SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Morelli

Origin and meaning

The authors agree that this surname has a presence throughout Italy. E. Rossoni notes that it derives from the medieval Italian name Morellus, documented in 1171 in the Annales Pisani, although in some cases it could originate in place names such as Ceppo Morelli (Verbania area), Dodici Morelli (Ferrara area), Poggio Morello (Teramo area), San Morello (Cosenza area) or Sasso Morelli (Bologna area).

F. De Laurentiis proposes, by contrast, that the surname derives from Mori, without specifying whether he refers to the personal name or to the underlying etymon.

💡 The surname Morelli also appears as variants of the surnames Morello, Moretti and Moro; also altered form of the surname Mori in other studies consulted in this project.

Variants

Geographic distribution: Veneto

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

This entry brings together what 2 authors propose about the origin of the surname. In some cases they agree and reinforce a single hypothesis; in others, they contribute different views worth considering.

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
  • 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/