Today’s post is about the most common Italian surnames, their history, name meanings, and famous people bearing the names – plus name vocabulary. Read on.
With over 350,000, Italy is the country with the largest collection of surnames.
An Italian name includes a given name (first name) and a surname (last name or family name). In most contexts, one’s surname is placed ahead of the given name. In official documents, however, the given name may be written first.
Surnames are necessary in today’s society. Your surname is your family name, which means you belong to a family.
Surnames are important for legal documentation and telling people apart. In some parts of the word, surnames are used to establish superiority.
Anyhow, surnames were invented to distinguish one person from another and to ensure that a person’s identity isn’t copied or stolen.
History of Italian Surnames
Apart from slaves, men in ancient Rome always had hereditary surnames. It was only in the middle of the 15th century when most Italians started to assume surnames because the population began to swell and with it came the necessity to distinguish families from one another.
Shortly before the 16th century, mandatory registration of one’s first name (or Christian name) and last name was imposed in order to stop incestuous marriages. They also required the recording of baptisms and burials.
Most Italian surnames are patronymic, originating from the name of ancestors who were rulers of the family. Italian patronymic surnames have prefixes such De or Di to signify a common paternal ancestor. An example of this is De Luca (“son of Luca” or son of Luke”).
A third of Italian last names are toponymic and geographical or habitational such as Costa (“slope” or “coast”), Fontana (“fountain”), and Romano (“Roman”). Toponymic and geographical names denote the place where the family was originally from or in honor of a specific place.
Other Italian family names are descriptive, which are derived from nicknames such as Bianchi (“white”), Rossi (“red”), and Rizzo (“curly-haired”). These names were based on personality traits, features, and characteristics of a person.
Occupational surnames are also very common in Italy. They are derived from trades such as Ferrari (“blacksmiths”) and Barbieri (“barbers”).
Most Common Italian Surnames, Their Meanings, and Famous People
The following is a list of the 27 most common Italian last names, their meanings, and famous people bearing them.
1. Rossi
This Italian last name is derived from the nickname – and is the plural form of – rosso, meaning “red”. It was originally used as a descriptive name for people with red hair or ruddy complexion.
Famous People
• Valentino Rossi – Italian professional motorcycle racer, honored by his countrymen as “The Doctor” for having mastered the art of road racing and considered one of the greatest Italian athletes ever
• Sergio Rossi – Italian shoe designer whose shoes are best-known for their use of geometrics and color
• Aldo Rossi – Italian architect known for his drawings and urban theory, and for winning the 1990 Pritzker Prize
2. Russo
Russo is the Southern variant of Rossi and comes from Late Latin russus or rubius, which means “red.”
Famous People
• Rene Russo – American actress and former supermodel, known for her elegant beauty and longevity in the film industry
• Russo Brothers (Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo) – American directors, producers, and screenwriters, best-known for the Avengers film series
• Carmen Russo – Italian actress and TV personality who, at age 14, became “Miss Liguria,” which bestowed her the opportunity to join “Miss Italia” but was disqualified because she was too young
3. Ferrari
Ferrari comes from and is the plural form of ferraro, the Italian word for “blacksmith.” Originally derived from the Latin ferrum meaning “iron,” Ferrari is basically the Italian equivalent of the equally common English surname Smith.
Famous People
• Enzo Ferrari – Italian race car driver who went on to establish arguably the world’s best-loved sports car brand that bears his name
• Domenico Ferrari – 18th-century Italian violinist and composer who found great success in Vienna and ended up murdered in Paris
• Vanessa Ferrari – Italian artistic gymnast who, at age 30, became the first Italian woman to ever win an individual Olympic medal
4. Esposito
This common Italian last name literally means “exposed” or “placed outside,” from the Latin expositus, which is the past participle of exponere, meaning “to expose” or “to place outside.”
Esposito was commonly given to orphans, illegitimate children, or foundlings, which often caused shame and embarrassment to the child. These children were called espositi because they were “exposed” in public places where they were abandoned and consequently found.
