Ricciardo
This form is a variant of the surname Riccardi.
Origin and meaning
E. De Felice and F. De Laurentiis agree that the surname was formed from the names Riccardo and Ricciardo or Rizzardo, of Germanic origin, composed of the elements rikia-/rikja ("powerful, lord, master") and hardhu-/hart ("strong, bold, valiant").
De Felice specifies that Riccardo is of German tradition —or perhaps also Norman in some zones—; Ricciardo reflects, with the palatalization in -cc-, the form Richard assumed by the name in Old French, introduced into Italy by Franks and later Angevins and French; Rizzardo represents the evolution of -č- into -z- of the north and the far south.
De Felice adds that the abbreviated forms are predominantly Venetan, with the exception of Carducci, which is Tuscan.
De Laurentiis notes that it is diffused throughout Italy and that the surname would come to mean "strong and valiant, bold, brave."
Variants
Altered forms and derivatives
Geographic distribution: Italy (Riccardi and Ricciardi); greater frequency in the Naples area (Ricciardiello specific); Rizzardi proper to the South (rare)
📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)
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/