Napoleone is an Italian male given name. St. Napoleone of Alexandria, alternatively rendered as ''Neopulus'', ''Neopolus'', ''Neopolis'' or ''Neópolo'', whose

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...

is August 15, was martyred during the early fourth century during the Diocletianic Persecution. Gabriele Rosa (1858) followed G. F. Zanetti (1751) in accepting the meaning as "nose of lion", though this etymology is viewed sceptically in later sources such as Pio Rajna (1891). The form ''Napoleone'' is found as early as Napoleone Orsini Frangipani (1263–1342), a Roman Cardinal. Rosa (1858) identified the name from 1240 as a nickname of a member of the

Della Torre The House of Della Torre (Torriani or Thurn) was an Italian noble family who dominated Lombardy and much of northern Italy between the 12th and 14th centuries. They owned the Lordship of Milan, before being expelled by the Visconti. They were membe ...

family of Valsassina. The French equivalent is ''Napoléon'', anglicised

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. The most famous holder of the Italian and French versions, with whom the name became virtually synonymous, was

Napoléon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

(1769–1821), christened Napoleone di Buonaparte (Nabulione di Buonaparte according to old Corsican spelling). Damiano Morali (1847) identified the given name Napoleone having first entered the Italian Buonaparte family in 1648.Morali, Damiano. ''Storia genealogica della famiglia Bonaparte, dalla sua origine fino all'estinzione del ramo gia esistente nella città di S. Miniato'', 1847
p.68
"come è stato asserito da uno scrittore oltramontano dei Fasti Napoleonici; ed anche riportato in alcune recenti memorie, nelle quali dicesi che ai secondogeniti imponevasi sempre il nome Napoleone in onoranza della rammentata famiglia."

Notable people

* Luca Napoleone (born 1993), Belgian footballer * Napoleone Angiolini (1797–1871), Italian painter * Napoleone Boni (1863–1927), Italian painter * Napoleone Colajanni (1847–1921), Italian writer, journalist, criminologist, socialist and politician * Napoleone Comitoli (1548–1624), Roman Catholic prelate *

Napoleone della Torre Napoleone della Torre (died 16 August 1278), also known as Napo della Torre or Napo Torriani, was an Italian nobleman, who was effective Lord of Milan in the late 13th century. He was a member of the della Torre family, the father of Corrado dell ...

(died 1278), Italian nobleman *

Napoleone Ferrara Napoleone Ferrara (born 26 July 1956 in Catania) is an Italian-American molecular biologist who joined University of California, San Diego UC San Diego Health#Moores Cancer Center, Moores Cancer Center in 2013 after a career in Northern Calif ...

(born 1956), Italian-American molecular biologist * Napoleone Moriani (1808–1878), Italian operatic tenor * Napoleone Nani (1841–1899), Italian painter * Napoleone Orsini (disambiguation), multiple people * Napoleone Orsini Frangipani (1263–1342), Roman cardinal * Napoleone Parisani (1854–1932), Italian landscape and portrait painter *

Napoleone Pini Napoleone Pini (1835, Milan22 March 1907, Milan) was an Italian people, Italian Zoology, zoologist and Palaeontology, palaeontologist. Biography Napoleone Pini was born into an aristocratic family. He was an accountant. In 1872 he became a membe ...

(1835–1907), Italian zoologist and paleontologist * Napoleone Sommaruga (1848–1906), Italian painter * Napoleone Verga (1833–1916), Italian painter

References

{{given name, type=both Italian masculine given names Masculine given names