SURNAMES IN ITALY

Landini

This form is an altered form of the surname Landi.

Origin and meaning

The scholars consulted agree that this surname derives from the medieval given name Lando, itself a hypocoristic formed by aphaeresis from compound names such as Orlando or Rolando.

E. De Felice broadens this origin by noting that Lando may also come from the apocope of Landolfo, or else continue directly the Germanic hypocoristic Landa, present as a first element in compound names with the meaning "territory, country." De Felice further indicates that forms in -nn- are characteristic of southern Italy, where the assimilation of -nd- into -nn- regularly occurred, and that the surname is most frequent in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna.

E. Rossoni concurs in placing the surname chiefly in Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, with a possible additional cluster in Campania. Rossoni also notes that Lando, a rarer variant form, appears to be typical of the area of Padua.

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: Italy; greatest frequency in Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna; the -nn- forms in the South

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

Comparative analysis based on 3 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:

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