Italian Surnames: origin, meaning and location

Table of Contents
If you think your family name may have come from Italy, then tracing its history can yield important clues to your Italian heritage and ancestral village.
Unique features of Italian last names
- A great variety of Italian surnames
- Coats of arms – do not represent a surname, but a specific family carrying that coat of arms.
- Spouses keep their original surnames
Meaning, origin and geographical distribution
- Maps Showing Locations of Italian Surnames– Distribution of the surnames according to regions, provinces or Italian communes.
- Italian surnames derived from the name Giovanni (John in English) – A large number of Italian surnames derive from first names with a Latin origin.
- Surnames of Orphans and Foundlings
- Italian surnames derived from names – Nomi e cognomi – Saggio di ricerche e Storiche etimologiche
- Italian surnames mentioned in the book Our Italian Surnames
Genealogy Research
Lists of Italian last names
- The most common Italian surnames – The results will be presented in decreasing order of popularity.
- Italian surnames list – Meanings, origins and geographical distribution of surnames