Consigliero
This form is a variant of the surname Consiglière.
Origin and meaning
E. De Felice explains that this surname arises from the transformation into a surname of the name and nickname Consiglière, originally a name of office that designated the "member of a council" or "official of public and private entities invested with consultative powers and various tasks". He notes that the surname spread mainly in Genoa and in Liguria.
E. Rossoni agrees on the occupational origin and specifies that the founders of the lineage would have been counsellors, that is, members of the municipal Council or of the ducal Council. Rossoni also distinguishes between formal variants: the form Consigliere is typical of the Genoa area —including the locality of Pieve Ligure—, while Consiglieri presents specific zones in Piacenza, in the Genoa area and in Taranto. The variant Consigliero, extremely rare, corresponds to the region of Campania.
Variants
Geographic distribution: Consigliere is typical of the Genoa area (Genoa and Pieve Ligure). Consiglieri has zones in Piacenza, in the Genoa area and in Taranto. Consigliero, absolutely rare, is of the Campania area.
📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)
Sources
This entry of the Italian Surname Meanings dictionary is based on the following specialized onomastic sources:
- De Felice, E. (1978). Dizionario dei cognomi italiani. Milano: Mondadori.
- Rossoni, E. (2002). Origine e storia dei cognomi italiani. Retrieved from https://www.cognomiitaliani.org