Famous People
• Roberto Esposito – Italian philosopher known for his work in biopolitics
• Giancarlo Esposito – American actor best-known for his role as Gus Fring in the crime drama series Breaking Bad
• Jennifer Esposito – American actress who has been acting in films and on TV since 1996 but is best recognized as the ex-wife of actor Bradley Cooper
5. Bianchi
Bianchi comes from and is the plural form of bianco, the Italian word for “white” in Italian. This Italian surname was originally given to people who had white hair or were extremely pale.
Famous People
• Edoardo Bianchi – Italian inventor and founder of the world’s oldest bicycle manufacturing company in existence
• Michele Bianchi – Italian revolutionary leader and founding member of the Italian Fascism movement
• Lucien Bianchi – Italian-born Belgian race car driver who was killed in a crash while competing at Circuit de la Sarthe in France
6. Romano
The surname Romano is both Italian and Spanish, from the Latin Romanus, which means “Roma” or “Rome.” It is a name originally given to Roman citizens or people from Rome.
Famous People
• Ray Romano – American actor and stand-up comedian best known for starring in the television series Everybody Loves Raymond
• Antoniazzo Romano – Italian Early Renaissance painter whose most famous piece, Annunciation, can be found at the Chapel of Annunciation in Santa Maria sopra Minerva, Rome
• Giulio Romano a.k.a. Giulio Pippi – 16th-century Italian painter and architect who was the only “modern” artist mentioned by William Shakespeare in a play
7. Colombo
The common Italian surname Colombo is from columbus, the Latin word for “dove.” This name was a favorite among early Christians because the dove was deemed the symbol of the Holy Spirit. As a surname, Colombo may have been given to people who raised and sold doves.
Famous People
• Emilio Colombo – Italian politician who, during his time in office, transformed war-shattered Italy into the world’s 7th-largest industrial power
• Cristoforo Colombo a.k.a. Christopher Columbus – Italian explorer and navigator, famous for discovering the New World
• Giuseppe “Bepi” Colombo – Italian engineer, rocket scientist, and mathematician famous for his namesake spacecraft – the BepiColombo
8. Ricci
The Italian surname Ricci is derived from the Italian word riccio, which means “curly.” It was originally given to people who were curly-haired.
Famous People
• Christina Ricci – American actress best remembered as the only daughter of Morticia and Gomez – the little brunette outcast, Wednesday Addams – in the 1991 film The Addams Family
• Nina Ricci – Italian-born French fashion designer whose eponymous house of fashion offers elegant clothing that is both feminine and laid-back
• Ostilio Ricci – Italian mathematician, known for being Galileo Galilei’s teacher
9. Marino
Photo by Jacob Childrey via Flickr
The Italian last name Marino was originally given as an occupational name for a sailor. The word marino comes from Latin marinus, meaning “of the sea.”
Famous People
• Dan Marino – American professional football player, considered by many to be one of the greatest players to never win a Super Bowl
• Ken Marino – American actor and comedian, best known for his role as Dr. Glenn Richie on the TV comedy series Children’s Hospital
• Giambattista Marino – Italian poet, most famous for his epic “L’Adone,” the longest poem written in the Italian language
10. Greco
This common Italian last name comes from Latin Graecus, which literally means “Greek.”
Greco is an ethnic name for a Greek. It may have been given as a nickname for a crafty or guileful person, traits traditionally attributed to the Greek people.
Famous People
• Juliette Gréco – French singer and actress, said to be the most influential French popular singer to emerge immediately after World War II
• Gennaro Greco a.k.a. Il Mascacotta – Italian architectural painter, whose vedute represent closely observed views of completely imaginary landscapes
• Buddy Greco – American singer and pianist, who ran with Frank Sinatra’s Rat Pack and had hits with “Mr. Lonely,” “Around the World,” and “The Lady Is a Tramp” in the 1960s
11. Bruno
The Italian word for “dark” or “swarthy,” Bruno as a surname should not be associated with the Germanic brun, meaning dark skin. Instead, it is linked with brunna, which means “breast plate.” Bruno is actually from prunum, Latin for “prunes” or “prune tree.”
