SURNAMES IN ITALY

Nùnzio

This form is an altered form of the surname Annunziata.

Origin and meaning

It has as its base the feminine name Annunziata, formed from the attribute of the Virgin Mary, l'Annunziàta, a denomination that refers to the announcement of the archangel Gabriel about her destiny to be the mother of Jesus. From it derive the aphaeretic and hypocoristic forms Nunziàta and Nùnzia, and the respective masculines in -o, uncommon. Bongioanni refers this surname to the entry Maria, where he develops the family of Marian names. Widespread and very frequent in the Naples area, and also in other areas of the South and in Tuscany.

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: South (especially Naples), Tuscany

📍 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:

  • Bongioanni, A. (1940). Nomi e Cognomi. Saggio di ricerche etimologiche e storiche. Milano: Fratelli Bocca.
  • 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