A name in the Italian language consists of a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

() and a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

(); in most contexts, the given name is written before the surname, although in official documents, the surname may be written before the given name or names. Italian names, with their fixed ''nome'' and ''cognome'' structure, differ from the ancient

Roman naming conventions Over the course of some fourteen centuries, the Ancient Rome, Romans and other peoples of Italy employed a system of nomenclature that differed from that used by other cultures of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea, consisting of a combination of g ...

, which used a tripartite system of

gentile name A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, pro ...

, and hereditary or personal name (or names). The Italian ''nome'' is not analogous to the ancient Roman ''nomen''; the Italian ''nome'' is the given name (distinct between siblings), while the Roman ''nomen'' is the

(inherited, thus shared by all in a

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; : gentes ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same ''nomen gentilicium'' and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens, sometimes identified by a distinct cognomen, was cal ...

). Female naming traditions, and name-changing rules after adoption for both sexes, likewise differ between Roman antiquity and modern Italian use. Moreover, the low number, and the steady decline of importance and variety, of Roman ''praenomina'' starkly contrast with the current number of Italian given names. In Southern Italy, one portion in a person's name may be determined by the

name day In Christianity, a name day is a tradition in many countries of Europe and the Americas, as well as Christian communities elsewhere. It consists of celebrating a day of the year that is associated with one's baptismal name, which is normatively t ...

(). These name days are determined according to the '' sanctorale'', a cycle found in the

General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...

, which assigns to a day a saint (or as to the great majority of days, several saints), so that different names often are celebrated on that day. Traditionally, parents fix the name day of their child at christening, according to their favourite saint; in case of different ones (on different days) with the same name; that child will carry it throughout life. In the case of multiple given names, the child will celebrate only one, usually the first.

Given names

Typical Italian male given names: * Commonly end in ''-o'': ''

Alberto Alberto is the Romance languages, Romance version of the Latinized form (''Albertus'') of Germanic languages, Germanic ''Albert (given name), Albert''. It is used in Italian language, Italian, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Spanish language, ...

'', '' Aldo'', ''

Alessio Alessio is an Italian male name, Italian form of Alexius. Individuals with the given name Alessio *Alessio Ascalesi (1872–1952), Italian cardinal * Alessio Bandieri (born 1974), Italian footballer * Alessio Boni (born 1966), Italian actor * A ...

'', '' Alessandro'', ''

Amedeo Amedeo is an Italian theophoric given name meaning "lover of God", "loves God", or more correctly "for the love of God" and cognate to the Latin name Amadeus, the Spanish Amadeo, the Catalan and Portuguese Amadeu and the French Amédée. Peop ...

'', '' Angelo'', ''

Antonio Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan language, Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language–speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top ...

, Bernardo,

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

'', '' Carlo'', ''

Claudio Claudio is an Italian and Spanish first name. In Portuguese, it is accented Cláudio. In Catalan and Occitan, it is Claudi, while in Romanian it is Claudiu. Origin and history Claudius was the name of an eminent Roman gens, the most importa ...

'', '' Cosimo'', '' Cristiano'', '' Damiano'', ''

Danilo Danilo is a given name found in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Serbian. Notable people with the name Danilo include: Athletes Footballers * Danilo (footballer, born 1979), Brazilian footballer Danilo de Andrade * Danilo (footballer, born ...

'', ''

Dario Dario is a masculine given name, etymologically related to Darius. Given name * Dario Allevi (born 1965), Italian politician *Dario Argento (born 1940), Italian film director * Dario Badinelli (born 1946), Italian triple jumper * Dario Bellezza ...

'', ''

Domenico Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian a ...

,'' ''

Duccio Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...

'', ''

Edoardo Edoardo is the Italy, Italian form of the England, English male given name Edward. Notable people named Edoardo include: * Edoardo Agnelli (industrialist) (1892–1935), Italian industrialist * Edoardo Alfieri (1913–1998), Italian sculptor * Edoa ...

'', ''

Elio Elio is an Italian male given name. Origin A name of dual origin, Elio is primarily a revival of (Helios), the Greek god of the Sun. derives, through the Latin , from the Ancient Greek (), which is taken from the noun of the same and mean ...

'', '' Enrico'', ''

Eugenio Eugenio is an Italian and Spanish masculine given name deriving from the Greek language, Greek 'wiktionary:Eugene, Eugene'. The name is Eugénio in Portuguese and Eugênio in Brazilian Portuguese. The name's translated literal meaning is well born ...

'', '' Fabio'', '' Fabrizio'', ''

Federico Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick (given name), Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian. People with the given name Federico Ar ...

'', ''

Filippo Filippo is an Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English name Philip, from the Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "horse lover".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Philip" Retrieved on 23 January 2016. The female variant is Filippa. T ...

'', ''

Francesco Francesco, the Italian language, Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis (given name), Francis", is one of the List of most popular given names, most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name inclu ...

'', '' Franco'', ''

Giacomo Giacomo () is an Italian given name corresponding to English James (name), James. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob (name), Jacob. People bearing the name include: *Giacomo Acerbo (1888–1969), Italian economi ...

'', '' Giorgio'', '' Giuliano'', '' Giulio'', '' Gregorio'', '' Guglielmo'', ''

Guido Guido is a given name. It has been a male first name in Italy, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Argentina, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal and Latin America, as well as other places with migration from those. Regarding origins, there ...

