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]
CeriseFrench, Italian Italian habitational name from La Cerise or Torrent-La Cerise placenames in Valle d'Aosta from French cerise "cherry"; and French occupational name from cerise "cherry" (from Latin cerasus) applied as a metonymic occupational name for someone who grew or sold cherries.
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".
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]
ChiarenzaItalian From Clarence, a medieval Frankish town in Greece, called Chiarenza or Clarenza in Italian, rendered Γλαρέντζα (Glarentza) in contemporary Greek documents.
ChiavettaItalian From Italian "chiavetta", deriving from chiave meaning key.
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.
ChiodiItalian From Italian chiodo "nail", probably given to someone who made or sold nails.
ChiovaroSicilian Unknown meaning. Brought over to the United States from Sicilian immigrants, where the pronunciation changed from KEE-o-vah-row to SHIV-ahr-ow.
ChiricoItalian Variant of Ciriaco, ultimately from the Ancient Greek given name Kyriakos. Alternatively, could be from Italian chierico "cleric, acolyte; learned man, clerk", from Ancient Greek κληρικός (klerikos) "of the clergy" via Latin clericus.
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.
CiavarellaItalian From Sicilian ciavaredda "goat kid", an occupational name for a goatherd, or perhaps a nickname based on the bearer's appearance or behaviour.
CiceroItalian From Sicilian cìciru "chickpea", an occupational name for someone who grew or sold chickpeas, or perhaps a nickname for someone with notable pimples or skin sores.
CiceroneItalian Derived from the given name Cicerone. In some cases, it could instead be an augmentative form of Cicero.
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.
CitroItalian From Italian meaning "citrus fruit". Possibly an occupational name for someone who sells or raise any citrus fruit.
CitroneEnglish, Italian Ultimately from Latin citrum meaning "lemon, citrus fruit". Possibly an occupational name for someone who sells or raise lemons or any citrus fruit.
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".
CoccoItalian Possibly from Italian cocco, meaning "darling, favourite" or "hen's egg".
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.
CodispotiItalian A Calabrian surname from Greek οικοδεσπότης (oikodespótis) "host, master of the house".
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.
CorazzaItalian Occupational name for an armourer, from Italian corazza "cuirass, breastplate"
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".
CornacchiaItalian Means "crow, carrion crow, jackdaw" in Italian, a nickname for someone who was talkative, or thought to resemble a crow or jackdaw in some other way.
CorteSpanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese From corte "court", applied as an occupational name for someone who worked at a manorial court or a topographic name for someone who lived in or by one.
CossuItalian Probably from Sardinian cossu "tub, trough, basin".
CostabileItalian Occupational name for a chamberlain, cognate to Constable. In some cases, it’s instead taken from the Italian given name derived from Late Latin Constabilis.
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.
CrisafulliItalian Derived from a Greek name, perhaps from χρυσός (khrysos) "gold" and φύλλον (phyllon) "leaf, foliage".
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.
CugnoItalian From Sicilian cugnu "wedge", indicating someone who lived on a hill or other topographical "wedge", someone whose occupation involved using an axe, or a person who was considered to be hard or angular in personality or appearance.
CuneoItalian Denotes someone from the province of Cuneo.
CuomoItalian Derived from a shortened form of Cuosëmo (or Cuosimo), a Neapolitan variant of the Italian given name Cosimo.
CurcioItalian Could be derived from the Ancient Roman gens Curtius, or directly from a regional descendant of Latin curtus meaning "shortened, short" or "mutilated, broken, incomplete"... [more]
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]
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]
DaneseItalian Ethnic name for a Dane, or from the personal name Danese, which was introduced to and popularized in medieval Italy through French Carolingian literature, notably the epics Chanson de Roland and Ogier de Denemarche.
DanieleItalian my mother Eugenia Daniele born Oct 29 1899 lived in casamarciano till 1921, before emigrating to Long Island City in New York .he died at 103 in 2004
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.
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.
DelfinoItalian, Spanish From the personal name Delfino, from Latin Delphinus, from delphis "dolphin", regarded in medieval times as a symbol of goodness and friendliness.
Del FrateItalian Derived from Italian del "of the" and frate meaning "monk, friar" or "brother", the latter used as an appellation for close friends or peers as opposed to a literal sense.
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.
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.
DelvecchioItalian The surname Delvecchio is derived from the Italian word vecchi, which further derives from the late Latin word veclus, which measn old, aged, or elderly.