGARIAItalian, Spanish Originally an ethnic name or regional name for someone from Bulgaria or a nickname for someone who had visited or traded with Bulgaria, which is named after the Turkic tribe of the Bulgars, itself possibly from a Turkic root meaning "mixed".
BUONAMICOItalian (Anglicized) Di Martino Buffalmacco was a widely renouned painter in Italy cities in Florence, Bologna, Pisa although his work was not known to survived the Great Fire of Italy back in the late 1300 hundreds he was widlely known for asummed work as The Three Dead- Three Living, The Triump of Death, The Last Judgement, The Hell and the Thebasis.... [more]
BUONOCOREItalian Nickname for a reliable or good-hearted person, derived from buono meaning "good" and core meaning "heart".
BUONOPANEItalian Nickname for a person who is "as good as bread", or possibly a metonymic occupational name for a baker, derived from buono meaning "good" and pane meaning "bread".
BUSCEMISicilian Name for someone originally from the town of Buscemi in Sicily, derived from the Arabic toponym قلعة أبي شامة (qal'at 'abi shama) meaning "castle of the man with the mole" or "castle of (the family of) Abi Shama".
BUSCHIAZZOItalian It's a surname in northern Italy (Piedmont). It emerges from the German spelling Bosch or Busch and this means "forest" or "wooded area".
BUTTAItalian Italian: from a short form of a compound name formed with butta- ‘throw’, as for example Buttacavoli.Italian: from an old German feminine personal name Butta.Italian: variant of Botta.
BUTTACAVOLIItalian Nickname composed of the elements butta "throw" + cavoli "cabbages".
BUTTAFUOCOItalian Nickname composed of the elements butta "throw" + fuoco "fire".
CACCAVALEItalian Possibly a combination of cacare "to shit" and vale "valley".
CACCIATOREItalian Derived from Italian cacciatore meaning "hunter, huntsman", which is ultimately derived from the Italian verb cacciare meaning "to hunt".... [more]
CALCATERRAItalian Nickname from calcare meaning "to tread", "to stamp" + terra meaning "land", "earth", "ground", probably denoting a short person, someone who walked close to the ground, or an energetic walker.
CALIGIURIItalian Comes from the Greek words "kalos" meaning "beautiful" and "gheros" meaning "elderly," and was often given to children in the hopes that they would retain their beauty in their old age.
CALLIARIItalian (Latinized, Archaic) This is an Italian surname, in the north of Italy. Calliari is the result of the deformation of the graphically Calligari, where you can clearly see excision of the letter or character D, which is located in the middle of the surname... [more]
CANELLAItalian Italian regional surname denoting someone who lived by a canal. From the Italian canale 'canal', from the Latin canalis meaning "canal; conduit; groove; funnel; or ditch". Alternatively, it may come the genus name of wild cinnamon, a diminutive of the Latin canna "reed, cane".
CANNELLAItalian Derived from the word "Cinnamon" in Italian meaning someone who was a baker and or made cinnamon.
CAPONEItalian Is a Italian origin surname from an augmentative of capo ‘head’, applied as a nickname for someone with a big head, probably in the sense ‘arrogant’ or ‘stubborn’ rather than in a strictly literal sense... [more]
CAPUAItalian Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km (16 mi) north of Naples on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now.... [more]