Surnames in Piemonte, Italy
The lists of surnames were derived from the white pages of 1996 for the recent lists, and from sources as indexes of births, "numerazioni", catasti onciari, parish records for previous centuries. Surnames in the Provinces of Piemonte
Common Surnames
- over 9000: Ferrero;
- between 5000 and 8999: Bruno, Ferrari, Gallo, Giordano, Rosso, Rossi
- between 2900 and 4999: Barberis, Barbero, Bianco, Cerutti, Colombo, Costa, Ferraris, Grosso, Marino, Musso, Negro, Russo, Serra
Follow Italy Heritage on Facebook
Sections on Italian Genealogy
Surnames Divided by Region
Abruzzo | Basilicata | Calabria | Campania | Emilia‑Romagna | Friuli‑Venezia Giulia | Lazio | Liguria | Lombardia | Marche | Molise | Piemonte | Puglia | Sardegna | Sicilia | Toscana | Trentino‑Alto Adige | Umbria | Valle d'Aosta | Veneto
Info on Italian Regions
Abruzzo | Basilicata | Calabria | Campania | Emilia‑Romagna | Friuli‑Venezia Giulia | Latium | Liguria | Lombardy | Marche | Molise | Piedmont | Puglia | Sardinia | Sicily | Tuscany | Trentino‑Alto Adige | Umbria | Valle d'Aosta | Veneto
Recent Additions
- Alessandria: Dernice | Momperone | Moncestino | Mongiardino Ligure | Roccaforte Ligure
- Asti: Cortanze | Mombaldone |Moransengo | Sessame | Vaglio Serra
- Biella: Camandona | Campiglia Cervo | Casapinta | Massazza | Piatto
- Cuneo: Pietraporzio | Rocca Cigliè |
- Verbano-Cusio-Ossola: Bognanco | Ceppo Morelli | Falmenta | Quarna Sopra | Quarna Sotto
Origin of Surnames
-
The most common surnames in Piemonte are can be classified in three categories: surnames common all over Italy, autochthonous of the North-Western area of Italy, and those of immigrants from Southern Italy.
- Among the typical, traditional surnames of the region are: Barale, Dalmasso, Dutto, Giraudo; also, some typical patronymic surnames have German suffixes as "-aldo/i" - Gastaldo, Giribaldi, Grimaldi, Rinaldi - and "-audo/i": Arnaudo, Baudino, Einaudi, Giraudo, Rinaudo.
- Surnames derived from nicknames are common, especially in the singular form: Bruno, Gamba, Grosso, Grasso, Leone, Negro, Ricci, Testa.
- Also common are surnames derived from names of animals - possibly connected to some physical or behavioural feature of an ancestor: Bo (from bove= ox), Bracco (= hound), Capra (=goat), Cavallo (=horse), Fasano (=pheasant), Gallo (=rooster), Grillo (= cricket), Lupo (= wolf), Merlo (=blackbird), Mosca (=fly), Pesce (= fish), Quaglia (= quail), Volpe (= fox).
- Other surnames are derived from plants and were possibly connected to a place or some feature: Bosco (= forest), Fiore (= flower), Fenoglio (= fennel), Prato (= meadow).
- In Piemonte surnames derived from professions typically take the suffix "-ero" instead of "-aro" or "-aio" as in other areas of Italy; the most common are Ferrero and derivatives as Ferraris, Ferraro, Ferreri, Ferri, Ferro, from the blacksmith's craft; also Barbero (= barber), Beccaria (= butcher), Boero (= cowman), Bottero (= wine-barrel maker, cooper), Cavallero (= horse breeder or dealer), Cravero (= goatsman), Cordero (= rope maker), Olivero (= olive farmer), Panero (= baker).