The Most Common LAST NAMES in Italy! – The Official Ranking!

In today’s article we are going to clarify a little doubt shared by many: which the most common Italian last names are. We have decided to list the 5 most popular, starting from last to first.

The most famous Italian last names and their origins

Let’s get it started! In fifth position we have:

5) ROMANO

This last name comes from the Latin name Romanus which means “native person of Rome” ; and, although this last name is widespread throughout Italy, it seems it’s more concentrated in the Campania region.
it’s worth remembering that “Romano”, in addition to being the fifth it’s also a quite common name.

Proceeding, we have:

4) BIANCHI

This last name seems to have very ancient, dating back to ancient Rome! Probably, in the beginning, the last name “Bianchi” was a sort of nickname to indicate those people who had white beard and hair or a very pale complexion. However, over time, this nickname would turn into a real last name!
Even though it is widespread throughout the whole country, it seems to be mainly present in the Central North area.

3) FERRARI

This last name, particularly renowned thanks to the famous car company founded by Enzo Ferrari, is quite common in Northern Italy.
It is believed that this last name comes from Latin nicknames related to blacksmith professions (from Latin faber ferrarius, blacksmith). Currently, there are more than 26 thousands families with this last name!

2) RUSSO

This last name, which is particularly common in Southern Italy, seems to come from dialectal nicknames attributed to those who had: reddish hair, beard and complexion. Currently there are more than 31 thousands families with this last name!

But now it’s time to announce the winner… in first position we find:

1)ROSSI

Even the origin of this last name is to be considered related to the feature of the coloration of hair and beard or the complexion of the native family. It comes from the Latin form “russus-russa-russum” which means reddish. However it’s more common than Rossi, in fact, nowadays, there are more than 45 thousands families with this last name.
Some famous characters who bear this last name are: Valentino Rossi, the famous biker, and Vasco Rossi the songwriter and singer of beautiful songs like: Albachiara and Senza parole.

Alright! We hope we satisfied your curiosity and… if you want, don’t forget to have a look at our video about the Italian colloquial expressions. We assure you it’s really interesting!

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