Search Etymological origin of Italian surnames

FERRANDA | FERRANDE | FERRANDELLI | FERRANDELLO | FERRANDI | FERRANDINI | FERRANDINO | FERRANDO | FERRANDU

Ferranda, extremely rare, would seem to be from Sassari, Ferrandu, equally rare, should be from the middle of Sardinia, Ferrande and Ferrandello are practically unique, Ferrandelli, almost unique, would seem Sicilian, Ferrandi would appear to be from the Milanese, Ferrandini, very very rare, present in sporadically in northern Italy, it has a small stock in San Remo in the Imperia area, Ferrandino is widespread in Ischia, Barano d'Ischia and Casamicciola Terme on the island of Ischia, but is also present in Aversa in the Caserta area, Solofra nell'avellinese, and in Naples, Sant'Antimo and Torre del Greco in the Neapolitan, Ferrando of the Genoese and Alexandrian, all these surnames derive either from modifications of the name Ferdinando or of his contraction Fernando, or, most probably, from the medieval name French Ferrant, it could also be a derivation from a nickname originated from the fact that the progenitor had iron gray hair. additions provided by Stefano Ferrazzi The origin of these surnames is to be found in the medieval name Ferrando (variant of the more common Ferrante), which, through the French Ferrant or the Spanish Ferrando, arises from a contraction of the original Fernando (see Ferdinandi, Ferrandes and Ferranta): from the etymological point of view, in fact, the transition from Fernando to Ferrando is due to an assimilation of the -n- to the sound of the -r- that precedes it, according to a phenomenon also occurred in Franco-Spanish onomastics - the same Fernando, on the other hand, is born from a contraction of the original Ferdinando (both in the Italian and in the Spanish onomastics). To this interpretation, however, a second hypothesis must be added concerning the origin of the name Ferrando / Ferrante: some scholars, in effect, maintain that this name can also derive from the adjective ferrante, which, in the archaic idiom, would indicate a gray-reddish color (similar to iron rust). It should be noted, to be precise, that this meaning clearly refers to the medieval chivalrous epic, in which Ferrante was the name of several steeds mentioned in the stories of the Round Table: the choice of the name, in effect, was due precisely to the mantle of horses ( of color ferrante), although, to tell the truth, it is possible that even then it was a paretymological reading - adapted precisely for literary purposes. As far as the surnames in question are concerned, therefore, it is a question of the surnames of personal names of the founders, even if, in some cases, a derivation from nicknames attributed to them is not excluded.

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