GattoItalian Derived from Old Italian gatto meaning "cat", ultimately from Late Latin cattus. This was a nickname for a person who resembled a cat in some way.
GattusoItalian, Sicilian Sicilian and Calabrian variant of Gatto, notably borne by the Italian former soccer player Gennaro Gattuso (1978-).
GencoItalian From Sicilian jencu "calf, young heifer or bullock", figuratively referring to a large or strong boy, derived from Latin iuvencus meaning "young" or "bullock; young man".
GennarelliItalian Ancient and illustrious Piedmontese family, originally from Polonghera but residing in Cherasco, which is decorated with the titles of: Counts of Cocconato, Lords of Cocconito and Consignori of Marcorengo.
GenovaItalian habitational name from Genoa (Italian Genova) in Liguria which during the Middle Ages was one of the great seaports of the Mediterranean and a flourishing mercantile and financial center... [more]
GiglioItalian From the personal name Giglio, from giglio "lily" (from Latin lilium), a plant considered to symbolize the qualities of candor and purity.
GilardiItalian Means "son of Gilardo", a rare Italian form of the Germanic given name Gerard.
GilioItalian Derived from a variant of the given name Giglio, which can be from an Italian form of Latin Aegidius, or else taken directly from the Italian word giglio meaning "lily".
GilliItalian Patronymic form of the personal name Gillio, a vernacular derivative of Aegilius, which itself is a later form of the given name Aegidius.
GioèItalian This is a short form of given name Gioele used as surname.
GioiaItalian Means "joy, delight" in Italian. Can derive from the given name Gioia, from a nickname, or from any of several toponyms in southern Italy.
GioveItalian From Giove ("Jupiter") the name of the chief Roman deity perhaps a nickname for someone who habitually swore per Giove "by Jove". From Sicilian ggiòve iòvi "Thursday" applied as a personal name for someone born or baptized on that day of the week... [more]
GiovinazziItalian Giovinazzi is an Italian surname derived from "giovane", meaning "young," possibly referring to a youthful person.
GirondaItalian Possibly from a variant of Italian ghironda ‘barrel-organ’.
GiudiceItalian Means "judge, magistrate" in Italian, from Latin iudex, composed of ius "law" and dicere "to say, declare". This was an occupational name for an officer of justice, or a nickname for a solemn and authoritative person.
GogliaItalian Nickname or a metonymic occupational name for a person who used leaves from a kind of plant to bind grafts, derived from the Italian dialectal goglia.
GolaItalian Topographic name from gola "mountain hollow, cavity".
GonellaItalian From Italian gonnella "skirt", derived from Latin gunna "leather garment", in Old Italian referring to a unisex garment similar to a long tunic that probably originated as military garb... [more]
GonzagaSpanish, Portuguese, Italian (Archaic) Habitational name for someone from a location called Gonzaga in Mantua, Italy. This was the name of an Italian family that ruled Mantua from 1328 to 1708.
GorgaItalian Topographic name from Sicilian gorga, Catalan gorg(a) ‘place where water collects’, ‘mill pond’, ‘gorge’.
GranataItalian Granata is an Italian word for a shade of red (maroon), and the Latin name of the city of Granada.
GranatoItalian Means "having grains" in Italian, and "pomegranate (fruit, tree)" in archaic Italian, giving rise to the later meanings of "garnet (gemstone)" and "crimson"; ultimately derived from Latin granatus "having many grains"... [more]
GrandeSpanish, Italian, Portuguese Means "tall, large" in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, used as a nickname for a person of large stature.
GriffoItalian From grifo "gryphon" (Latin gryphus, Greek gryps, of Assyrian origin), hence a nickname for someone thought to resemble the mythical beast.
GuarracinoItalian Nothing is known of this family name other then they grew up in Manhattan, New York, other states and cities too but most can from boats and had to be quertied at Ellis Island, New York
GucciardoItalian From the personal name Gucciardo, a revival of French Guichard, of Germanic origin, probably composed of the elements wig 'battle' or wisa 'experience' + hard 'strong', 'brave', 'hardy'.
IavaroneItalian Possibly from a shortened form of the personal name Ianni + varone, a variant of barone ‘baron’; literally ‘baron John’.
IlardiItalian Possibly from the given name Ilardo, which could be a derivative of the Germanic name Adalhard, or perhaps a southern variant of Gilardi.
ImbimboNeapolitan From Italian bimbo meaning "a child, a male baby" (which is a variant of bambino "child") combined with in-, a prefix indicating "belonging to the family of".
IngaItalian, Spanish Possibly from Sicilian inga "ink", an occupational name for a scribe. Alternatively, it could derive from the Germanic given name Inge.
IngogliaItalian Means "belonging to the family of Goglia" in Italian, derived from the prefix in- meaning "belonging to the family of" combined with the name Goglia... [more]
InsalacoItalian, Sicilian Believed to come from an occupational name for a tanner in Arabic, which would be دباغ (dabbag), combined with the southern Italian prefix in- meaning "from the family of".
IovineItalian Possibly derived from the Roman cognomen Iuvenalis "youthful, young", or directly from a variant of Italian giovine "youthful, young"... [more]
IppolitoItalian Italian: from the personal name Ippolito (classical Greek Hippolytos, composed of the elements hippos ‘horse’ + lyein ‘loose’, ‘release’). This was the name of various minor early Christian saints... [more]
IsabellafItalian, Spanish, Hebrew originating from the Hebrew name Elisheba, meaning “Devoted to God” and "God is my oath”... [more]
IzzoItalian Possibly derived from the given name Ezzo (see Azzo), from an Italianized form of Germanic Hitz or Hilz (from hildiz "battle, fight"), or from a short form of any of several names ending with -izzo, such as Bonizzo, Obizzo, or Abizzo.