'', '' Jacopo'', '' Lapo'', '' Leandro'', '' Leonardo'', '' Lorenzo'', '' Loriano'', '' Luciano'', '' Lucio'', '' Ludovico'', ''

Marcello Marcello is a common masculine Italian given name. It is a variant of Marcellus (name), Marcellus. The Spanish and Portuguese version of the name is Marcelo, differing in having only one "l", while the Greek form is Markellos. Etymology The nam ...

'', '' Marco'', ''

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

'', '' Martino'', '' Massimiliano'', ''

Massimo Massimo () is a masculine Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Massimo Agostinelli (Max Agos) (born 1987), Swiss-based Italian American artist, entrepreneur and activist * Massimo Agostini (born 1964), Italian football man ...

'', '' Matteo'', '' Maurizio'', '' Mauro'', ''

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

'', '' Mirco'', ''

Niccolò Niccolò is an Italian male given name, derived from the Greek Nikolaos meaning "Victor of people" or "People's champion". There are several male variations of the name: Nicolò, Niccolò, Nicolas, and Nicola. The female equivalent is Nicole. The ...

'', ''

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

'', ''

Ottavio Ottavio is the Italian form of Octavius. Its feminine given name version is Ottavia. Ottavio may refer to: Given name * Ottavio Cinquanta, the President of the International Skating Union * Ottavio Leoni, Italian painter * Ottavio Piccolomini, (15 ...

'', ''

Paolo Paolo is a masculine given name, the Italian language, Italian form of the name Paul (name), Paul. It may refer to: People Art * Paolo Abbate (1884–1973), Italian-American sculptor * Paolo Alboni (1671–1734), Italian painter * Paolo Anton ...

'', ''

Piero Piero is an Italian language, Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: *Piero Angela (1928–2022), Italian television host *Piero Barucci (born 1933), Italian academic and politician *Piero Cassano (born 1948), Italian keyboardist ...

'', ''

Pietro Pietro is an Italian language, Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his dea ...

'', '' Riccardo'', '' Roberto'', ''

Sandro Sandro is an Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swiss, Georgian and Croatian given name, often a diminutive of Alessandro or Alexander. It is also a surname. Sandro may refer to: Given name or nickname Sports * Sandro (footballer, born 1973), Braz ...

'', '' Silvio'', ''

Stefano Stefano is the Italian form of the masculine given name Στέφανος (Stefanos, Stephen). The name is of Greek origin, Στέφανος, meaning a person who made a significant achievement and has been crowned. In Orthodox Christianity the ach ...

'', ''

Tiziano Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. ...

'', ''

Tommaso Tommaso is an Italian given name. It has also been used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A * Tommaso Acquaviva d'Aragona (1600–1672), Roman Catholic prelate * Tommaso Aldrovandini (1653–1736), Italian painter of ...

'', '' Umberto'', '' Valentino'', '' Valerio'', '' Vincenzo'', '' Vittorio'', ''

Zeno Zeno may refer to: People * Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the given name * Zeno (surname) Philosophers * Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes * Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 B ...

'', etc. * Can also end in ''-e'': ''

Achille Achille (, ) is a French and Italian masculine given name, derived from the Greek mythological hero Achilles. It may refer to: People Artists * Achille Beltrame (1871–1945), Italian painter * Achille Calici (c. 1565–?), Italian painter * ...

'', '' Cesare'', '' Daniele'', ''

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

'', '' Davide'', '' Emanuele'', ''

Ettore Ettore is a given name, the Italian version of Hector. People * Ettore Arrigoni degli Oddi (1867–1942), Italian naturalist * Ettore Bassi (born 1970), Italian actor and television presenter * Ettore Bastianini (1922–1967), Italian opera singer ...

'', '' Felice'', '' Gabriele'', '' Gioele'', ''

Giuseppe Giuseppe is the Italian form of the given name Joseph, from Latin Josephus, Iōsēphus from Ancient Greek Ἰωσήφ (Iōsḗph), from Hebrew יוסף. The feminine form of the name is Giuseppa or Giuseppina (given name), Giuseppina. People wit ...

'', '' Leone'', ''

Michele Michele () is an Italian male given name, akin to the English male name Michael. Michele (usually pronounced ), is also an English female given name that is derived from the French Michèle. It is a variant spelling of the more common (and iden ...

'', '' Paride'', '' Raffaele'', '' Samuele'', '' Simone'', etc. * May also end in ''-i'': ''

Gianni Gianni is an Italian name (occasionally a surname), a short form of the Italian Giovanni and a cognate of John meaning God is gracious. Gianni is the most common diminutive of Giovanni in Italian. People with this given name * Gianni Agnelli (19 ...

'', '' Giovanni'', ''

Luigi Luigi (; ) is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. Part of Nintendo's ''Mario'' franchise, he is a kind-hearted, cowardly Italian plumber, and the younger fraternal twin brother and sidekick of Mario. Like ...

'', ''

Manfredi Manfredi is a surname of Italians, Italian origin. The name may refer to: People * Manfredi family, a noble family, lords of Faenza, Italy ** Francesco I Manfredi (1260–1343), Lord of Faenza ** Astorre I Manfredi (1345–1405), condottiero, foun ...

