Carlevaro is a surname associated with the tradition of Carnival and is considered a northern variant of Carnevale. According to R. Brondolo, it originated as a personal name or nickname given to someone born during the Carnival period, the festive season preceding Lent.

Brondolo connects the surname with the medieval expression derived from the Latin carnem levare, meaning "to remove meat," referring to the beginning of the Lenten period when the consumption of meat was restricted. In this interpretation, the surname preserves the memory of a birth date associated with an important moment in the religious and social calendar.

V. Blunda proposes a different explanation for Sicilian occurrences of the surname. He associates it with the Sicilian dialect word carlivàri, meaning "carnival," suggesting that it may have originated as a nickname for a cheerful, sociable person, someone active in local festivities, or an individual born during the Carnival season.

Distribution

According to Brondolo, the surname is documented in Lombardia and in the Canton Ticino in present-day Switzerland from the 13th century. From these areas it later spread into Piemonte.

Variants and Related Surnames

• Carnevale is the principal related surname and shares the same association with the Carnival season and the period preceding Lent.

Notes

Although Brondolo and Blunda propose different linguistic origins, both interpretations connect the surname with the cultural and religious traditions surrounding Carnival.

The surname may therefore have originated either as a name identifying someone born during the Carnival period or as a nickname describing a person associated with festive celebrations and communal events.