This is a list of submitted surnames in which the usage is Italian; and the description contains the keywords ruler or of or water.
Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
CastagnoItalian For someone who lived near a chestnut tree from castagno "chestnut" (from latin castanea). Variant of Castagna and Italian cognitive of Chastain.
CastellanItalian This name is of Latin origin. It comes from "castellanus" meaning 'castellan, steward of a castle'.
CastellanetaItalian Originated in an area of Italy, known as the Papal States.
CastiglioneItalian Habitational name for someone from any of various places called Castiglione, derived from Italian castiglione meaning "castle, fortress".
CatapanoItalian Means "catapan, governor of a catepanate", ultimately from Byzantine Greek κατεπάνω (katepánō) "(the one) placed at the top, or the topmost".
CavaItalian, Catalan, Spanish, Portuguese From cava ‘cave’, ‘cellar’ (from Latin cavea), hence a metonymic occupational name for someone employed in the wine cellars of a great house, a topographic name for someone who lived in or near a cave, or a habitational name from any of numerous places named with this word.
CentofantiItalian Means "a hundred soldiers on foot" in Italian, derived from Italian cento meaning "(a) hundred" and Italian fanti, which is the plural form of fante meaning "soldier, infantryman"... [more]
CeraSpanish, Italian, Catalan, Sicilian Metonymic occupational name for a wax seller, derived from Latin cera meaning "wax". A famous bearer of this surname is Canadian actor and musician Michael Cera (1988-).
CerasuoloItalian Means "cherry red, cherry-coloured" in Italian, either a habitational name from either of two villages, or a nickname.
CerettiItalian (Tuscan), Medieval Italian (Tuscan) The surname Cerri is derived from the Italian word cerro, which means bitter or Turkey oak. Often Italian local surnames bore the prefix "di", which signifies emigration from one place to another.... [more]
CernivaniItalian Probably an Italianized form of the Slovenian surname Černivan.
CerritoItalian Variant of Cerri, or directly from Sicilian cirritu "Turkey oak grove".
CervaItalian Possibly derived from Italian cerva "doe, hind", the feminine form of cervo "deer, stag", or perhaps from the Latin cognomen Cervius, which likely also derives from Latin cervus "deer, stag".
ChiapelloItalian Possibly connected to chiappare "to catch, to trap", a nickname for a hunter. Alternately, may be an elaborate form of Chiappa.
ChiappettaItalian A nickname derived from chiappa, meaning "buttock, butt cheek". Alternately, may be a diminutive of Chiappa.
ChiaramonteItalian Italianized from of the French surname Clermont, using Italian chiaro "bright, clear" and monte "mountain". It was brought to Sicily from Picardy, France, by a branch of the House of Clermont in the 11th century, and several locations were subsequently named after them... [more]
ChiesaItalian Means "church" in Italian, originally a topographic name for someone who lived near a church, a habitational name from any of various places named Chiesa or perhaps an occupational name for someone who worked in a church.
CianciItalian The surname Cianci is a name for a person of small financial means. The surname Cianfari is derived from the Italian words cianfrone and cianferone, which referred to a type of medieval coin.
CiechiItalian Means "blind (people)" in Italian, from Latin caecus "devoid of light, blind; invisible; aimless".
CifrinoItalian (Rare) Possibly from an inflection of Italian cifrare, meaning "to monogram, to abbreviate (a name) to initials; to encode, to cypher", or perhaps a derived term meaning "little nothing". Ultimately from Arabic صِفْر (ṣifr) "empty, zero".
CimineraItalian from a dialect variant of ciminiera "chimney" hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who built chimneys or worked a furnace oven or kiln with a chimney or a nickname for a tall thin person.
CiminoItalian Possibly derived from Italian cimino or Sicilian ciminu "cumin" as a metonymic occupational name for a spice merchant. Alternatively, it could be a diminutive of a shortened form of names such as Decimius or Ecimius.
CiuffiItalian Probably from Italian ciuffo "tuft (of hair)".
CivillaItalian Possibly derived from the Roman cognomen Civilis, taken from Latin civilis meaning "civic, civil (of or pertaining to civilians)" or "courteous, polite".
ClefItalian At the end of the 10th century, Gregorian musical scribes increased the precision of early notation by introducing a horizontal line to indicate a base pitch. The pitch of this line was indicated by a letter at its start... [more]
ClericoItalian Occupational or status name for a member of a minor religious order or for a scholar from Late Latin clericus (see Clerc ). Italian cognitive of Clark.
CocciaItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from Sicilian cocciu "grain, berry", denoting a kind of gruel; an occupational name for a farmer from Greek κόκκος (kokkos) "grain, seed"; or from Italian coccia "head, shell", referring to someone with a large head, or who was stubborn.
CoccimiglioItalian From Sicilian cuccumeli, the name of several fruit-bearing deciduous trees or of the hackberry plant, itself borrowed from an Ancient Greek word; possibly κοκκύμηλον (kokkymelon) "plum", literally "cuckoo apple", or from κόκκος (kókkos) "grain, seed, kernel" and μῆλον (mêlon) "apple, any fruit from a tree".
CocoItalian, Sicilian occupational name for a cook a seller of cooked meats or a keeper of an eating house from southern Italian coco "cook" (from Latin cocuscoquus)... [more]
CocuzzaItalian, Sicilian Means "gourd, pumpkin", possibly a metonymic occupational name for a grower or seller of gourds, or perhaps a nickname for someone with a large head or rotund figure.
CodaItalian Means "tail" in Italian, from Latin cauda, probably referring to the bearer living on a long, narrow piece of land.
CodinoItalian Means "pigtail, plait" in Italian, literally "tail's end". Ultimately from Latin cauda "tail (of an animal)". Perhaps given to someone who often wore their hair in such a style, possibly given to orphans or foundlings.
CodispotiItalian A Calabrian surname from Greek οικοδεσπότης (oikodespótis) "host, master of the house".
CoisItalian Possibly from the name of a lost town, Coni. Alternately, may be from dialectical words meaning "to cook" or "finch", referring to an occupation or nickname.
ColiaItalian Possibly derived from a diminutive form of the given name Nicola 1.
ColluItalian From a dialectical form of Italian collo, meaning "neck" or "parcel, package".
ColoItalian From the personal name Colo, a short form of Nicolo (see Nicholas). (Colò) nickname from medieval Greek kolos ‘lame’, classical Greek kylos.
ColoneItalian From an augmentative form meaning “big Nicolas” of the personal name Cola.
ComitoItalian From the medieval Latin comitus, meaning "count", or the medieval Greek form of this word, komitos, used as a nickname for someone who put on airs and graces or worked for a count.
ConfaloneItalian from gonfalone "standard banner" from Old French gonfalon (of ancient Germanic origin) a metonymic occupational name for a standard bearer either in a military context or as the officer of a guild responsible for carrying the banner in religious processions... [more]
ConiglioItalian, Sicilian From coniglio "rabbit" (from Latin cuniculus ) applied as a nickname for a timid person or a metonymic occupational name for a dealer in rabbits... [more]
ConsiglioItalian Means "advice, counsel" or "council, assembly" in Italian, a nickname for a wise, thoughtful, or perhaps fearful individual, or an occupational name for a member of a council.
ConsiglioItalian Derived from the medieval given name Consilius, or from a short form of the auspicious name Buonconsiglio "good advice", associated with the Marian title Madonna del Buon Consiglio "Our Lady of Good Counsel".
ConteItalian Means "count (a title of nobility)" in Italian.
ContestabileItalian Means "debatable, questionable" in Italian, perhaps a nickname for an argumentative person, or for someone of dubious respectability.
CoraggioItalian From Italian meaning "courage, bravery". Historically, the surname could have been given to someone who was known for their bravery or courage in the face of conflict, danger, or adversity, or to someone associated with the military or warfare.
CordascoItalian Possibly derived from a dialectical form of Italian cordesco "late-born lamb", or in Old Italian "of or pertaining to cows or sheep".
CorioItalian Possibly a variant of Coiro, from Latin corium "leather". Alternatively, could derive from the Latin given name Corius, or from the toponym Cori, a town in Lazio, Italy.
CorletoItalian Habitational name derived from the town Corleto Perticara, the first element derived from Latin coryletum "hazel tree grove, copse of hazel trees".
CossigaItalian, Sardinian Sardinian translation of the place name Corsica. A famous bearer of the name is Francesco Cossiga (1928-2010), Italian politician who served as Prime Minister (1979-1980) and as President (1985-1992).
