Browse Surnames

Paternoster is an occupational surname of English and Italian origin, denoting a maker of rosaries, also known as patenosters. The name derives from the Latin phrase pater noster, meaning 'our Father', which are the open...

Pavesi is an Italian surname, a variant of Pavia, which is itself derived from the name of the city of Pavia in Lombardy, Italy. The city's name is of unknown origin, but it has long been an important cultural and econom...

Pavia is a Italian locative surname derived from the city of Pavia in Lombardy, northern Italy. The city's name is of unknown meaning. Pavia was known in Latin as Ticinum and later as Papia in Medieval Latin. The surname...

Pavone is an Italian surname derived from the word pavone, meaning "peacock" in Italian. Originally, it was a nickname for a proud or haughty person, drawing on the peacock's association with vanity and display. The surn...

Pavoni is an Italian surname meaning "little peacock" or "peacock-like," derived as a variant of Pavone. Like its root, Pavone—which means "peacock" in Italian—originally served as a nickname for a proud or vain person,...

Pecora is an Italian occupational surname meaning "sheep" (from the Italian pecora), originally used for a shepherd. The name derives from the Latin word pecus ("cattle"), which is also the source of the taxonomic group...

Pedrotti is an Italian surname derived from a diminutive of the given name Pietro, the Italian form of Peter. As such, the name ultimately traces back to the Greek Petros ("stone"), a translation of the Aramaic Cephas gi...

Pellegrini is an Italian surname that originated as a variant of the personal name Pellegrino. Much like the given name, it ultimately derives from the Latin Peregrinus, meaning "traveller" or "pilgrim," via the root Per...

Perugia is an Italian habitational or topographic surname, deriving directly from the name of the city of Perugia in Umbria, central Italy. The city's name traces back to the ancient Etruscan settlement known as Perusia,...

Pesaresi is an Italian surname, a variant of Pesaro. As a patronymic or toponymic derivative, it ultimately originates from the city of Pesaro, located in the Marche region of central Italy. The city's Latin name, Pisaur...

Pesaro is an Italian habitational surname derived from the name of the city of Pesaro, located in the Marche region along the Adriatic Sea. The city's Latin name, Pisaurum, is itself a borrowing from the Greek Pisauros,...

Pesce is an Italian surname meaning "fish". As an occupational name, it typically referred to a fisherman, while as a nickname it may have described someone who physically resembled a fish in some way, such as having a f...

Piazza is an Italian topographic surname meaning "plaza" or town square, derived from Latin platea. This surname would have originally identified someone who lived near or worked at the central square of a town or city,...

Picasso is an Italian surname derived from pica, meaning "magpie". The name was likely a nickname for someone who was talkative or prone to stealing, reflecting the bird's chattering and thieving habits, or possibly desc...

Piccirillo is an Italian surname, derived from the Neapolitan word piccerillo, meaning "small, young". The name likely originated as a nickname for a young or small person, a common pattern in Italian onomastics where ph...

Piccoli is an Italian surname, originally a nickname for a short or small person, derived from the Italian word piccolo meaning "small."

Pierno is an Italian surname originating from the small town of Pierno, located in the Basilicata region of southern Italy, near the city of Potenza. This toponymic surname indicates that the bearer or their ancestors ha...

Etymology and OriginPietri is an Italian surname derived from the given name Pietro, which itself is the Italian form of Peter. The ultimate root of Peter is the Greek Πέτρος (Petros), meaning "stone," a translation of t...

Pini is an Italian surname with a topographic origin, derived from the Italian word pino (from Latin pinus), meaning “pine tree.” As a habitational name, it referred to someone who lived near a prominent pine tree or a p...

Pinto is a common surname found in Portuguese-, Spanish-, and Italian-speaking countries, as well as in parts of India, France, and Israel. Its meaning derives from the Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian adjective pinto, m...

Piovene is an Italian surname of toponymic origin, derived from the name of the town of Piovene Rocchette in the Veneto region of northern Italy. The surname is historically linked to this locale, which is composed of tw...

Piraino is an Italian surname, typically belonging to the locational category, derived from the town of the same name in Sicily. The name directly originates from Piraino, a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City...

Pisani is an Italian surname derived from pisano, meaning an inhabitant of the city of Pisa, Italy. The city's ancient name, likely of Etruscan origin, has an uncertain etymology but is best known for its iconic Leaning...

Pittaluga is an Italian surname of dialectal origin. It traces back to the Genoese phrase pittà l'uga, meaning "to pick the grapes" — pittà meaning "to pick" and uga being the Genoese form of Italian uva (grapes). Origin...

Poggi is an Italian surname, derived from the word poggio, meaning "hillock" or "small hill" in Italian. The root Poggio itself comes from Latin podium, meaning "balcony" or "platform". This topographic surname likely or...

Poggio is an Italian surname derived from the word poggio, meaning "hillock" or "small hill," itself from Latin podium ("balcony, platform"). The name likely originated as a topographic surname for someone who lived near...

Poletti is an Italian surname typical of northern and central Italy. It is derived from a diminutive of the given name Paolo, the Italian form of Paul. The root name Paul comes from the Roman family name Paulus, which me...

Pontecorvo is a habitation surname of Italian origin, derived from the name of a town in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, central Italy. The town of Pontecorvo lies along the Liri River and grew around the bridgehead of...

Portelli is an Italian diminutive surname derived from Porto.EtymologyThe name Porto designated a person who lived near a harbour, from Italian porto, Latin portus. The suffix -elli indicates a family connection or a cha...

Porto is an Italian surname meaning 'harbor' or 'port,' derived from the Italian word porto (Latin portus). It was originally given as a topographic name to someone who lived near a harbor or who worked at a port. While...