'', '' Neri'', '' Ranieri'', ''

Tancredi ''Tancredi'' is a ''melodramma eroico'' (''opera seria'' or heroic opera) in two acts by composer Gioachino Rossini and librettist Gaetano Rossi (who was also to write ''Semiramide'' ten years later), based on Voltaire's play ''Tancrède (traged ...

'', '' Vieri'', etc. * Or in ''-a'': ''

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

'', '' Elia'', '' Enea'', ''

Luca Luca or LUCA may refer to: People * Luca (masculine given name), including a list of people * Luca (feminine given name), including a list of people * Luca (surname), including a list of people Places * The ancient name of Lucca, an Etruscan ...

'', ''

Mattia Mattia is an Italian language, Italian masculine given name and surname, a version of Matteo, which means "gift of God". Notable people with the name include: Given name * Mattia Altobelli (footballer, born 1983), Italian footballer * Mattia Alto ...

'', '' Nicola'' * Some names, usually of foreign origin (or foreign variant of existing Italian names), end with a consonant, such as ''

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

/Cristian'' ( ''Cristiano''), '' Igor'', ''

Ivan Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was the B ...

'' (cf. ''Ivano'' or ''Giovanni''), ''

Loris Loris is the common name for the strepsirrhine mammals of the subfamily Lorinae (sometimes spelled Lorisinae) in the family Lorisidae. ''Loris'' is one genus in this subfamily and includes the slender lorises, ''Nycticebus'' is the genus cont ...

'', ''

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

'' and ''

Walter Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

''/''Valter'' (cf. '' Gualtiero''). Typical Italian female names: * Commonly end in ''-a'': '' Adriana'', '' Agata'', '' Allegra'', ''

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English-language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingd ...

'', '' Alessandra'', ''

Alessia Alessia is an Italian given name, the Feminine gender, feminine form of the male given name Alessio (disambiguation), Alessio, the Italian form of Alexius. In Greek it is Alexia (given name), Alexia. It is a popular name for females in Italy and ...

'', ''

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

'', ''

Amanda Amanda is a Latin feminine gerundive (i.e. verbal adjective) name meaning, literally, "she who must (or is fit to) be loved". Other translations, with similar meaning, could be "deserving to be loved," "worthy of love," or "loved very much by ev ...

'', '' Ambra'', '' Amelia'', '' Angela'', ''

Angelica ''Angelica'' is a genus of about 90 species of tall Biennial plant, biennial and Perennial plant, perennial herbaceous, herbs in the family Apiaceae, native to temperate and subarctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere, reaching as far north as ...

'', '' Anita'', '' Anna'', '' Antonella'', '' Arianna'', ''

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

'', '' Azzurra'', '' Benedetta'', ''

Bianca Bianca is a feminine given name. It means "white" and is an Italian cognate of Blanche. It is known in the Anglosphere as a character in William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew''. It came to greater notice in the 1970s, due to public fi ...

'', '' Camilla'', '' Carla'', '' Carlotta'', ''

Carola Carola is a female given name, the Latinized form of the Germanic given names Caroline or Carol. People named Carola include: Acting * Carola Braunbock (1924–1978), Czech-born East German actress * Carola Höhn (1910–2005), German actre ...

'', '' Carolina'', '' Caterina'', ''

Cecilia Cecilia is a personal name originating in the name of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. History The name has been popularly used in Europe (particularly the United Kingdom and Italy, where in 2018 it was the 43rd most popular name for g ...

'', '' Chiara'', '' Clara'', '' Clarissa'', ''

Clelia Clelia may refer to: * Clelia (given name) (includes a list of people with the name) * Cloelia, a legendary Roman figure * Clelia curve, an algebraic curve * Clelia (snake genus), a genus of snakes {{disambig ...

'', ''

Corinna Corinna or Korinna () was an ancient Greek lyric poet from Tanagra in Boeotia. Although ancient sources portray her as a contemporary of Pindar (born ), not all modern scholars accept the accuracy of this tradition. When she lived has been th ...

'', '' Cristiana'', ''

Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American ...

'', '' Daniela'', '' Delia'', '' Diana'', '' Elena'', ''

Elisa The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (, ) is a commonly used analytical biochemistry assay, first described by Eva Engvall and Peter Perlmann in 1971. The assay is a solid-phase type of enzyme immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of ...

'', '' Elisabetta'', '' Eleonora'', '' Elettra'', '' Emanuela'', '' Emma'', ''

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * Erica (plant), ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * Erica (video game), ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * Erica (spider), ' ...

'', ''

Eugenia ''Eugenia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It has a worldwide, although highly uneven, distribution in tropical and subtropical regions. The bulk of the approximately 1,100 species occur in the New World tropics, ...

'', '' Eva'', '' Fabrizia'', ''

Federica Federica is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Federica Angeli (born 1975), Italian journalist * Federica Biscia (born 1980), Italian swimmer *Federica Bonsignori (born 1967), professional tennis player from Italy * Federica Brun ...

