All Italians recognized an Italian last name when they see one! Most Italian last names end in vowels, which makes them extremely distinguishable from other nationalities. If you are interested in the history of your family, obtaining the origins of your last name is crucial. This is because the majority of them either refer to people, places, or professions. Many Italian last names end in the letter i because Italian families were previously referred to plurally. The origins of Italian surnames date all the way back to the 1400’s and each one has its own unique description. The following are the top ten Italian last names and their origins, and below them are the top 100 Italian last names.
- Bianchi: The last name Bianchi originated from the Latin surname “Bianco” which refers to the color white. This may describe either light hair or skin color.
- Rossi: The last name Rossi comes from the Italian word ‘russo’ which means red. It refers to a red-haired or red skinned individual.
- Ricci: The last name Ricci is derived from the word ‘ricco’ which refers to a curly haired individual.
- Marino: The last name Marino comes from the word ‘marinus’ which is Latin for “of the sea”.
- Moretti: The last name Moretti comes from the Jewish-Italian word
‘maurus’ which means dark skinned or dark haired. - Bruno: The last name Bruno comes from the Italian word which means ‘brown’. It refers to an individual who possesses either brown hair or a darker skin tone.
- Esposito: The last name Esposito is derived from the Latin word ‘exponere,’ which means to leave outside. It refers to an abandoned child, such as an orphan.
- Colombo: The last name Columbo means ‘dove’. It refers to a person who is a keeper of doves.
- Ferrari: The last name Ferrari refers to a blacksmith.
- Romano: The last name Romano comes from the Latin word ‘romanus’ which means Rome.
Top 100 Italian Last Names:
- Amato
- Angelo
- Angela
- Arcuri
- Abate
- Abelli
- Acardi
B
- Barone
- Barbieri
- Benedetti
- Bruno
- Basile
- Battaglia
C
- Coco
- Costa
- Carbone
- Conti
D
- Derosa
- Desantis
- Davide
- De Luca
E
- Esposito
- Endrizzi
- Elena
- Ermacora
- Evangelista
F
- Farina
- Fausti
- Ferrari
- Fiore
- Fonda
- Fontana
- Fisco
- Favero
G
- Garfagnini
- Gagliardi
- Greco
- Guerriero
I
- Innocenti
L
- Lombardi
- Longo
- Luciano
- Loggia
- Lorenzo
- Lambo
- Labriola
- Landolfi
- Laurito
- Longo
M
- Marchegiano
- Mancon
- Mantovani
- Milano
- Marchetti
- Mariani
- Messana
N
- Napolitano
- Neri
- Nazario
- Nicastro
- Nicotera
- Notaro
O
- Orlando
- Orsini
P
- Palladino
- Pagani
- Pecora
- Pavesi
- Pedrotti
- Paternoster
Q
- Quattrocchi
R
- Ricci
- Ranieri
- Riva
- Rana
- Riggi
- Righi
S
- Sabbatini
- Schiavone
- Siciliano
T
- Tarantino
- Trevisan
- Tedesco
- Tocci
U
- Uccello
- Ungaretti
- Udine
- Uberti
V
- Villa
- Viola
- Venturi
- Vinci
- Vitali
- Vestri
Z
- Zunino
- Zeni
- Zanetti
- Zino
- Zappa
My last name is Rinaldi, I’m a relative of Charlemagne
My mother’s maiden name is Rinaldi.I very rarely see it anywhere.I am planning on digging into my ancestry.Would love to check it out in Italy.
My mother was a Rinaldi, her father was Alphonso relocated to Portland Maine
My maiden name is Ranieri. Totally surprised it made the list
Natalucci is apparently not very common. But it’s my name
Hmm…Talarico must be unique…because its not in the list for most commen
Southern Italian…
I find having the last name Marino quite ironic. I get seasick walking across wet grass.
My mother’s maiden name wasDemarco and my married name is Angeloni neither of them are on there.
My last name is Angelini which is my mother’s maiden name from my grandfather’s side and my biological dad was Francione which is a town in I believe in Abruzzo.My grandmother’s sister married a DeMarco.
My maiden name is DiCenso or DiCenzo depending on where you live or when you came here. We are Abruzzi from Sulmona and Pacentro. I live in Michigan, in a suburb of Detroit.
My birth name is Giordano… My grandmother Pistilli. Nether on the list
My last name is Mignacca, my dad’s family was from Randazzo, Sicily. My mom’s maiden name was Alia…her family was from a town called Bovolino, in Reggio Calabria. I’ve heard of 2 or 3 other Mignaccas’ in my lifetime…never met another Alia.
This list cant be rite my last name is Gambino and I have a huge family located everywhere in the world…..
Casini from Tuscany x
None of my family names made the cut! Papa, Germano, Donati . Lol
Cozzolino didn’t make the list either or my grandmother degama I think both from Assara
My family name is Rizzoli
Which has been shortened over the years to Zolia
Didn’t make the list either
My mother in law is a coniglio, came over from Italy
my mom’s last name was DeMattei, my last name consani
My last name is Pesci. Not on the list. Yet, many Pesci on Staten Island, NY. Also, actor Joe Pesci. I don’t think your list is very complete.
My last name is Berto how can I check where is it from?
Is there an Italian name like Grecoina I think my dads name is Greco and they added a dash ina and I think it stands for Immigration Naturalized whatever. Did they put that at the end of all Italians that came over to America. From Italy. I don’t think that ina is part of our name.
Surprised to see my last name Pedrotti. My family came from northern Italy by the Swiss border. They immigrated to California wine country. My great grandfather started a dairy ranch in Sonoma wine country.
Lots of uncommon names in our family…Fazio, Campana, Tumulo, Latessa….
My mom’s maiden name is Bongiorno, which I absolutely love, and my dad’s last name was Beto, which originally was Bitonti.
My great grandfathers name was Francis Lano. Has anyone heard of this last name before? There is a very small village in Tuscany called Lano.
there are so many mistakes in this blog, I wonder if you’re really italians
My great great grand mother name is Moretti. Is it ashkenazi or sefarad ? Thank you for your answer.