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What is the Meaning of my Italian Last Name

During my research on the history of Italian Surnames, I came across this cool list of Fifty Italian Surname Meanings.  See if your surname is on the list.  You can also search our site for Gallo, Ricci, Bruno, Ferrari, Bianchi, Conti, Gallo, Greco, Russo, Esposito, Romano and Columbo for more information on the top 12 Italian Surnames.  

There are more than 350,000 Surnames in Italy, more than any other country.  So don’t be surprised if your name is not on the list.

 

What is the meaning of my Italian last name?  See if you are on this list of 50 most popular.

1. Vitali:Italian last name which means “Life”.

2. Ferrari: Italian name which means “Blacksmith”.

3. Angelo:An Italian masculine given name that means “Angel”.

4. Amato:A family name of Italian origin that means “Beloved” or “Dear one”.

5. Venturi:Italian last name which means “Good luck”.

6. Tedesco:Italian last name which means “German”.

7. Riva:Italian last name which means “Someone who lived by a wharf in a port or on a bank or a river”.

8. Zappa:Italian last name which means “Farmer”.

9. Guerriero:The name is derived from the word “Guerre” which means “War”.

10. Ricci:Italian last name which means “Curly.”

 11. Fontana:Italian last name which means “Someone who lived near a spring”.

12. Zunino:Italian last name which means “A person from northern Italy”.

13. Barone:Italian last name which means “Free man”.

14. Nicastro:Italian last name which means “New camp”.

15. Trevisan:Italian last name which means “Alchemist”.

16.Bruno:Italian last name which means “Brown”.

17. Favero:Italian last name which means “Craftsman”.

18. Quattrocchi:From the Italian Quattro meaning “Four”, and “Occhi” meaning “Eyes”.

19. Conti:Italian last name which means “Order” or “Control”.

20. Schiavone:Italian last name which means “Slavs”.

21. Rana:Italian last name which means “Frog”.

22. Uberti:Italian last name which means “Manufacturer”.

23. Pedrotti:Italian name derived from “Rock”.

24. Carbone:Italian for a person with dark features, a name that means “Coal”.

25. Pecora:It refers to someone from Southern Italy”

26.Desantis:Italian last name which means “Holy”.

27. Nicotera:Italian last name which means “Miracle of victory”.

28. Paternoster:Derived from the Latin “Pater Noster” that means “Our father”.

29. Ferrari:Italian last name which means “Blacksmith”.

30. Milano:It refers to someone who is from “Milan”.

31.Luciano:Italian name derived from Latin”s Lucianus meaning “Light”.

32. Udine:It means “A city in northeastern Italy”.

33. Viola:Italian last name which means “Violet”.

34. Bianchi:Italian last name which means “White”.

35. Colombo:Italian last name which means “Dove or Dove keeper”.

36.Vestri:A diminutive form of Silvestro”.

37. Messana:It means “From the Ancient Italian island of Sicily”.

38. Orlando:From Italian origin, there is an Italian former football player who holds the surname.

39. Farina:The Italian word for “Flour”.

40.Russo:Italian name which means “Nobility”.

41. Napolitano:Italian name used to refer to someone who is from Napoli (Naples)”.

42. Tocci:An Italian personal name”.

43. Siciliano:Derived from Sicilia”.

44. Evangelista:The Italian form of “Evangelist”.

45. Lambo:Italian last name which means “Realm”.

46. Fiore:Italian last name which means “Flower”.

47. Orsini:Italian last name which means “Bear like or strong”.

48. Vinci:It means “of Vinci”.

49. Notaro:From Southern Italy, an occupational name for “A clerk”.

50.Longo:Italian last name which means “Tall”.

Here’s another  link to Italian last names

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History of Naples Italy with Vintage Photos

I have seen a lot of people that whose ancestors are from Naples, or Italy in general wondering why they have a percentage of Greek, Spanish, Arabic or other non-Italian segments.  DNA segments can potentially go back 10 generations.  I’m not a DNA nerd, but I certainly welcome any comments that any one may have to give simple explanations.  I have also seen people post that I know where I came from and I’m 100%

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Photos of Italian Brides

I do hope that you enjoy these photos of Italian brides ( and grooms ).  Some of these my mom had, some are from my first cousins, some however,  are from a long lost cousin that I found through ancestry research.  Amazing that she, through her grandmother, had photos of my aunts and uncles.   Please share. Bridal crown designed and made by my grandfather. Click Here To Join Our Facebook Group My Mom and

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Italian DNA — Where do we come from?

But I know my grandparents came from Italy, how come I’m not 100% on my Italian  DNA test?  I know where I came from, why should I take a DNA test.  Ahh, there just made up anyway, somebody I know took the test and it said they where only 10% Italian, how can that be? All valid questions.  One thing we have to remember is that Italy was not united until the mid 19th Century.

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Vintage Italian American Family Photos

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Best Italian Surname Search

Best Italian Surname Search is an update from a our previous post from March 3.  Updated with some new information.  I attempted to find mostly free ones, but a couple may ask for sign up. This is a really cool site as it gives the origin for your name, also variations and popularity in the US — Behind the Name This is a pretty neat one as it shows the map of Italy with the

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Italian DNA – Haplogroups

Having received great feedback on my post Italian DNA — Where Do We Come From?  I thought I would go a little deeper into Haplogroups.  Very simple put, a Haplogroup is a marker of sorts that denotes a certain mutation at a certain time in history.  This marker allows genealogists to more or less pinpoint a migration path.  Males inherit this marker from both parents, while females only their mother.   Knowing your haplogroup allows

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