CrestaItalian, Romansh Derived from Italian and Romansh cresta "crest" (ultimately from Latin crista). This name was perhaps applied as a topographic name for someone who lived by the crest of a mountain or as a nickname with reference to the comb of a rooster.
CrivelliItalian From the Italian crivello, which is derived from the Latin cribrum, meaning "sieve," (a mesh food strainer); likely an occupational name for a maker or user of sieves.
CrobuItalian From Sardinian crobu "crow", or a place of the same name.
CurcurutoItalian From an Italian nickname derived from curcurutu meaning "speedy, fleet of foot".
CurialeItalian (Rare) In ancient Rome, the curiales (from co + viria, 'gathering of men') were initially the leading members of a gentes (clan) of the city of Rome. Their roles were both civil and sacred. Each gens curialis had a leader, called a curio... [more]
CusimannoItalian, Sicilian from the personal name Cusimano which may be a fusion of two Christian saints' names: Cosma and Damiano with a loss of the last syllable of one and the first of the other... [more]
D'AbruzzoItalian Variant of Abruzzo. It is the real surname of the American actor Alan Alda (1936-), who was born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo.
DamianFrench, Spanish, Italian, Czech, Slovak, Polish From the medieval personal name Damian, Greek Damianos (from damazein "to subdue"). St. Damian was an early Christian saint martyred in Cilicia in ad 303 under the emperor Domitian, together with his brother Cosmas... [more]
D'annunzioItalian Patronymical form of Annunzio, Italian form of the Latin given name Annuntius. A famous bearer of this surname is Italian poet Gabriele D'Annunzio (1863-1938).
DanzaItalian Probably a habitational name from a place in Salerno, Italy. In the case of American actor Tony Danza, it’s a shortened form of Iadanza, used as a stage name.
DanzaItalian Means "dance" in Italian, a nickname for a dancer. Alternatively, it could derive from an Italian form of the given name Abundantius.
Da PalestrinaItalian, History Means "of Palestrina" in Italian, an Italian commune near Rome, derived from an Italian form of Latin Praenesteus or Praeneste, both of uncertain meaning. a famous bearer of the surname was the Italian late Renaissance composer GiovanniPierluigi da Palestrina (1525-1594).
Da PraItalian A topographic name for someone from a meadow, from the northern variant of "prato" (meadow).
De BrazzaItalian Denoted someone who lived in Brač, an island off the coast in Dalmatia, from Italian Brazza "Brač". The famous bearer of this surname was an Italian-French explorer Pierre Paul François Camille Savorgnan de Brazza (1852-1905).
De CurtisItalian Originally denoting someone who was short, or came from a family of short people. A famous bearer of this surname is Italian actor Antonio "Totò" De Curtis (1898–1967).
DefeoItalian This surname is well known in popular culture as the surname of Ronald Defeo who murdered his family in the 1970s while they lived in Amittyville, NY. The surname may mean “Of Ugly”.
DefilippoItalian The Italian surname De Filippo is a patronymic name created from the first name of a male ancestor. As a first name, it is derived from the Latin "Philippus,". This name is composed of the element "philos" which means "friend," and "hippos," meaning "horse.
DefraiaItalian From an archaic Sardinian term, possibly meaning "factory", or from an alteration of frai "brother". Alternately, may mean "from Fraia", a settlement in Italy.
DeianaItalian From Sardinian de "of, from" and jana "fairy, spirit of the woods, sorceress" (from Latin Diana).
DeleddaItalian, Sardinian Variant of Ledda. A famous bearer of this surname is Nobel Prize for Literature recipient Grazia Deledda (1871–1936).
DelfinoItalian, Spanish From the personal name Delfino, from Latin Delphinus, from delphis "dolphin", regarded in medieval times as a symbol of goodness and friendliness.
Della FrancescaItalian Means "son of Francesca". A famous bearer was Piero della Francesca (1415-1492), an Italian fresco painter.
Dell'elceItalian From Italian elce "holm oak", literally "of the holm oak".
Dell'oroItalian Means "of the gold" in Italian. Might indicate someone with blond hair, someone who worked as a goldsmith, or might be descended from the Latin name Aurius.
Del NegroItalian Literally “of or belonging to the black one” hence a name denoting the son, apprentice, associate, or servant of a man bearing this nickname or ethnic name.
DeloguItalian Means "from/of the place", from Sardinian de "of, from" and logu "place".
