Variants: Fantino, Fantini, Fantinati, Fantinato, Fatinatti, Fantinatto, Fantinoli, Fantinel, Fantinelli, Fantinello, Fantinich.
Sources: E. De Felice, E. Rossoni, J. Tosti, C. Volontè (see sources)

According to Rossoni, Fantin is a surname specific to the Veneto region, while Fantini is more widespread across central and northern Italy. Fantino is common in western Piedmont and also appears in Udine (Friuli).
Fantinati is typical of the area between Bologna, Ferrara, and Rovigo, and represents a Romagnol patronymic ending in -ati, meaning “descendants of Fantin or Fantino”.

All these surnames likely derive from the medieval given name Fantino, which is attested in medieval Italy as Fantus, Fante, and Fantinus.

Origin and Meaning

According to De Felice, Fantino comes from the Latin word infans (“child”), which evolved in Italian as fante, an old word for “young boy” or “servant”. Therefore, Fantino may have originally been a nickname referring to someone young.

Rossoni and Volontè also suggest it developed as a patronymic surname, based on a forebear named Fantino.

Jean Tosti associates Fantin, Fantino, Fantini, Fantinelli, Fantoni, Fantoli, Fantotti, and compounds like Bonfanti and Bonfantini with the popular root fante, a given name across Italy.

Another hypothesis connects the surname to Saint Fantinus the Younger, a Calabrian monk and ascetic of the 10th century. Educated by Saint Elias the Hermit, Fantinus became a monk at age 13, then a hermit, devoting his life to strict asceticism and manuscript copying. His cult likely contributed to the spread of the name.

A toponymic origin is also possible—for example, Campo San Fantino in Venice.

Historical Records

Early records of the surname include: