{"id":7158,"date":"2014-09-11T07:33:33","date_gmt":"2014-09-11T07:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/?p=7158"},"modified":"2014-09-11T11:04:19","modified_gmt":"2014-09-11T11:04:19","slug":"whats-in-a-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/italian\/whats-in-a-name\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s in a Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve always been fascinated by etymology, and in particular the origin of names. As a child, growing up in Suffolk, England, the surnames that I heard most often included Smith<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Cooper<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Baker<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Farmer<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, Cook<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, and Butcher<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a>, all of which can be traced back to the trades that give origin to the name. Click on any of the names above to discover their origins<\/font><\/em>.<\/p>\n

My name, Chamberlain, was fairly unusual in Suffolk and, perhaps because it was linked to Prime Minister <\/font><\/em><\/strong>Neville Chamberlain<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a> (a second cousin of my father), was considered somewhat \u2018posh\u2019. Maybe it\u2019s because I had a surname that stood out from the crowd that I felt compelled to discover its origins<\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

Weird and Wonderful Italian Surnames<\/font><\/p>\n

All of us who develop a passion for Italy and the Italian language tend to be somewhat mesmerised by Italian names. After all, how can humble Jane Smith compete with exotic Giovanna Fabbro, or Bob Miller with Roberto Farina! In actual fact, Fabbro is Italian for blacksmith, and Farina (literally: flour) indicates that the holder of this surname comes from a family of millers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"ilaria\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Monumento to Ilaria del<\/font> Carretto<\/font> by Jacopo della Quercia<\/font> (CC)<\/strong><\/font><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

However, Italian names deriving from trades seem to be far less common than their English counterparts. Students of Italian usually reach a stage where they want to translate everything they encounter, and for me that included cognomi<\/strong> (surnames). When I first began to do this I got as big surprise. Names that I had considered to be poetic and romantic turned out to be \u2026. well, bizarre or (not wishing to offend anyone) funny. So, here is a small collection of some of my favourites with their literal English translations:<\/p>\n

Battilocchi<\/strong> = Blink the Eyes
Biscioni<\/strong> = Big grass Snakes
Calcaterra<\/strong> = Press down the Ground
Cantalamessa<\/strong> = Sing the Mass
Carnesecca<\/strong> = Dry Meat
Castracani<\/strong><\/font> = Dog Castrator
Carofiglio<\/strong> = Dear Son
Cozzalupi<\/strong> = Batting Wolves
Del Carretto<\/strong><\/font> = Of the Cart
Del Chiappa<\/strong> = Of the Buttock
Del Gatto<\/strong> = Of the Cat
Della Quercia<\/strong><\/font> = Of the Oak
Gambarara<\/strong> = Rare Leg
Lumachelli<\/strong> = Little Slugs
Magnavacca<\/strong> = Big Cow
Malaspina<\/strong><\/font> = Bad Thorn
Malatesta<\/strong><\/font> = Bad Head
Occhipinti<\/strong> = Painted Eyes
Parlapiano<\/strong> = Speak Slowly
Passalacqua<\/strong> = Pass the Water
Pomodoro<\/strong> = Tomato
Ranocchia<\/strong> = Little Frog
Zerbini<\/strong> = Doormats<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
\"1024px-William_Dyce_-_Francesca_da_Rimini_-_Google_Art_Project-001\"<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Paolo Malatesta<\/font> e Francesca da Rimini by <\/strong><\/font><\/em>William Dyce<\/strong><\/font><\/em><\/a> 1845 (Public Domain)<\/strong><\/font><\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Historical notes by Serena:
<\/font>Castruccio Castracani<\/strong><\/font>, 1281 \u2013 1328, was a famous warlord of Lucca
Ilaria del Carretto<\/strong><\/font>, 1379 \u2013 1405, was married to Paolo Guinigi<\/strong>, lord of Lucca
Jacopo della Quercia<\/strong><\/font>, 1374 \u2013 1438, sculpted the beautiful funerary monument for Ilaria del Carretto<\/font><\/strong><\/a> that can be found in <\/em>il duomo di Lucca
Malaspina<\/font><\/strong> was a powerful feudal family in Tuscany and Liguria during the Middle Ages. It was divided into two main branches: Spino Secco<\/strong> = Dry Thorn, and Spino Fiorito<\/strong> = Flowering Thorn
Paolo Malatesta<\/strong><\/font> was the brother in law and lover of Francesca da Rimini<\/strong>. Their tragic love was immortalized by Dante Alighieri<\/strong> in the Fifth Canto of his Inferno<\/strong><\/em> <\/p>\n

Finally<\/font><\/p>\n

The Italian equivalent of my surname, Chamberlain<\/em>, is Camerlengo<\/strong><\/em><\/font><\/a>. Do any of you have a surname that you\u2019d like to share with us, whether it be of Italian origin or otherwise? Or perhaps you\u2019ve encountered a particularly unusual Italian surname. Please leave a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

I\u2019ve always been fascinated by etymology, and in particular the origin of names. As a child, growing up in Suffolk, England, the surnames that I heard most often included Smith, Cooper, Baker, Farmer, Cook, and Butcher, all of which can be traced back to the trades that give origin to the name. Click on any…<\/p>\n

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