IzzoItalian Could be a nickname for someone of Arabic or Saracen heritage, or who had dark hair and skin, derived from archaic Italian izzo, ultimately from Ancient Greek Αἰγύπτιος (Aigyptios) "Egyptian"... [more]
JacarusoItalian An Italian surname from a compound of Ia- (from the personal name Ianni) and the southern Italian word caruso, which means ‘lad’ or ‘boy’.
LagoItalian, Spanish, Portuguese Topographic name for someone living by a lake from lago "lake" (from Latin lacus) or a habitational name from any of the many places called with this word.
LaiItalian Possibly denoting someone from Alà dei Sardi, or derived from the given name Nicola 1. Alternately, it may derive from lai, a type of lyrical poem.
LaicoItalian Means that is not part of the Catholic Church.
LalicataItalian Variant of the toponymic surname Licata using the definite article la.
LamalfaSicilian Variant of Malfa, most probably a habitational name for someone from Malfa on the island of Salina (Messina), although the name has also been linked with Amalfi in Salerno and Melfi in Potenza.
LamendolaItalian, Sicilian nickname or more often a habitational name from places named with the dialect term amendola, mendola, mendula "almond" (also "almond tree").
LanaItalian, Spanish Means "wool" in Spanish and Italian. Occupational name for a wool merchant.
LanciaItalian From Latin lancea, meaning "spear", given to those who made, sold or used spears. A famous bearer of this surname is Vincenzo Lancia (1881-1937), who established the Lancia car brand in 1906.
La RosaItalian Derived from Italian rosa meaning "rose", used as a name for someone who lived by a rose bush.
LarussoItalian Derived from the Italian word "Rosso," which comes from the Latin words "Rubius and Rossius," which mean "red." As a surname, larusso was originally a nickname for a person with red hair or a reddish complexion.
LasagnaItalian From Italian (lasagna) denoting a popular Italian dish made of stacked layers of thin flat pasta alternating with fillings such as ragù and other vegetables, cheese, seasonings and spices.
LatellaItalian Possibly derived from the Calabrian word tella or tiella, meaning "baking tray, pan", ultimately from Latin tegula "tile". Alternatively, it could be a habitational name from the town of Atella.
LatinoItalian From the medieval personal name Latino, originally an ethnic name for someone of Latin as opposed to Germanic, Byzantine or Slavic descent.
LattanzioItalian From the given name derived from Latin Lactantius, which could derive from the minor Roman agricultural deity Lactans, or directly from the Latin word lactans "suckling, milking".
LavecchiaItalian Means "the old (one)" or "the old lady" in Italian, a nickname for a man who fussed like an old woman, or for someone from an old family. It can also denote someone from a toponym containing the element vecchia.
LazioItalian Named after the region called 'Lazio' of Italy.
LeddaItalian, Sardinian Probably from the former Medieval town of Lella, in northern Sardinia. The transformation of -ll- into -dd- is common in Sardinian.
LeggioItalian From Sicilian leggiu "light, not heavy; superficial", a nickname for someone considered unreliable or irresponsible. Variant of Leggièri.
LegoreItalian (Americanized, ?) Possibly related to the Italian surname Legori, derived from a Lombard dialect form of lepre "hare". However, Legore is not attested in Italian records.
LeonardoItalian, Spanish, German Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese from the Germanic personal name Leonhard, formed from the elements leo ‘lion’ + hard, ‘hardy’, ‘brave’, ‘strong’; this was an early medieval saint’s name (see Leonard).
LeopardiItalian From the medieval given name Leopardus. A famous bearer of this surname is Giacomo Leopardi (1798-1837), one of the most influential Italian poets.
LibraItalian Derived from the latin word 'libra' meaning "balance, weigh". It's probably a nickname for a deliberate or well-balanced person.
LibrizziItalian Habitational name from Librizzi in Messina province, Sicily.
LibuttiItalian Composed of the definite article li and dialect butti "barrels".
LicataItalian, Sicilian From the name of a town in Sicily, possibly derived from the Ancient Greek toponym Λευκάδα (Leukada) (see Leocadia) or from Arabic الْقَلْعَةَ (al-qalʕata) "the castle, the fortress".
LoglisciItalian Possibly derived from Italian loglio "ryegrass, darnel", a plant often found as a weed in wheat fields, sometimes hosting an intoxicating fungus.
LoiaItalian Most likely a variant of Aloia. May alternately be related to Italian loggia "atrium, open-roofed gallery", Greek λεώς (leos) "the people", or Tuscan loia "dirt, filth on clothes or skin", perhaps a nickname for someone with a profession that often made them dirty, such as mining.
LotfiItalian Italian: patronymic or plural form of the personal name Lotto .
LottaItalian Possibly derived from a short form of the feminine given name Carlotta, or of names such as Paola or Orsola using the diminutive suffix -otta... [more]
LovatoSpanish (Latin American), Italian Northern Italian from the Late Latin personal name Lupatus, derivative of Latin lupus "wolf". This is one of several medieval personal names which became popular under the influence of Germanic compound personal names formed with wolf-.