'', '' Fiorella'', '' Francesca'', '' Gabriella'', ''

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

'', '' Giada'', '' Gianna'', '' Ginevra'', ''

Giorgia Giorgia is the Italian version of the female name Georgia. Notable people with the name include: Arts and entertainment *Giorgia (singer), Italian singer, born ''Giorgia Todrani'' * Giorgia Fumanti, Italian-Canadian soprano and singer of operatic p ...

'', ''

Giovanna Giovanna is an Italian feminine first name. It is the feminine counterpart of the masculine Giovanni (name), Giovanni, which in turn is the Italian form of John (given name), John; it is thus the Italian equivalent of Joan (given name), Joan, etc. ...

'', '' Giuditta'', '' Giulia'', '' Giuliana'', ''

Greta Greta may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Greta'' (2018 film), a thriller film directed by Neil Jordan * ''Greta'' (2020 film), a documentary film about activist Greta Thunberg Music * Greta (band), hard rock band * Greta (song), ...

'', '' Ilaria'', ''

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

'', '' Isabella'', ''

Lara Lara may refer to: People * Lara (name), can be a given name or a surname in several languages * Lara (mythology), a naiad nymph, daughter of the river Almo in Ovid's ''Fasti'' Places *Lara (state), a state in Venezuela * Electoral district ...

'', ''

Larissa Larissa (; , , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 148,562 in the city proper, according to the 2021 census. It is also the capital of the Larissa ...

'', '' Laura'', ''

Lavinia In Roman mythology, Lavinia ( ; ) is the daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the last wife of Aeneas. Creation It has been proposed that the character was in part intended to represent Servilia Isaurica, Emperor Augustus's first fiancée. Story ...

'', '' Letizia'', '' Lidia'', ''

Liliana Liliana is derived from the Latin word 'lilium' or 'lilion', both mean 'lily' in English. Due to this, the name means "pure" and "innocent". The name is generally found in North America, though it is more common in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese ...

'', '' Linda'', ''

Lisa Lisa or LISA may refer to: People People with the mononym * Lisa (Japanese musician, born 1974), stylized "LISA" * Lisa, stagename of Japanese singer Lisa Komine (born 1978) * Lisa (South Korean singer) (born 1980) * Lisa (Japanese musician, b ...

'', ''

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...

'', '' Lucia'', '' Lucrezia'', ''

Ludovica Ludovica or Ludovika or Ludowika is a feminine given name, a counterpart of the masculine names Ludovic or Ludovico and the related Louis (given name), Louis or Ludwig (given name), Ludwig. As of 2021, it was among the ten most popular names for n ...

'', '' Luisa'', '' Maddalena'', '' Manuela'', '' Maria'', ''

Mara Mara or MARA may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Mara (''Doctor Who''), an evil being in two ''Doctor Who'' serials * Mara (She-Ra), fictional characters from the ''She-Ra and the Princesses of Power'' and ''The New Advent ...

'', '' Marcella'', '' Marianna'', '' Margherita'', ''

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

'', ''

Marta Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an Italian river that flow ...

'', '' Martina'', '' Marzia'', '' Michela'', '' Monica'', '' Nadia'', '' Nicoletta'', '' Nora'', '' Olivia'', ''

Ottavia Ottavia (/otˈta.vja/) is a Latin origin feminine given name. It is the feminine version of Ottavio and has a variant, Ottaviana. The name means "eighth". Its name day is 20 November in Italy which is celebrated in honor of Saint Ottavio the Marty ...

'', ''

Paola Paola is a female given name, the Italian form of the name Paula. In Greek it is Polina. Notable people with the name include: People In arts and entertainment * Paola Del Medico (born 1950), Swiss singer *Paola e Chiara, pop music duo consist ...

'', '' Patrizia'', '' Raffaella'', ''

Rebecca Rebecca () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical tradition, Rebecca's father was Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram, also called Aram-Naharaim. Rebecca's brother was Laban (Bi ...

'', '' Rita'', ''

Roberta Roberta is a feminine version of the given names Robert and Roberto. It is a Germanic name derived from the stems *hrod meaning "famous", "glorious", "godlike" and *berht meaning "bright", "shining", "light". People with the name *Roberta Achtenbe ...

'', ''

Rosa Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: Plants and animals * ''Rosa'' (plant), the genus of roses * Rosa (sea otter), a sea otter that has become popular on the internet * Rosa (cow), a Spanish-born cow People * Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * San ...

'', ''

Sabrina Sabrina may refer to: People and fictional characters * Sabrina (given name), a feminine given name, including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Hafren, known in English as Sabrina, a British princess in Welsh mythology ...

'', '' Sandra'', '' Sara'', '' Serena'', '' Silvia'', ''

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

'', '' Sonia'', ''

Stefania ''Stefania'' is a genus of frogs in the family Hemiphractidae. They are native to the highlands of the Guiana Shield in southern Venezuela, Guyana, and adjacent far northern Brazil. Most are restricted to the tepui highlands, but '' S. evansi'' ...

'', '' Stella'', '' Susanna'', '' Sveva'', ''

Tatiana Tatiana (or Tatianna, also romanized as Tatyana, Tatjana, Tatijana, etc.) is a female name of Sabine-Roman origin that became widespread in Eastern Europe. Origin Tatiana is a feminine, diminutive derivative of the Sabine—and later Latin� ...

'', ''

Teresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; ) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Classical Greek, Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or rea ...