Del PieroItalian Means "son of Piero". This name is borne by the Italian former soccer player Alessandro Del Piero (1974-).
Del PopoloItalian Means "of the people", given to foundlings at a time when a small stipend was allotted to their maintenance by the king.
Del PratoItalian Meaning "of the meadow" in Italian, likely detonating to someone who lived on a field.
DemariaItalian Metronymic from the female personal name Maria, or name for a devotee of the Virgin Mary.
De MarniItalian From Italy, most likely Northern Italy. One theory is that De Marni or a similar sounding name was the name of an orphanage, but it's origin is unknown.
DepietriItalian The distinguished surname Depietri can be traced back to the ancient and beautiful region of Piedmont. Although people were originally known only by a single name, it became necessary for people to adopt a second name to identify themselves as populations grew and travel became more frequent... [more]
De SalvoItalian Meaning of "De" is "From", or "Of", so probably "From Salvo".
De SantaItalian (Tuscan) The surname De Santa was first found in Lucca, a city and comune in Tuscany, capital of the province of Lucca and where Bascilican type churches abound. The history commences in 218 B.C., and passed through many hands in the intervening centuries... [more]
De TiberioItalian Ancient and noble family, originally from Lombardy propagated, over the centuries, in different regions of Italy where its members acquired the nobility and were welcomed in the important offices of the city where they lived... [more]
Di CiuccioItalian Ciuccio is a surname especially Campano and more precisely of the provinces of Naples and Salerno, should derive from the medieval name Ciuccio, one of the many apheretic hypochoristic forms of the name Francesco, of which a hypochoristic is Francescuccio, which by apheresis becomes Cuccio
Di ColaItalian The surname Di Cola originates from the diminutive of the male name Nicola, widespread especially in the city of Bari, devoted to its patron saint.
Di MaggioItalian Came from a child who was born in the month of May. The surname Maggio is derived from the Italian word Maggio, which literally means the month of May.
Di MatteoItalian The surname Di Matteo comes from the personal names Matteo, of Jewish origin and popularized by the evangelist "Mattia" which have the meaning of "Gift of God".
Di NardoItalian (Tuscan) Ancient and illustrious family, called Nardo, Nardi or De Nardi, originally from Tuscany, spread over the centuries in various regions of Italy.
Di PegoItalian the origin of di Pego is unknown, but translates to 'I caught', in Italian.... [more]
Di PietrantonioItalian The surname Di Pietrantonio literally means "son of Pietro" and indicates in a reinforcing way the descent from the progenitor named Pietro.
DisraeliItalian, Jewish Originally denoted a person who came from Israel. This surname was borne by the British politician, statesman and novelist Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only British prime minister to have been of Jewish origin.
DonatoItalian From the medieval personal name Donato (Latin Donatus, past participle of donare, frequentative of dare "to give"). It was the name of a 4th-century Italian bishop martyred in c. 350 under Julian the Apostate, as well as various other early saints, and a 4th-century grammarian and commentator on Virgil, widely respected in the Middle Ages as a figure of great learning.
DonnarummaItalian Composed of Italian donna "lady" (from Latin domina "lady, mistress") and a short form of Rummeneca, a Neapolitan variant of the feminine given name Domenica, meaning "Sunday" and also deriving from Latin dominus "lord"... [more]
DragonettiItalian Diminutive of Drago or Dragone meaning "dragon". Can also derive from a toponym, which may have been named after a person with the given name Dragonetti, or perhaps for the sulphur springs in the area.
DucaItalian from the title of rank duca "duke" (from Latin dux genitive ducis "leader") an occupational name for someone who lived or worked in the household of a duke or a nickname for someone who gave himself airs and graces like a duke... [more]
DulcamaraItalian given to my great great grandfather who was left on the doorstep of a church in Chiavari Italy. The priest took inspiration from names of plants in the garden. This one came from the plant in English would mean 'bitter sweet nightshade'
D'uvaItalian From Italian uva "grape", meaning "of the grapes". An occupational name for someone who produced grapes, or possibly a nickname.
ElardoItalian Possibly from a variant of the given name Ilardo, which may be a form of the Germanic name Adalhard (see also Ilardi).
