Tuscan Surnames: A Brief Guide for the Curious

• Share:

A brief guide for the curious dedicated to the most common Tuscan surnames in the region, divided into the 10 provinces of Tuscany.

Tuscan surnames are mostly linked to Christian names

THEtypical Tuscan surnames, unlike, for example, the neighbouring Emilia Romagna, are not those linked to professions, origin or physical appearance, but to given names, like Paoli, Pieri and Salvadori.

You need to know that the main feature of the category coming from the first names is the brevity (short surnames, especially bisyllabic ones), which is often obtained from truncation of proper names of people. Baldi: from Ugobaldo; Landi: from Rolando; Gori: from Gregorio; Neri: from Rainero; Pucci: from Filippo or Giacomo; Pacini: from Buonapace; Cioni: from Baldiccione or Ugoccione; Bini: from Albino or Begnamino; Berti: from Adalberto; Dini: from Guido, Aldo, Corrado; Bonci: from Boncius or Baron; Vanni, Vannini and Vannucci: from John; Data: from Donato or Diodato; Betti: from Benedict; Benni: from Bencivenni or Benno; Scholarships and Courses: from Accorso or Bonaccorso.

While the primacy of the surnames attributed to abandoned children it's up to Lucchesi, followed immediately by Innocents, Nocenti, Nocentini And Of the Innocents.

Some of the most common Tuscan surnames also derive from professions, noble titles and places of origin

Although less frequent, there is no shortage of classic references to trades, to noble titles and places of origin as happens with Conti, Fabbri, Ferrari, Barbers, Barons, Tailors, Millers and Millers, Magnani, Mancini, Hats and Caps, Fat, Blonde, Hammers, Ciampi, Lombardi, Pratesi.

Tuscan surnames from the Florence area

In Florence the first 5 surnames by number of inhabitants they are Rossi, Innocenti, Bianchi, Conti and Gori.

If Rossi it is the most common Italian surname – together with the Whites and the Greens -, Gori, as we have seen, comes from Gregory, while Innocents derives from some ancestor abandoned by his parents. More interesting is the origin of Accounts, surname deriving from the fact of being in some way linked to some accounts, in the noble sense of the term, or because he was at their service, or because of his attitude, or because of his physical resemblance. Conti is in fact very widespread throughout Italy, and in Tuscany it even ranks 8th.

Typical Tuscan surnames from the Lucca area

In the Lucca area they absolutely prevail Lucchesi, Bianchi, Martinelli, Giusti and RicciInteresting are Martinelli And Hedgehogs. If the first should derive from the modification of the surname Latin Martinus (meaning “dedicated to Mars”).

The second has a more varied etymology: either it comes from the dialect word rizzo, that is "curly“, used to indicate physical characteristics (spiky or curly hair) or character traits (harsh and angular person) of the founder, or directly from theanimal of the same name. It could also come from medieval proper names such as Ricciarellus.

Most common surnames in Tuscany in the Prato and Pistoia areas

If they dominate in Pistoia Capecchi, Innocenti, Gori, Tesi and Niccolai, in Prato they also enter the top 5 Melani and Guarducci.

Capecchi, in particular, should derive from a nickname originating from the archaic Italian term capecchio, a kind of linen or hemp wadding used for padding, perhaps indicating that the craft of the founders was that of upholsterer; but it could also be a derogatory nickname, the capecchio being a low-quality product. The same term was also used to indicate a person with a beard or shaggy hair.

And if Nicholas comes from variations of the medieval name Nicholas (from the Greek Nikòlaos meaning “winner of the people”) and its derivatives such as Nicola, Nicolò, etc;  Guarducci it would derive from the medieval name Look, or from the apheresis of the auspicious name Godguardi.

Most common Tuscan surnames in the Siena and Grosseto areas

In Siena, apart from the omnipresent Rossi, among the dominant ones there are Brogi, Neri, Guerrini and Pianigiani; while in Maremma they have their importance Giannini, Pellegrini, Corridori and Moretti.

Among the most interesting, Brogi, which derives, through hypocoristics, from the apheresis of the name Ambrose, or even from reports of provenance referring to one of the many Italian towns dedicated to Saint Ambrose; while Pianigiani would derive from ethnic forms of various toponyms containing the root “piano” or maybe it could also refer to nicknames indicating ancestors coming from the plain who settled in hilly or mountainous towns.

Tuscan surnames ending with an i on the coast: Pisa and Livorno

In Pisa, Sbrana, Cini, Bertini and Paolicchi they are important, while in Livorno they are the masters Morelli, Filippi, Lenzi and Giusti.

He tears apart, among all, is certainly the most curious: it could in fact be a matronymic referring to a contracted form of the medieval name Sobrana, in use among patrician families in the Ligurian area in the 13th and 14th centuries, but according to another hypothesis it derives from a nickname, perhaps originating from the fact that the founders were big eaters and drinkers.

While another one that is not entirely obvious nowadays is Lenzi, because it comes from medieval name Lenzo, now fallen into disuse.

Most common surnames in the province of Arezzo

We continue our quick review of Tuscan surnames with those of the Arezzo area, where the dominant Peruzzi, Severi, Gallorini and Caneschi.

Of particular interest is Gallorini, surname that originates in small village of Galloro, fortress built in the Middle Ages on the mountains east of Arezzo, to defend some routes that connected the important adjacent valleys.

Tuscan surnames in the North-West

In the province of Massa Carrara prevail over all Hedgehogs, Musts, Manfredi, Pucci And FruitsIf we have already spoken about Ricci and Pucci, while Manfredi is understandable, Musts It could derive from the medieval name Must probably linked to the name of the liquid derived from squeezing or pressing of grapes.

As for Fruits, could derive from the hypocoristic of the Latin Gallo name Frutius, possible altered form of the Germanic name Furtius. He is remembered with this name King of the Quadi Gauls, federated with the Romans, who in the year 172 was deposed, exiled and replaced with Ariogaesus.

Dear reader, if you liked this article you could also leave us a comment below, on FB, on IG, or share it via the button WhatsAppBut only if you like. Thanks for joining us.

Cover photo Helena Lopes on Unsplash

Reproduction Reserved ©Copyright TuscanyPeople

• Share:

About The Author

Vieri Tommasi Candidi

Writer, Ambassador of Tuscany