Typical of the Venetias, Emilia-Romagna and eastern Lombardy, with very high and high frequency, at its base is the name Zanni or Zanne, Zanna, Zani or Zane and Zan or Zana, Zoàni or Zuàni, Zoàn or Zuàn, Zvan, a syncopated hypocoristic of Giovanni, corresponding in that area to Gianni or Ianni (of the centre-southern area). These names descend from the Zanni, the name by which in Venice the servants who came from the Bergamo area were called (in general, in the commedia dell'arte, it was the term used for the character of the buffoon or the clown).