EvolaItalian Perhaps a topographic name from Italian ebbio, a type of plant known as danewort in English (genus Sambucus), itself derived from Latin ebullus; alternatively, it may have been a habitational name for a person from a minor place named with this word... [more]
FacchettiItalian Derived from a diminutive of Italian facchino meaning "porter" (see Facchini). A notable bearer was the Italian soccer star Giacinto Facchetti (1942-2006).
FacchiniItalian Occupational name for a porter (a carrier of objects), derived from Italian facchino meaning "porter, carrier of goods". The word facchino was originally from Sicilian facchinu meaning "jurist, scribe, clerk, theologian" (ultimately from Arabic فَقِيه (faqīh) meaning "jurisconsult, expert on law"), but was later modified to mean "porter".
FalaguerraItalian Possibly means "make war" in Italian, from fare "to make, to provoke" and guerra "war". Alternately, from a given name of the same origin. ... [more]
FalascaItalian Possibly from a dialectical word falasca meaning "straw", referring to someone's build or hair, or possibly an occupation of making things out of straw.
FaloneItalian Meaning uncertain, possibly from a dialectical word for a row of grapes or tomatoes.
FaloticoItalian From southern Italian falotico ‘eccentric’, ‘strange’, Greek kephalōtikos, a derivative of Greek kephalē ‘head’.
FalsoItalian Not much history is known for Falso however, it was common surrounding Napoli, Lazio, Latin, and Roma. It means False, phony, fake. Because of this, the surname has spread globally especially to United States of America and Brazil... [more]
FantasiaItalian From Italian fantasia meaning "imagination", possibly a nickname for a person who had a vivid imagination, or from the personal name Fantasia, the feminine form of Fantasio. Known bearers include American sociologist Rick Fantasia and Australian footballer Orazio Fantasia (1995-).
FantauzziItalian Tuscanized form of a surname named for the eponymous settlement at the coordinates 42°28'9N, 12°52'36E.
FantinItalian, Venetian, Emilian-Romagnol Likely Derived from a northern, Emilian-Romagnol variant of fantino, meaning 'baby, boy', ‘foot soldier’, or 'young (unmarried) man'.
FantuzziEmilian-Romagnol, Italian A surname derived from the medieval name "Fantino", which is a diminutive of "Fante", usually meaning "infant" or "child", but it was also used to refer to a "foot soldier".
FaranoItalian, Sicilian Possibly deriving from a town Faranò in province of Messina, Sicily. Possible variant of Surname faran which comes from Irish surnames Ó Fearáin, Ó Faracháin, or Ó Forannáin.
FariaPortuguese, Italian Faria is a Portuguese surname. A habitational name from either of two places called Faria, in Braga and Aveiro. ... [more]
FasanoItalian Probably from Italian fasani "pheasant", a nickname for someone who resembled the bird in appearance or (lack of) intelligence, who hunted them, or who lived in an area populated by them. ... [more]
FeraItalian Probably related to modern Italian fiero "fierce, savage, raging; bold, daring; proud", by way of Latin ferus "wild, fierce; untamed" or fera "wild beast".
FerlaItalian Denoting someone from a town of the same name, from Latin ferula "stick, cane".
FerramoscaItalian From Latin word ferrum meaning "iron" and Italian word mosca meaning "housefly". A notable bearer of this name was Italian professional violinist Francesco Ferramosca (1893-1932).
FerrandinoItalian Derived from the masculine given name Ferrandino, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Ferrando. For more information about this, please see the entry for the patronymic surname of Ferrando.... [more]
FerrandoItalian, Spanish This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a nickname (thus making it a descriptive surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval masculine given name Ferrando, which was in use in both Italy and Spain during the Middle Ages... [more]
FerranteItalian This surname can be derived from a given name (thus making it a patronymic surname) as well as from a nickname (thus making it a descriptive surname). In the case of a patronymic surname, the surname is derived from the medieval masculine given name Ferrante... [more]
FerrantinoItalian Derived from the masculine given name Ferrantino, which is a diminutive of the medieval Italian given name Ferrante. For more information about this, please see the entry for the patronymic surname of Ferrante.
FerrignoItalian Derived from the Italian adjective ferrigno meaning "made of or resembling iron" (a derivative of Latin ferrum meaning "iron"), applied as a nickname to someone who was very strong or thought to resemble the metal in some other way... [more]
FibonacciItalian A notable bearer is the mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci (1170-1240), the creator of the Fibonacci sequence.