SURNAMES IN ITALY

Cavagni

This form is a variant of the surname Cavagna.

Origin and meaning

E. Rossoni notes that the surname derives from a Lombard dialectal nickname, cavagna, a term that means "basket", "heap" or "quantity". In some cases it can also refer to place names such as Cavagnolo, in the Monferrato, or Cavagnola, a locality of the Milan area destroyed in 1162 by Frederick Barbarossa. Its transformation into a surname is documented in the Diplomatic Code of medieval Lombardy under the year 1154.

R. Brondolo shares the same lexical base —the utensil cavagna, that is, the basket— but adds that from that name the trade of the ancestor was deduced, thus suggesting an occupational reading of the nickname.

As for its geographical distribution, Rossoni documents presence in the Pavia, Milan, Bergamo, Brescia and Trento areas for the form Cavagna; in the Parma and Frosinone areas for Cavagni; in the Genoa and Brescia areas for Cavagnola; in the Cremona and Brescia areas for Cavagnoli; and in the Monferrato for Cavagnolo.

Variants

Geographic distribution: Cavagna: Pavia, Milan, Bergamo, Brescia and Trento areas. Cavagni: Parma area, Frosinone area. Cavagnola: Genoa area, Brescia area. Cavagnoli: Cremona and Brescia areas. Cavagnolo: Monferrato

📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)

Comparative analysis based on 2 authors: where they agree, the hypothesis is strengthened; where they differ, the alternative interpretations are presented.

Sources

This entry of the Italian Surname Meanings dictionary is based on the following specialized onomastic sources:

  • Rossoni, E. (2002). Origine e storia dei cognomi italiani. Retrieved from https://www.cognomiitaliani.org
  • Brondolo, R. (2004, May 23). Questioni di nomi e di terre [Weekly newspaper article]. L'Ancora. https://web.archive.org/brondolo_nomi_1.html