Portoghese is an Italian surname meaning "Portuguese", derived directly from the Italian word portoghese. As an ethnonymic surname, it was originally used to identify someone as Portuguese by origin, descent, or associat...

Potenza is a locational surname of Italian origin, derived from the name of the southern Italian city of Potenza. The city's original Latin name was Potentia, meaning "power, force," which ultimately stems from the Latin...

Pozzi is an Italian surname derived from the plural form of pozzo, meaning "well" or "pit" in Italian, ultimately from Latin puteus. This toponymic surname likely referred to someone who lived near or worked at a well, a...

Profeta is an Italian surname derived from the Italian word profeta, meaning "prophet." It originated as a nickname for someone who claimed to predict the future or was considered prophetic, possibly given to a soothsaye...

Prosdocimi is an Italian surname derived from the given name Prosdocimus, which comes from the Latin form of the Greek Prosdokimos ("expected, looked for"). The name is associated with Saint Prosdocimus, a 1st-century Ch...

Provenza is an Italian surname derived from the name of the Provence region in southern France (in Italian, Provenza). The region's name comes from Latin provincia "province," a territorial division, referring to its sta...

Provenzano is an Italian surname, derived as a variant of Provenza. Provenza itself originates from the name of the Provence region in southern France (Italian Provenza), which in turn comes from Latin provincia meaning...

Pugliese is a surname of Italian origin, denoting someone from the region of Puglia (Apulia) in southeastern Italy. The name derives from an adjectival form of Puglia, ultimately from Latin Apulia, referring to the heel...

Quaranta is an Italian surname, meaning "forty" in Italian. Etymology and Origin Derived directly from the Italian word for the number forty, the surname is thought to be a habitational name referring to someone who live...

EtymologyQuattrocchi (also spelled Quatrocchi) is an Italian surname derived from the words quattro "four" and occhi "eyes". It originated as a nickname for a person who wore glasses, referring to the perceived extra pai...

Ragno is an Italian surname derived from a nickname meaning "spider" in Italian. It belongs to the category of surnames originating from animal or insect nicknames, often used to describe a person's behavior, physical ch...

Raimondi is an Italian patronymic surname derived from the given name Raimondo, the Italian form of Raymond. The surname literally means "son of Raimondo" and follows the common Italian practice of forming family names b...

Rana is a surname with diverse origins and meanings, functioning as both an Italian and Spanish nickname and an Indian title. In Italian and Spanish, rana means "frog," likely originating as a nickname for someone though...

Raneri is an Italian surname derived from the given name Raniero. Raniero itself is the Italian form of the Germanic name Rayner, which originates from the Old Germanic Raginheri. This compound name combines the elements...

Rao 2 is an Italian surname derived from the given name Raul.EtymologyRaul is the Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian form of the Germanic name Radulf, which is a cognate of English Ralph. The root of all these names is th...

Rapallino is an Italian surname of topographic origin, derived from the town of Rapallo, a coastal resort in the Liguria region, near Genoa. The suffix -ino is a common Italian diminutive or locative ending, often meanin...

Ratti is an Italian surname derived from the Italian word ratto, meaning "rat". The name likely originated as a nickname for someone thought to be sly, cunning, or sneaky, traits stereotypically associated with rats. As...

Etymology and OriginsRé is an Italian surname that derives from the Spanish word rey, meaning "king," ultimately from Latin rex. As a surname, it is equivalent to the Spanish and Galician Rey and the French Roy, all of w...

Ricchetti is an Italian surname, a diminutive form of Ricci. The root surname Ricci itself derives from the Italian word riccio, meaning "curly," from Latin ericius meaning "hedgehog"; thus, Ricci originated as a nicknam...

Ricci (pronounced [ˈrittʃi]) is an Italian surname that originated as a nickname for a person with curly hair. It derives from the Italian word riccio, meaning "curly," which itself comes from the Latin ericius, meaning...

Riggi is an Italian surname with a topographic and locative origin, derived from the name of the city of Reggio Calabria in southern Italy. The city's name itself traces back to the ancient Greek colony Rhegion (Ῥήγιον),...

Righi is an Italian surname derived from the given name Arrigo, the Italian variant form of Heinrich, which itself originates from the Germanic name Heimirich, meaning "home ruler" (from elements heim "home" and rih "rul...

Rinaldi is an Italian surname, derived from the given name Rinaldo, which itself is the Italian form of Reynold. The surname thus traces its roots back to the Germanic name Raginald, composed of the elements regin (meani...

Rizzi is a surname of Italian origin, derived as a variant of Ricci. The root, Ricci, comes from Italian riccio meaning "curly", ultimately from Latin ericius ("hedgehog"), originally a nickname for someone with curly ha...

Rizzo is an Italian surname, a variant of Ricci. The root Ricci derives from the Italian word riccio meaning "curly," a nickname for someone with curly hair, tracing further back to Latin ericius "hedgehog."EtymologyRizz...

Robustelli is an Italian surname derived from a nickname for a strong or robust person, from Italian robusto meaning "strong", itself from Latin robustus meaning "firm, solid, oaken". The name thus originally referred to...

Rocca is an Italian cognate of the Roach surname, both ultimately deriving from a topographical description meaning "rock". The etymology traces back to Middle English and Old French roche ("rock"), which itself originat...

Rocchi is an Italian surname derived from the given name Rocco. As a patronymic surname, it originated from the practice of identifying individuals as belonging to or descended from a person named Rocco. Thus, Rocchi car...

Roma is an Italian surname, a variant of Romano, which denoted a person from the city of Rome—either a resident or someone who had made a pilgrimage there. In Calabria, it could also refer to a person from New Rome, a na...

Romagna is an Italian surname derived from the historical region of Romagna, on the Adriatic coast of Italy. The name originates from Latin Romania, meaning "land of the Romans