Vassalli
This form is a variant of the surname Vassallo.
Origin and meaning
P. Regati notes that this surname is typical of Oneglia, a locality of the Liguria region. For his part, R. Brondolo indicates that the surname referred to the political function of the family, linked to the condition of vassal, a term that designated one who depended on a feudal lord in exchange for protection and land, and places it in northern Italy.
Variants
Geographic distribution: Oneglia.
📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)
Drawing on 2 authors, this entry presents the different hypotheses about the origin of the surname, avoiding a single oversimplified explanation.
Sources
This entry of the Italian Surname Meanings dictionary is based on the following specialized onomastic sources:
- Regati, P. (2003). Cognomi genovesi e liguri. Retrieved from https://digilander.libero.it/paolore2/cult_tradiz/cognomi.html
- Brondolo, R. (2004, May 23). Questioni di nomi e di terre [Weekly newspaper article]. L'Ancora. https://web.archive.org/brondolo_nomi_1.html