SURNAMES IN ITALY

Ravegnani

This form is an altered form of the surname Ravenna.

Origin and meaning

From the name of the city of Ravenna in northern Italy, which is of uncertain origin, possibly Etruscan.

The surname Ravenna derives from the place name Ravenna, a city of the region of Emilia-Romagna, and is related to demonyms such as Ravegnano, Ravennate and their old or regional variants (Ravignano, Ravagnano, Ravagnino). Some of these forms —such as Ravinianus or Ravignanus— are already documented as personal names in Tuscany between the 12th and 13th centuries.

The surname is diffused mainly in northern Italy and, in many cases, corresponds to families that adopted the name of the city as an identification of origin.

Various authors agree in noting that Ravenna is frequently a surname associated with families of Jewish origin coming from this city of Romagna.

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: The North (predominantly); high frequency in Veneto for Ravagnan and Ravagnin

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

Comparative analysis based on 4 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
  • 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.