Famous People
• Tory Bruno – American aerospace engineer, rocket scientist, and President and CEO of United Launch Alliance, competitor of Elon Musk’s SpaceX
• Giordano Bruno – Italian philosopher and priest who was burned at the stake for heresy in 1600
• Francesco Faà di Bruno – Italian mathematician and priest, who, although of noble birth, was an advocate of the poor
12. Gallo
The word gallo comes from the Latin gallus, meaning “cock” or “rooster.”
Gallo was originally a nickname given to someone who possessed some of the attributes associated with a rooster – i.e., snappy dress, sexual prowess, or a powerful voice. It was also used on a cocky or vain person. It may have also been given to a person from Gaul (Latin Gallus), which is now France.
Famous People
• Robert Gallo – American biomedical researcher, best-known for his co-discovery of HIV as the infectious agent that causes AIDS
• Agostino Gallo – 16th-century Italian agronomist, deemed the father of Italian agriculture
• Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo – brothers who founded the California-based E & J Gallo Winery, the largest wine producer in the United States
13. Conti
The surname Conti is from the Italian word conte, which in turn comes from comitis, the Latin word for a king or emperor’s servant that literally means “companion.”
Famous People
• Ugolino di Conti a.k.a. Pope Gregory IX – 13th-century Italian pope, known for establishing the medieval Inquisition and twice excommunicating Roman Emperor Frederick II, whom he accused of being a pagan and referred to as preambulus Antichristi (precursor of the Antichrist)
• Francesco Bartolomeo Conti – Italian theorbist, mandolinist, and composer, best remembered for writing the oldest mandolin method book in existence
• John Conti – American businessman, who, with one cigarette vending machine and his 1949 Chevrolet, established the groundwork for what would later become the John Conti Coffee Company that serves over 1 million cups of coffee daily
14. De Luca
“De Luca” means “son of Luca” or “son of Luke.” Luca is the Italian version of Luke, which comes from the Greek name Loukas, meaning “from Lucania.” Lucania was the name of an ancient region in Southern Italy that is now bordered mostly by the Basilicata region.
Famous People
• Michael De Luca – American film producer with three Oscar nominations for Best Picture, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the 1995 film Judge Dredd, starring Sylvester Stallone
• Erri De Luca – Italian novelist and poet, whose books, poems, and various collections of short stories have been translated in more than 30 languages
• Giuseppe De Luca – Italian baritone, best-known for creating two important Puccini roles: Sharpless in Madama Butterfly (La Scala, 1904) and the eponymous lead in Gianni Schicchi (Metropolitan Opera, 1918)
15. Mancini
The Italian last name Mancini comes from the Italian word mancino, literally meaning “left-handed.”
Famous People
• Henry Mancini – American composer and musician, best remembered for his film and television scores and regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of film
• Roberto Mancini – Italian football player, regarded as one of the best forwards in Italy’s football history with 6 Italian Cup winners’ medals, and a couple each of Serie A titles and Uefa Cup winners’ medals
• Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini – American professional boxer, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015
16. Costa
The Italian last name Costa comes from Latin costa, meaning “flank,” “rib,” or “side,” which has come to mean “slope” or “coast” in Romance languages.
Costa was a topographic name originally given to someone who lived on a slope or river bank, or on the coast.
Famous People
• Troy Costa – Indian fashion designer and founder of his eponymous menswear label, dubbed “the man who suits up India’s rich and powerful”
• Celso Costa – Brazilian mathematician, noted for his discovery of Costa’s minimal surface
• Rui Costa – Portuguese football player, regarded as one of Portugal’s best players in recent history and one of the best midfielders in world football
17. Giordano
The surname Giordano is the Italian form of “Jordan,” the name of the river where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Jordan comes from the Hebrew Yarden, meaning “to flow down” or “one who descends.”
