SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Rivelli

Origin and meaning

E. De Felice and E. Rossoni agree that the surname derives from the place name Rivello, in the Potenza area.

Rossoni further puts forward other hypotheses: a derivation from localities of the same name today vanished, from the Renaissance name Rivelius, or from the archaic term revello or rivello ("fortification with a protective scarp"). He notes that the transformation into a surname is recorded in Pisa at the beginning of the 14th century.

Rossoni further distinguishes the forms: Rivelli has areas in the Pesaro, Macerata, Naples and Potenza areas; Rivello is very rare and has small areas in the Salerno area and in Syracuse.

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: Campania and Basilicata

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

Comparative analysis based on 2 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