SURNAMES IN ITALY

Rosalba (Con Alba)

This form is a compound of the surname Rosa.

Origin and meaning

E. De Felice, F. De Laurentiis and A. Bongioanni agree that the surname has as its base the feminine name Rosa, derived in the Middle Ages from rosa as an augury of beauty, and consolidated with the cult of several female saints.

De Felice recalls that the most venerated in Italy is Saint Rose of Viterbo (13th century), celebrated on 4 September. He notes that it is diffused throughout Italy, with a very varied regional distribution.

De Laurentiis specifies that the surname was normally formed as a matronymic, with express reference to the name of the flower, and that it was later consolidated with the cult of several homonymous saints. He adds that it predominates in the south, but is also common in the centre, in Liguria and in Veneto. He notes that some surnames may reflect, at times, place names such as Rosa (in the provinces of Turin and Pordenone), Rosà (in the province of Vicenza) or Rosate (in the province of Milan).

Bongioanni notes that the name is very frequent and diffused, both as a given name and in its diminutive form.

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Compounds

Geographic distribution: All Italy; De or Di Rosa predominates in the South; La Rosa specific to the South; Rosas and De Rosas Sardinian; Rosi in Emilia, Tuscany and the Centre; Rosiello in the peninsular South and Naples; forms in -in and -on Venetan

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

This entry brings together what 3 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:

  • 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.
  • 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/