Famous People
• Filippa Giordano – Italian-born Mexican pop singer who incorporates operatic music into her recordings
• Umberto Giordano – Italian opera composer in the verismo, known for his opera Andrea Chénier
• Laura Giordano – Italian lyric soprano, described as one of the most talented of her generation
18. Rizzo
A variation of another common Italian last name Ricci, Rizzo is a surname of Italian origin, denoting a person with curly hair.
Rizzo is derived from the Italian word ricco, which means “curly.” This surname translates to “curly-haired,” “wavy-haired,” or “the one with curly locks.”
Famous People
• Rita Rizzo a.k.a. Mother Mary Angelica of the Annunciation – American Roman Catholic nun, founder of the Eternal Word Television Network
• Anthony Rizzo – American baseball player, also known for his philanthropic ventures
• Arturo “Turu” Rizzo – Maltese water polo player, best known for setting the world record for water-treading, a feat that was outdone decades later by his own grandson
19. Lombardi
This surname was originally given to someone who came from the Northern Italian region of Lombardia (Lombardy) which got its name from the invading Germanic tribe in the 6th century called the Lombards.
Lombardi, the plural form of Lombardo, was also sometimes used to refer to immigrants from other parts of northern Italy. It used to denote a shopkeeper due to the fact that many immigrants from Lombardy set up shop in Sicily.
Famous People
• Vince Lombardi – American football coach, who is generally considered as the greatest in sports history and in whose honor the NFL Super Bowl trophy was named
• Gennaro Lombardi – immigrant pizzaiolo from Naples, Italy, who opened Lombardi’s – America’s first pizzeria – in New York City in 1905
• Mark Lombardi – American neo-conceptual artist, known for his weblike infographics and diagrams documenting alleged abuses of financial and political power
20. Moretti
Originating in the 1500s Italy by Jewish immigrants eager to fit in to the brand new culture they were plunging into, the Italian-Jewish surname Moretti means “dark-haired workers.”
Moretti is derived from and is the plural form of the Italian word moretto, meaning “dark hair,” and the Yiddish mordeven zich, which connotes “worker” – or “overwork” in some cases.
Famous People
• Nanni Moretti – Italian film director and actor, whose films have won awards at major film festivals like Cannes, Berlin, and Venice
• Hans Moretti – German illusionist and escapologist, who, together with his wife Helga, performed death-defying routines such as the “Sword Box” and the “Russian Roulette” and broke 18 world records throughout his career
• Marino Moretti – Italian poet and author, one of the main poets associated with crepuscolarismo or “twilight school” movement in Italy in the early 1900s
21. Barbieri
The Italian family name Barbieri literally translates to “barbers” (singular form: barbiero). The word comes from Late Latin barbarius, which is in turn derived from barba, meaning “beard.”
Famous People
• Tony Barbieri – American writer and comedian, best remembered for his “Jake Byrd” character on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
• Fedora Barbieri – celebrated Italian mezzo-soprano, who dominated the operas of Verdi in the post-World War II era
• Giovanni Francesco Barbieri a.k.a. Il Guercino – Italian Baroque painter and draftsman, who was better known for his drawings that are recognized for their luminosity and lively style
22. Fontana
The Fontana surname means “fountain.” The term is a derivative of Classical Latin fons, meaning “fount” or “source.” This last name was originally bestowed on someone who lived near a spring.
Famous People
• Isabeli Fontana – Brazilian supermodel who, at age 16, modeled for the 1999 Victoria’s Secret lingerie catalogue, causing controversy since Victoria’s Secret claims they do not hire models below 18 years old
• Lavinia Fontana – Italian portrait painter, viewed as the first female career artist in Western Europe as she supported her family with commissions and the first woman artist to paint female nudes (the latter, however, is a topic of controversy among art historians)
• Felice Fontana – Italian physicist, renowned for discovering the water gas shift reaction and regarded as the founder of modern toxinology
23. Santoro
This Italian last name is derived from the Latin name Santorus, which in turn comes from Festum Omnium Sanctorum or “Feast of all the Saints.”
