Gianello

This form is an altered form of the surname Gianni.

Origin and meaning

The surname is widespread throughout Italy, with varying distribution and frequency, extending from Tuscany and central Italy to the north as well. Its base is the name Gianni, already common in the Middle Ages, a syncopated hypocoristic of Giovanni.

Ecclesiastical Latin Iohanne(m), like the Greek Ioánnes, is an adaptation of the common Hebrew name Yohanan, which is interpreted as "God (Yo- for Yahweh) has had mercy (hanán)".

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Compounds

Geographic distribution: Italy; Gianni widespread from Tuscany and the Centre to the North and South; Giani proper to the North; Ianni and its compounds proper to the South, extending in part to Lazio and the southern Marche

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

Drawing on 3 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:

  • De Felice, E. (1978). Dizionario dei cognomi italiani. Milano: Mondadori.
  • De Laurentiis, F. (2003). Cognomi occhiobellesi. Storia, curiosità, significati e classifiche. Occhiobello: Teatro Polivalente di Occhiobello (T.P.O.). Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20030516113456/http://www.comune.occhiobello.ro.it/cognomi/
  • Research conducted by Surnames in Italy, the English-language project of Ancestros Italianos, based on the bibliography cited in the references.