SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Ghirimoldi

Origin and meaning

The authors agree in pointing to several possible roots for this surname. One is the medieval name of Germanic or Lombard origin Gerhard, Latinized as Ghirardus. Another is the medieval name Remoldus, documented in the Lecco, Como and Milan areas. E. Rossoni adds a third root: the medieval name of Germanic origin Grimoldus, attested in the Codice Diplomatico Bresciano under the year 1183. Surnames in Italy, for its part, further proposes that it could be a vernacular indicative form of the surname Rimoldi.

Rossoni places the surname as proper to the region of Lombardy, with a particular presence in Gerenzano, in the Varese area, and in Turate, in the Como area.

Geographic distribution: Typically from the Lombardy area, from Gerenzano (Varese area) in particular and from Turate (Como area).

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

Drawing on 2 authors, this entry presents the different hypotheses about the origin of the surname, avoiding a single oversimplified explanation.

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
  • Research conducted by Surnames in Italy, the English-language project of Ancestros Italianos, based on the bibliography cited in the references.