Santoro was originally given to people who were born on All Saints’ Day.
Famous People
• Matthew Santoro – Canadian vlogger and social media influencer who compiles top 10 lists and “50 Amazing Facts” videos for millions of subscribers on his YouTube channel
• Rodrigo Santoro – Brazilian actor, most noted for his role as Persian King Xerxes in the movie 300 and its sequel
• Fabrice Santoro – Tahitian-born French tennis player dubbed by Pete Sampras the “magician” for his knack of wielding a racket with two hands
24. Mariani
Mariani is an Italian family name derived from Mariano, a given used in honor of the martyr St. Mariano, which was adopted from the French name Marian, which means “descendant of little Maryor.”
The surname name may have also been derived from the expression “Maria Vergine,” which is translated as “the Virgin Mary.”
Famous People
• Marcella Mariani – Italian actress and Miss Italy title holder, who was garnering acclaim as a film actress when her career was cut short by her death in an airplane crash at age 19
• Camillo Mariani – Italian sculptor, best known for his bronzes that bridged the Renaissance and Baroque periods and whose early demise cut short his growing reputation and influence in Roman art circles
• Gindetta Mariani – Italian botanist, mycologist, and plant taxonomist, noted for her research on mushrooms and discovery of a species of fungus called Pleospora arundinis
25. Rinaldi
Rinaldi is derived from Rinaldus, a late Latin name with Germanic origins – coming from ragan or ragin, which means “advice,” and wald, meaning “power. Hence, the Italian family name Rinaldi means “powerful advisor.”
Famous People
• Bianca Rinaldi – Brazilian actress, best known for her roles in telenovelas, especially Pícara Sonhadora and A Escrava Isaura
• Cesare Rinaldi – Italian poet and forerunner of the new concettist and Marinist poets, who had contributed significantly to the development of the new poetry of the 17th century
• Antonio Maria Rinaldi – Italian economist and politician, who has always opposed the European Union and European integration
26. Caruso
This Italian family name means “close-cropped,” indicating the very short or cropped hairstyle young men wore in the Middle Ages. Caruso comes from Latin cariosus, meaning “smooth” or “bald,” as well as “decayed.”
Famous People
• David Caruso – American actor and producer, best known for his roles as Lt. Horatio Caine on the police drama TV series CSI: Miami and Det. John Kelly on the crime drama NYPD Blue
• Enrico Caruso – Italian operatic tenor, deemed one of if not the greatest Italian tenor of all time
• Sophia Anne Caruso – American singer and actress, best known for her Lydia Deetz role in the Broadway musical Beetlejuice for which she got a Theatre World Award
27. Ferrara
The Italian surname Ferrara comes from Latin ferraria, a derivative of ferrum, meaning “iron.” It means “one who works with iron,” with the fe in the name being the symbol for iron on the Periodic Table of Elements.
Ferrara was also a name given to someone who worked in a smithy, doing iron works. It may also have been a toponymic name, after the city of Ferrara in Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region.
Famous People
• Napoleone Ferrara – Italian-American molecular biologist, best known for isolating and cloning Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF), a key requirement for tumor growth, and making the first anti-VEGF antibody that suppresses growth of a variety of tumors
• Paul B. Ferrara – American DNA scientist, renowned for pioneering the use of DNA profiling – a forensic technique in criminal investigations – in America
• Jackie Ferrara – American sculptor, best-known for her pyramidal stacked structures
Italian Name Vocabulary
Cognome – “surname” / “last name” / “family name”
Cognomen – “side-clan name”
Nome – “name” / “given name”/ “first name”/ “Christian name”
Nomen – “clan name”
Nomignolo – “pet name”
Onomástico – “name day”: the custom of giving names after a favorite saint or based on the child’s date of birth that falls on a particular saint’s feast day
Soprannome – “nickname”