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Culture

Most Common Italian Last Names

All Italians recognized an Italian last name when they see one! Most Italian last names end in vowels, which make 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 1400s 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. 

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. 

Image result for italy on map

  1. 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.
  2. Rossi: The last name Rossi comes from the Italian word ‘russo’ which means red. It refers to a red-haired or red skinned individual.                                                                               
  3. Ricci: The last name Ricci is derived from the word ‘ricco’ which refers to a curly haired individual.                                                                                                                          
  4. Marino: The last name Marino comes from the word ‘marinus’ which is Latin for “of the sea”.                                                                                                                                     
  5. Moretti: The last name Moretti comes from the Jewish-Italian word 
    ‘maurus’ which means dark skinned or dark haired.                                                                   
  6. 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.                                                                                                  
  7. 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.                                                                                        
  8. Colombo: The last name Columbo means ‘dove’. It refers to a person who is a keeper of doves.                                                                                                                                      
  9. Ferrari: The last name Ferrari refers to a blacksmith.                                                                                            
  10. Romano: The last name Romano comes from the Latin word  ‘romanus’ which means Rome. 

Image result for italy on map

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

28 comments

    1. 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.

  1. Hmm…Talarico must be unique…because its not in the list for most commen

    Southern Italian…

    1. 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.

      1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. This list cant be rite my last name is Gambino and I have a huge family located everywhere in the world…..

  4. My family name is Rizzoli
    Which has been shortened over the years to Zolia

    Didn’t make the list either

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. My mom’s maiden name is Bongiorno, which I absolutely love, and my dad’s last name was Beto, which originally was Bitonti.

  9. 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.

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