'', '' Valentina'', '' Valeria'', '' Vanessa'', '' Veronica'', ''

Viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

'', ''

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

'', '' Vittoria'', '' Viviana'', etc. * Can also end in ''-e'': ''

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

'', ''

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

'', '' Agnese'', ''

Alice Alice may refer to: * Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname Literature * Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll * ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...

'', '' Beatrice'', ''

'', ''

Matilde Matilde is an alternate spelling of the name Matilda (name), Matilda and may refer to: People *Matilde Borromeo (born 1983), Italian equestrian *Matilde Camus (1919–2012), Spanish poet *Matilde Casazola (born 1942), Bolivian songwriter *Matilde ...

'', '' Rachele'', '' Sole'', '' Violante'', '' Zoe'', etc. * May also end in ''-i'': '' Noemi'', etc. * Or even with a consonant (usually of foreign origin), such as ''

Ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an acid (either organic or inorganic) in which the hydrogen atom (H) of at least one acidic hydroxyl group () of that acid is replaced by an organyl group (R). These compounds contain a distin ...

'', '' Ines'', '' Iris'', '' Micol'', ''

Miriam Miriam (, lit. ‘rebellion’) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as "Miria ...

'', etc. A few names end with an accented vowel, for instance

. Almost every base name can have a diminutive form ending with -ino/-ina or -etto/etta as in Paolino/Paoletto and Paolina/Paoletta from Paolo and Paola, -ello/-ella, or in Donatello/Donatella from Donato and Donata. The forms -uzzo/-uzza, as in Santuzza from Santa, are typical of

Sicilian language Sicilian (, ; ) is a Romance languages, Romance language that is spoken on the island of Sicily and its satellite islands. It belongs to the broader Extreme Southern Italian language group (in Italian ). ''Ethnologue'' (see #Ethnologue report ...

. The most common names are: * For males: Marco, Alessandro,

, Giovanni, Roberto,

, Angelo,

. * For females: Anna, Maria, Sara, Laura,

, Valentina, Giulia,

, Gianna, Giuseppina, Angela,

, Stella. Since the ancient Romans had a very limited stock of given names (''praenomina''), very few modern Italian given names (''nomi'') are derived directly from the classical ones. A rare example would be '' Marco'' (from Marcus). Some ''nomi'' were taken from classical clan names (''nomina'') for their meanings or because they are euphonic, such as Emilio/ Emilia (from Aemilius), Valerio/ Valeria (from Valerius),

/ Claudia (from

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

), Orazio (from

Horatius Horatius may refer to: People Roman era * several ancient Roman men of the '' gens Horatia'', including: ** Quintus Horatius Flaccus, the poet known in English as Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Sueto ...

), Fabio (from the ''cognomen''

Fabius In Roman mythology, Fabius was the son of Hercules and an unnamed mother. In "The Life of Fabius Maximus" from the ''Parallel Lives'' by Plutarch, Fabius, the first of his name, was the son of Hercules by a nymph or a woman native to the country, ...

), Flavio/ Flavia (from

Flavius The gens Flavia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members are first mentioned during the last three centuries of the Republic. The first of the Flavii to achieve prominence was Marcus Flavius, tribune of the plebs in 327 and 323 BC; how ...

) and Fulvio/Fulvia (from Fulvius). When combined with a second given name, ''Giovanni'' and ''

'' are commonly contracted to ''Gian-'' and ''Pier-'', as in ''

Giancarlo Giancarlo is an Italian given name meaning "John Charles". It is one of the most common masculine given names in Italy and is often short for "Giovanni Carlo". Notable people with the name include: List A * Giancarlo Agazzi (1933–1995), Italia ...

'', ''

Gianfranco Gianfranco is a compound Italian given name, consisting of Gian- and Franco. ''Gian-'' comes from Giovanni and is used in compound names. It is closest to John or French Jean. Gianni means "God is gracious" and Franco means "Free man" or "Frenchm ...

'', '' Gianluca'', '' Gianluigi'', Gianmarco, Giampaolo (Gianpaolo), Giampiero (Gianpiero), Pierfrancesco, Piergiorgio, Pierluigi, Pierpaolo, and so on. Italian

unisex name A unisex name (also known as an epicene name, a gender-neutral name or an androgynous name) is a given name that is not gender-specific. Unisex names are common in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. By contrast, some co ...

s are very rare (e.g. ''Celeste''), but the feminine name '' Maria'' can be used as a masculine second name, as in ''Gianmaria'', ''Carlo Maria'', etc.

