Brilliant Maps

Making Sense Of The World, One Map At A Time

  • BOOK!
  • Newsletter
  • Board Games
  • Posters
  • Scratch Maps

Most Common Surnames in Italy By Region

August 3, 2017 5 Comments

Map found via reddit, originally from Italianismo

The map above shows which surnames (last names) are most popular in each Italian region. Although, even these surnames only account for around 1% of all Italian surnames due to the huge diversity that exists.

Reddit user medhelan also points out a few other interesting things:

  • The Rossi/Russo North/South divide with both surnames meaning “red”
  • The variations of Ferrero/Ferrari/Fabbri/Fabris/Favre in the North all meaning “smith”
  • The almost total absence of surnames ending in -i in the South while they’re extremely common in the North and in the Centre
  • -n ending surnames in Veneto and Friuli due to the elimination of the final -i
  • Austro-Bavarian surnames in Trentino-Sudtyrol and Arpitan surnames in Val d’Aosta
  • The difference between Sardinia and the rest of the country

You can learn more about Italian genealogy and surnames from the following books:

  • Our Italian Surnames
  • The Family Tree Italian Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Italy
  • Italian Genealogical Records: How to Use Italian Civil, Ecclesiastical & Other Records in Family History Research (Italian Edition)

Find this map interesting? Please help us by sharing it:

Think This Map Was Brilliant? Get Our Most Brilliant Maps Free Each Week!

Filed Under: Europe Tagged With: Italy

Comments

  1. Tomasz Pluskiewicz says

    August 6, 2017 at 6:57 pm

    +1 if read those labels with Italian-esque accent 馃榾

    Reply
  2. toropazzoide says

    November 7, 2017 at 1:17 pm

    I’d like to point that “Russo” by itself means “russian”, not “red”. Or, as verb, it could mean “russare” (“Io russo” = “I snore”). I don’t doubt that it comes from a modified “rosso”, but in modern italian that’s not what it means.
    (source: I’m italian)

    Reply
  3. Elamo Petalino says

    February 3, 2020 at 1:06 am

    Petalino , is my last name. What does it mean?

    Reply
    • Danielle says

      October 5, 2020 at 6:51 pm

      Mine is Pettalino but I have family who spell is Petalino and we originate from Napels

      Reply
  4. Debbi says

    August 19, 2020 at 8:27 pm

    Where can you buy these maps?

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


World Atlas 路 Settlers of Catan 路 Risk 路 Game of Thrones 路 Coloring Books 路 Globes
Monopoly 路 Star Wars 路 Game of Life 路 Pandemic 路 Ticket To Ride 路 Drinks Cabinets
Copyright © 2021 路 Privacy Policy 路 Fair Use, Attribution & Copyright 路 Contact Us
Follow Us: E-mail 路 Twitter 路 Facebook 路 Pinterest 路 Flipboard