Family Tree
Want to discover more about your family history? Building a family tree is the perfect way to do that. Learn the ins and outs of searching through historical records & building out your family history.
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It’s time to take a trip through the annals of history. Explore the good, the bad, and the downright fascinating.
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Let us be your muse! These articles will give you the jumpstart you need to take on that big creative project.
Gear Reviews
In this section of our blog we review everything related to photography. If you’re a budding photographer this section is for you.
Gifts
Photo restoration goes hand-in-hand with spending time with your family. If you’re looking to show some love to your family with a holiday gift, then this section is for you.
A name isn’t just used to differentiate one person from another. If you dig deeper, many names are filled with centuries worth of history. If you’re trying to trace back your family legacy, names are a good jumping-on point for your search.
Nowadays, we hear Italian names almost everywhere – from TV screens to real life. If you’re looking to delve into the meanings of the most common Italian surnames or hope to research your Italian heritage, this guide has you covered. Read on to find out all the essential information to know when it comes to Italian names!
The average Italian name follows a general structure adopted in most of the Western world: a given name followed by a surname. Some Italians also have a second given name.
To fully understand how naming conventions in Italy work, there are three things you need to understand:
Surnames started coming into fashion in the 15th century among Italian nobles, as a way to distinguish families from one another. They were then made mandatory for the rest of the country after the Council of Trento in 1564 as a requirement for baptisms and marriages.
Many Italian surnames end in -i because medieval Italians identified families by their ancestors in the plural. So in the Middle Ages, a person named Marco from the Ormanno family will be called Marco degli Ormanni.
Eventually, the possessive degli would disappear – however, the family name would still be pluralized. So, Andrea degli Ormanni would be just Marco Ormanni in modern times.
Two common suffixes are still used in Italian surnames today, which are:
Similar to many European countries, many Italian last names come from four key sources:
One of the most common origins for European last names is patronymics – a name based on the family patriarch’s first name. For instance, someone named Giuseppe De Luca would translate into “Joseph, Son of Luke”.
A surname can describe where a person’s ancestors hailed from. Names based on place of origin are further broken down into three types:
One’s occupation or tools of their trade is also a common source for a surname. For instance, the ancestor of someone named Fabbri was likely a smith, while someone named Zappa (“hoe” in Italian) may be descendants of a farmer.
A person’s nickname or personal characteristic was sometimes adapted into their last name. For instance, a person named Fortuna might have had an ancestor known for their good luck.
Many Italians who moved to other countries changed their Italian surname to fit in with the locals. This is especially true when talking about Italian immigrants to America, many of whom anglicized their last name.
The spelling of the name may be changed, like a Russo changing their name to Russell. Some other names may be translated directly, like a person named Bianco changing their last name to White.
If you’re trying to delve into the origins of your Italian ancestors, anglicization and the variants of spelling may make your search tougher. However, you can try looking into an Italian genealogy site for clues on how your Italian surname has changed over time. Researching immigration records from when your ancestors first came into America may also help you find their original last name.
With over 350,000 surnames, Italy is the country with the largest collection of last names in the world. Here, we present some of the most common Italian surnames found around the world to help you connect with your Italian heritage.
Since some of these Italian last names also work as first names, this list can also help you name a baby or a fictional character!
As a note, this list is not an exhaustive list of common surnames. Some of these popular Italian surnames may also have slight spelling variations, depending on regional dialects.
As one of the longest-lasting legacies of your family, surnames can hold a lot of history. If you’re curious about your Italian heritage and would like to know who your ancestors were, researching your surname is a good place to start.
In addition to surnames, old photos of your ancestors may also help. However, you may need to repair any wear and tear caused by Father Time before examining them or submitting them to genealogy websites.
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