I have always wondered what surnames mean. Why did my ancestors have that surname? In our previous post on Italian Naming Conventions, we discussed who the children were usually named after. Surnames began to appear in the later Middle Ages (beginning roughly in the 11th century) and derive from many sources. Surnames began as a way of identifying aspects of an individual, such as their trade, father’s name, birth location, or physical features. Different cultures use surnames differently.
In Italy, surnames are used as many other European countries. Some surnames describe personal details or physical characteristics, such as Biondi (blonde). Others may indicate the area in Italy such as surnames ending in -o usually are from southern Italy and those ending in -i are usually from the north. Similar surnames can indicate location as well. For example, Risso/Russo have the same meaning (red hair) but the first instance indicates northern while the second indicates southern location. The prefix -da can also indicate place of origin such as da Vinci (from Vinci).
If a surname contains “della”, or “di”, it indicates “son of”. These are considered patronymic or names based on a parent’s name. For example, Di Felice means “son of Felice”. Other surnames are occupational such as Contadino (farmer). There can be geographical surnames such as Romano (from Rome). Surnames can be from animals such as Volpe (fox). Lo Blanco can indicate “the family of White”.
Some families may adopt an additional surname, or alias surname, to distinguish between different branches of the family. Look for prefixes such as “ditto” or “dit”. For more information, check out the FamilySearch blog post on Italian surnames and the article from Behindthename.com.
What does your surname mean? Let’s us know in the comments below. Happy searching!
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