SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Teodoro

Origin and meaning

A. Bongioanni notes that the name Teodoro has a Greek origin and is equivalent, in meaning, to Teodosio, Doroteo and to the Latin Adeodatus or Deodatus. It was the name of several saints venerated in different cities: in Venice on 24 January, in Milan on 29 November (a martyr) and in Brindisi on 9 November. The popular Venetan form Tódaro became a surname. In the surnames Doretti and Dorini, Bongioanni also detects the influence of Isidoro.

Regarding the Friulian area, Bongioanni cites a document of 1375 in which the form Tuoterus appears —probably the son of a Tuoterúz, equivalent to Teodoruccio—, from which the Friulian surname Torossi would derive.

P. Durante agrees on the Greek origin of the surname, considering it to come from a given name.

💡 The surname Teodoro also appears as variant of the surname Mattei in other studies consulted in this project.

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: Veneto, Friuli

📍 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:

  • Bongioanni, A. (1940). Nomi e Cognomi. Saggio di ricerche etimologiche e storiche. Milano: Fratelli Bocca.
  • Bergamo, N. (2013, May 21). Impero Romano d'Oriente 330–1453 la sua storia. Retrieved January 19, 2021, from https://www.imperobizantino.it/