Surnames

Italy has the largest collection of surnames (''cognomi'') of any country in the world, with over 350,000.''Il Corriere della Sera'' (Sept 15, 2006)
L'Italia è il regno dei cognomi
an
La provenienza geografica dei cognomi
/ref> Men—except slaves—in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

always had hereditary surnames, i.e., ''nomen'' (clan name) and ''cognomen'' (side-clan name). However, the multi-name tradition was lost by the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. Outside the aristocracy, where surnames were often

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (more specifically an avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. It is the male equivalent of a matronymic. Patronymics are used, b ...

or those of manors or fiefs, most Italians began to assume hereditary surnames around 1450. Registration of baptisms and marriages became mandatory in parishes after the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent (), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation at the time, it has been described as the "most ...

in 1564.Italy World Club
Italian Surnames: Etymology and Origin

Suffixes

A large number of Italian surnames end in ''i'' due to the

medieval Italian Italian (, , or , ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family. It evolved from the colloquial Latin of the Roman Empire. Italian is the least divergent language from Latin, together with Sardinian. It is spoken by about 68 ...

habit of identifying families by the name of the ancestors in the plural (which has an ''-i'' suffix in Italian). For instance, Filippo from the Ormanno family (''gli Ormanni'') would be called "Filippo degli Ormanni" ("Filippo of the Ormannos"). In time, the middle possessive portion ("of the") was dropped, but surnames became permanently pluralized even for a single person. Filippo Ormanno would therefore be known as Filippo Ormann''i''. Some families, however, opted to retain the possessive portion of their surnames, for instance

Lorenzo de' Medici Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici (), known as Lorenzo the Magnificent (; 1 January 1449 – 9 April 1492), was an Italian statesman, the ''de facto'' ruler of the Florentine Republic, and the most powerful patron of Renaissance culture in Italy. Lore ...

literally means "Lorenzo of the Medici" (''de is a contraction of ''dei'', also meaning "of the"; cf. The Medicis). Another example of the use of plural suffix in Italian surnames is Manieri which is the plural form of Mainiero. Some common suffixes indicate endearment (which may also become pluralized and receive an ''-i'' ending), for example: * ''-ello/etto/ino'' (

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

"little"), e.g., Morelli, Ferretti, Bellini * ''-one'' (

augmentative An augmentative (abbreviated ) is a morphological form of a word which expresses greater intensity, often in size but also in other attributes. It is the opposite of a diminutive. Overaugmenting something often makes it grotesque and so in so ...

"big"), e.g., Marconi * ''-accio/azzo/asso'' (

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

), e.g., Boccacci Other endings are characteristic of certain regions: *

Veneto Veneto, officially the Region of Veneto, is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the Northeast Italy, north-east of the country. It is the fourth most populous region in Italy, with a population of 4,851,851 as of 2025. Venice is t ...

: ''-asso'', ''-ato/ati'', and consonants (''l'', ''n'', ''r''); ''-on'': Bissacco, Zoccarato, Cavinato, Brombal, Bordin, Meneghin, Perin, Vazzoler, Peron, Francescon, Zanon, Fanton *

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

: ''-aro'', ''-isi'' and ''-osso'': Cavallaro, Rosso (Sicily, Piedmont and Veneto) *

Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...

and

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

: ''-ago/ghi'' (of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

derivation), ''-engo/enghi'' (of Germanic derivation): Salmoiraghi, Ornaghi, Martinengo, Giordanengo, Lambertenghi *

: ''-ate/ati/atti'': Lunati, Bonatti, Moratti, Orsatti *

: ''-ero'', ''-audi'', ''-asco'',''-zzi'', ''-ini'': Ferrero, Rambaudi, Bonazzi, Baldovini *

Friuli Friuli (; ; or ; ; ) is a historical region of northeast Italy. The region is marked by its separate regional and ethnic identity predominantly tied to the Friulians, who speak the Friulian language. It comprises the major part of the autono ...

: ''-otti/utti'' and ''-t'': Bortolotti, Pascutti, Codutti, Rigonat, Ret *

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of 3,660,834 inhabitants as of 2025. The capital city is Florence. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, and its in ...

: ''-ai'', ''-ini'', ''-ucci'': Niccolai, Puccini, Vannucci *

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

: ''-u'', ''-as'' and ''-is'', derived from the

Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , , , , or , ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. The original character of the Sardinian language among the Romance idioms has long been know ...

(see Sardinian surnames): Cadeddu, Schirru, Marras, Argiolas, Floris, Melis, Abis, Cannas *

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

: ''-ace'': Versace *

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

: ''-iello'': Borriello, Aiello, Manganiello *

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

: ''-us'', ''-is'' and ''-iis'' that stem from traditional Latin names: Fidelibus, De Sanctis, De Laurentiis

Origins

As in most other European naming traditions,

s are common. Originally they were indicated by a possessive, e.g., Francesco de Bernardo, meaning "Francis (the son) of Bernard". ''De Luca'' (" onof Luke") remains one of the most common Italian surnames. However, ''de'' ("of") was often dropped and suffixes added, hence ''de Bernardo'' evolved to be ''Bernardo'' and eventually pluralized as ''Bernardi'' (see

Suffixes In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns and adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs. Suffixes can ca ...

above). The origin or residence of the family gave rise to many surnames, e.g., * Habitat: ''Della Valle'' ("of the valley"), ''Montagna'' ("mountain"). * Specific placename: **''Abbruzzesi''/''Abbruzzi''/''Abruzzi''/'' Abruzzese''/''Abruzzesi''/''D'Abbruzzo''/''

D'Abruzzo D'Abruzzo is an Italian surname meaning "of Abruzzo". Notable people with this surname include the following: *Alan Alda Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Glob ...

'' ("Abruzzan"/"of

"/"from

") **''Benevento''/''Di Benevento''/''Beneventano'' ("Beneventan"/"from

Benevento Benevento ( ; , ; ) is a city and (municipality) of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill above sea level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino (or Beneventano) and the Sabato (r ...

