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Surnames and Their Origins – November 2020

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NANNI – This surname derives from the first name Nanni, which is an abbreviation of the first name Giovanni. This surname is found in the vital statistic records in all 20 regions of Italy, most prevalent in Emilia-Romagna and has its least presence in Val d’Aosta.

NAPOLEONE –This surname derives from the German first name “Nibelung,” from “nebel,” German for fog. This surname is found in the vital statistic records in 18 regions, with the exceptions being Umbria and Val d’Aosta. Variations: Napolioni, Napoleoni.

NARCISI – This surname derives from the first name Narciso of Greek origin. According the legend it is the name of the mythical hansom youth. Also the name of a flower. Probably started out as a nickname to indicate a vain person and then evolved into a surname. This surname is found in the vital statistic records in 18 regions. Variations: Narciso, Narcisa.

NARDI – This surname derives from the first name Leonardo or Bernardo. This surname is found in the vital statistic records in 19 regions, with the exception being Molise. It is most prevalent in Toscana and has its least presence in Val d’Aosta. Variations: Nardo, Nardelli, Nardello, Nardiello, Nardella, Nardilli, Nardulli, Nardini, Nardin, Narducci, Narduzzi, Nardoni, Nardone, Nardon, Nardari.

NASUTI – This surname derives from the Italian word “naso,” meaning nose, used as a nickname to someone who had a big or strange nose and then evolved into a surname. This surname is found in the vital statistic records in 13 regions. Variations: Nasuto, Nasuta.

NATALE – This surname derives from the Italian first name Natale, meaning Christmas, derived from the Latin “dies natalis,”  meaning day of birth, name usually given to the children born on Christmas Day. As a surname it is found in all 20 regions. It is most prevalent in Campania and least registered with vital statistics in Val d’Aosta. Variations:  Natali, Nadali, Nataletti, Natalini, Nadalini, Natalucci, Natalizi, Nadalutti, Naletto, Nadini, Nalato, Nalesso.

NEPA – This surname derived from the dialect word “nappa,” meaning big nose or derived from the dialect word “nepitella,” meaning wild mint plant. This surname is not very well represented in any region, but still shows on several Italian etymology sites.

NERI – This surname derived from the first name Rinieri, a popular form of the Tuscany surname Ranieri, which is said to be derived from word “nero,” meaning black. This surname is found in the vital statistic records in all 20 regions, most prevalent in Emilia-Romagna and has its least presence in Basilicata. Variations: Nerini, Nerucci, Neroni, Niro.

NOBILI – This surname derived from the word “nobile,” meaning noble. This surname is found in the vital statistic records in 19 regions. It is most prevalent in Lazio and least found in Calabria. The only region not showing a presence is Basilicata. Variations: Nobilo, Nobilini.

NORI – This surname derivesfrom the Latin word “nurus,” meaning son-in-law. It has a presence in 16 regions. The exceptions are Sicily, Calabria, Basilicata and Molise.

NOTTI – This surname derives from the word “note,” meaning night. It is not very prevalent. It only has a presence in eight regions. Variations: Notte.

NUCCI This surname derived from the first name Nuccio or Nuzzo, an abbreviation of Antoniuccio, Rinuccio, etc. It is found in 18 regions. It is most prevalent in Puglia and least in Marche. It is not present in Val d’Aosta. Variations: Nuccio, Nuzzi, Nuzzo, Nuzzoli, Nuccio.


You can research your surname on these two websites:
surnames.behindthename.com/names/usage/italian/
cognomix.it/mappe-dei-cognomi-italiani

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