Some places they refer to Columbo as meaning “keeper of doves”. Which makes sense based on Joe’s explanation. I suppose Columbus is the most famous “Columbo”. But then there is Joseph Columbo, head of the well known family.
The English rendition of Colombo, Columbus, is actually as it would have been written in ancient Rome. The word Columbus means dove in Latin. Because the Latin – usending becomes –oin Italian, his Italian name becomes Colomboand found on any Italian legal document bearing his name. As a surname, it started as being associated with merchants that raised and sold doves and then passed on as a surname to their descendants. The spread of forms of Colomboas a given name is attributed to the religious association of the dove as the symbol of the “Holy Spirit.” It became a term of endearment and love, similar to the English term “dear” and subsequently people began naming their children Colombina, Columbella.
Getting back to the surname Colombo, over the centuries it and its related surnames have spread throughout Italy, some forms being analogous to a particular region. Here are just a few: Colomba, Columbo, Colombro, Colombani, Colombetti, Colombrino, Colombini, Colombazzi.
Columbus’ first name Christopher means Christ-bearer. It was used by early Christians as a way of expressing that they carried Christ in their hearts. By the Middle Ages, literal interpretations of the name’s etymology led to legends about a St. Christopher who carried the young Jesus across a river. He had come to be regarded as the patron saint of travelers.
Given that Latin came into usage centuries before Christ birth, the word or name Christopher does not trace roots to Latin. However, once Emperor Constantine issued the “Edict of Milan” in 313 A.D. declaring Christianity legal and official in the Roman Empire, the word Christopher began to see a spread of its Latinized and Italianized versions. Given that Italian would never use aphcombination to get an fsound, and hin Italian in cases is optional, in Italian the word and given name usage, evolved into Cristofaro.
As for its current-day presence in Italy, Colombo is the seventh most common surname in Italy. It is registered with the Bureau of Statistics in all 20 regions. However, it is most common in the Lombardia region, not Christopher Columbus’ native Liguria. Liguria ranks third after second-ranking Piedmont. It is least common in Abruzzo. The six surnames in order that are more common than Colombo are Rossi, Russo, Ferrari, Esposito, Bianchi and Romano. Note it is the sixth if you combine Rossi and Russo
By Joe Cannavo Italian American Herald Oct 6 2016
As of 2014, 66.9% of all known bearers of the surname Colombowere residents of Italy(frequency 1:458), 11.3% of Brazil(1:9,111), 7.2% of Argentina(1:2,986), 3.7% of the United States(1:48,838), 3.5% of Sri Lanka(1:2,965), 2.0% of France(1:16,850) and 1.1% of Venezuela(1:13,971).
In Italy, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average (1:458) only in one region: Lombardy(1:85).[1]
Columbo Link from Ancestry
Columbo Link from Forbears
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