") **''Albanese''/''Albanesi'' ("

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

"/"from

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

") **''Bologna''/''Bologni''/''Bolognese''/''Bolognesi'' ("Bolognan"/"from

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

") **''Bresci''/''(De) Brescia''/''Bresciani''/''Bresciano''/''Brescianini'' ("Brescian"/"from

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

") **'' Calabrese''/''

Calabresi Calabresi is an Italian surname (meaning "Calabrese, Calabrian, from Calabria", plural masculine). Notable people with the surname include: * Enrica Calabresi (1891–1944), Italian zoologist, herpetologist, and entomologist * Guido Calabresi (born ...

''/''Calabria'' ("Calabrian"/"from

") **''Campano''/''Campana'' ("Campanian"/"from

") **''Casertano'' ("Casertanian"/"from

Caserta Caserta ( ; ) is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. An important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city, Caserta is located 36 kilometres north of Naples on the edge of the Campanian p ...

") **''

Catalani Catalani is an Italian surname meaning " Catalan" or "from Catalonia". Notable people with the surname include: * Adelina Catalani (fl. 1818–1832), Franco-Italian soprano *Alfredo Catalani Alfredo Catalani (19 June 1854 – 7 August 1893) wa ...

''/'' Catalano'' (" Catalan"/"from

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

") **'' Catanese''/''Catanesi''/''Catania'' ("Catanian"/"from

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

"/"from the

province of Catania The province of Catania (; ) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Its capital was the city of Catania. It had an area of and a total population of about 1,116,917 as of 31 December 2014. Historically known also as ...

") **''Emiliani''/''Emiliano'' (" Emilian"/"from Emilia") **''Fiorentini''/''Fiorentino''/''Firenze''/''Florenzi'' ("Florentine"/"from

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

") **''Francese''/''Franzese''/''Franzesi'' (" French"/"from

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

") **''De Genova''/''Di Genova''/''Genova''/''Genovese''/''Genovesi'' ("Genoese"/"from

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

") **'' Greco'' ("

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

") **''De Lucca''/''Di Lucca''/''Lucca''/''Lucchesi''/'' Lucchese'' ("Luccan"/"from

Lucca Città di Lucca ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its Province of Lucca, province has a population of 383,9 ...

") **''

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

''/''Maltesi'' ("

"/"from

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

") **''De Milano''/''Di Milano''/''Milano''/''Milanese''/''Milanesi'' ("Milanese"/"from

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

") **''De Napoli''/''Di Napoli''/''

Napoli Naples ( ; ; ) is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its province-level municipality is the thir ...

''/''Napoletani''/''Napoletano''/''Napolitani''/''Napolitano'' (" Neapolitan"/"from

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

") **''Di Norcia''/''Norcia''/"from

Norcia Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a su ...

") **''Da Padova''/''Di Padova''/''Padova''/''Padovani''/''Padovano''/''Patavini''/''Patavino''/''Padovan'' ("Paduan"/"from

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

") **''(Di) Palermo''/''Palermitani''/''Palermitano'' ("Palermitan"/"from

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

") **''De Pisa''/''Di Pisa''/''Pisa''/''Pisani''/''Pisano'' ("Pisan"/"from

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

") **''Portoghese''/''Portoghesi'' (" Portuguese"/"from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

") **''Puglisi''/''Pugliese'' ("

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

n"/"from Apulia") **''Romagnoli''/''Romagnolo'' ("Romagnan"/"from

Romagna Romagna () is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, in northern Italy. Etymology The name ''Romagna'' originates from the Latin name ''Romania'', which originally ...

") **''Romana''/''Romani''/'' Romano'' ("Roman"/"from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

") **''Salerno''/''Salernitani''/''Salernitano'' ("Salernitan"/"from

Salerno Salerno (, ; ; ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Campania, southwestern Italy, and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after Naples. It is located ...

") **''Sardo'' (" Sardinian"/"from

") **''Siciliana''/''Siciliani''/''Siciliano'' ("Sicilian"/"from

") **''Spagnola''/''Spagnoli''/''Spagnolo''/''Spagnuola''/''Spagnuoli''/''Spagnuolo'' ("

Spaniard Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking Ethnicity, ethnic group native to the Iberian Peninsula, primarily associated with the modern Nation state, nation-state of Spain. Genetics, Genetically and Ethnolinguisti ...

", "

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

", "from

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

") **''Svizzera''/''Svizzeri''/''Svizzero'' ("

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

"/"from

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

") **''Tedeschi''/''Tedesco''/''Tedisco''/''Todeschi''/''Todesco'' ("

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

"/"from

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

") **''Toscani''/''Toscano'' ("Tuscan"/"from

") **'' Trapanese''/''Trapanesi'' ("Trapanese"/"from

Trapani Trapani ( ; ; ) is a city and municipality (''comune'') with 54,887 inhabitants, on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an important fishing port and the mai ...

"/"from the

province of Trapani The province of Trapani (; ; officially ''libero consorzio comunale di Trapani'') is a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by ...

") **''Umbro'' ("Umbrian"/"from

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

") **''Veneziani''/''Veneziano'' ("Venetian"/"from

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

") **''Veronese''/''Veronesi'' ("from

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

") * Nearby landmarks: ''La Porta'' ("the gate"), ''

Fontana Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

'' ("fountain"), ''Torregrossa'' ("big tower"). Ancestors' occupation was also a great source of surnames. * Job title: ''Cattaneo'' ("captain"), ''Conti'' ("counts"), ''Dottori'' ("doctors"), ''Maestri'' ("teachers"). * Objects ( metonyms) associated with the vocation: ''Cappelli'' ("hats", hatter), ''Speziale'' ("spice", grocer), ''

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

'' ("iron", blacksmith). Nicknames, referring to physical attributes or mannerism, also gave rise to some family names, e.g., '' Rossi'' (from ''

rosso Rosso is the major city of south-western Mauritania and capital of Trarza Region, Trarza region. It is situated on the Senegal River at the head of the river zone allowing year-round navigation. The town is 204 km south of the capital Nouakc ...

'' "

redhead Red hair, also known as ginger hair, is a human hair color found in 2–6% of people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and lesser frequency in other populations. It is most common in individuals homozygous for a recessive alle ...

") and ''Mancini'' ("left-handed"). Another common category is surnames given to abandoned children and foundlings: Casadei ("house of God"),

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

("dove"), Di Dio ("of God"), Esposito ("exposed"),

Innocenti Innocenti () was an Italian machinery works, originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1933 in Lambrate, a neighborhood on the eastern outskirts of Milan. Over the years, they produced Lambretta scooters as well as a range of automobiles, ...

("innocent"), Proietti ("cast away"), Sperandio ("hope in God"), Trovati ("found"), Venturini (related to "venture").

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...

and

Franco Zeffirelli Gian Franco Corsi Zeffirelli (; 12 February 1923 – 15 June 2019) was an Italian stage and film director, producer, production designer and politician. He was one of the most significant opera and theatre directors of the post–World War II e ...

's surnames also are foundling names. A few family names are still in the original

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, like ''De Amicis'' and ''De Laurentiis'', reflecting that the family name has been preserved from

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

sources as a part of their business or household documentation or church records.

Second surnames

In some areas of Italy, individuals and their descendants may have taken a second surname, attached to the first by the word ''detto'', ''vulgo'', or ''dit'' (all meaning “called” or “known as”). This practice was mostly used to distinguish between different branches of the same family, especially when the families remained in the same town for generations. Occasionally, a very similar name to the one already used by the family was adopted in order to better parallel local naming styles. For example, when they settled and founded their firm in France, the Mellerio family of jewellers, from

Valle Vigezzo Valle Vigezzo (Vigezzo Valley) is a valley in the Lepontine Alps in northwestern Italy on the border with Ticino, Canton Ticino of Switzerland. It forms the eastern branch of the Ossola valley. It is also called the Valle dei Pittori (Valley of ...

, modified their name to Mellerio ''dits Meller''. Some families with such names eventually drop the first part or even in rare cases the second, as with the Mellerio family (the expanded form of whose name now survives only in the name of their company).

Articles

The traditional rule, which is the common usage, especially in Tuscany, is that in referring to people by their surnames alone, the definite article should be used (''il'' for most parts, ''lo'' before some consonants and consonant clusters and ''l'' before vowels). ''Mario Rossi'', therefore, is called ''il Rossi'' ("the Rossi"). Now, some prefer to use the article only or chiefly for historical surnames ("l'Ariosto", "il Manzoni", etc.) Male given names are never preceded by an article except in popular northern regional usage. However, in Tuscany and the rest of Northern Italy, given names of females are usually preceded by articles (''la Giulia'') unless one is speaking of a woman who is personally unknown (such as ''Cleopatra'', ''Maria Stuarda'', with no article).Meyer-Lübke. ''Grammaire des langues romanes'' 3 §150. That is also the traditional grammar rule. Articles are also used (more often than with those of men) with the surnames of women: ''Gianni Rossi'' can be called ''il Rossi'' or (especially nowadays) simply ''Rossi'', but ''Giulia Bianchi'' is usually ''la Bianchi'' (also ''la Giulia Bianchi''). Names that are derived from possessions of noble families normally never had articles preceding them such as the

House of Farnese The House of Farnese (, also , ) was an influential family in Renaissance Italy. The titles of Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Duke of Latera and Duke of Castro were held by various members of the family. Its most important members included Po ...

(from a territorial holding) and the Cornaro family (from a

prince-bishop A prince-bishop is a bishop who is also the civil ruler of some secular principality and sovereignty, as opposed to '' Prince of the Church'' itself, a title associated with cardinals. Since 1951, the sole extant prince-bishop has been the ...

ric). Articles were also omitted for surnames with an identifiable foreign origin (including Latin ones) such as ''Cicerone''. That practice somewhat resembles the Greek custom of placing definite articles before ''all'' names (see

Greek name In the modern world, Greek names are the personal names among people of Greek language and Greek culture, culture, generally consisting of a given name and a family name. History Ancient Greek personal names, Ancient Greeks generally had a sin ...

s). The Greco-Italian practice even spread to French in the 17th century, especially in writings regarding figures in literature and painting such as ''le

Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the Classicism, classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and ...

''.

References

{{Names in world cultures Names by country

Given names

Surnames

Suffixes

Origins

Second surnames

Articles

See also

References