SelvaCatalan, Italian From any of various places in Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, or northern Italy named Selva, as for instance the Catalan district La Selva, from selva "wood", Latin silva.
SemenzaItalian From semenza ‘seeds’ possibly used for a seed merchant.
SenatoreItalian status name from senatore "senator" (from Latin senator) or a nickname for a stately or perhaps pompous man.
SferrazzaItalian Occupational name for a scrap-metal merchant, from a derivative of Sferro in the sense ‘old and broken iron’. Habitational name from the district of Paternò in Catania, Sicily.
SforzaItalian Derived from the Italian verb sforzare meaning "to force, strain"; also compare the related word forza "force, strength". This was the surname of a dynasty of Milanese dukes, which held power in the 15th and 16th centuries.
SiddiItalian From the name of a municipality in Sardinia, possibly deriving from Vulgar Latin casilli "huts, farmhouses".
SidduItalian From Sardinian siddu "seal, brand", or the related siddai/re "to seal, to tighten", from which come the phrases 'siddai is dentis' "to grit one's teeth" and 'siddàu siast ingùnis' "may you be sealed there", the latter of which would have been affectionately said to a child that wouldn't stay still.
SignoreItalian from the medieval personal name Signore (from Latin senior "senior elder" genitive senioris). from signore ‘lord’ hence a derisive nickname for a peasant who gave himself airs and graces or an occupational name for someone in the service of a great lord... [more]
SinatraItalian Comes from a personal name in Sicily and souther Calabria. The name was apparently in origin a nickname from Latin senator member of the Roman senate, Latin senatus, a derivative of senex ‘old’... [more]
SodanoItalian, Sicilian nickname or ethnic name from Arabic sawdān "black Negro". nickname from Old Sicilian sudanu "sultan".
SoderiniItalian Possibly related to French soudoyer "to bribe", referring to paid mercenaries. Alternately, an elaborate form of Sodero.
SoderoItalian Probably related to the Greek name Soter, from Ancient Greek σωτήρ (sōtḗr) meaning "saviour".
SolariItalian Habitational name from any of various places called "Solaro" or "Solara", from solaro 'site', 'plot', 'meadow', literally "land exposed to the sun".
SoldanoItalian, Sicilian from soldano "sultan" (earlier sultano from Arabic sulṭān "ruler") used as a nickname for someone who behaved in an outlandish or autocratic manner.
SoldoItalian, Croatian Nickname from soldo "penny cent" also "military pay wage" (from Latin solidus "solid" the name of a gold Roman coin). From a short form of a compound personal name ending with -soldo such as Ansoldo... [more]
SolebelloItalian Means, "beautiful sun". Derived from "bello", meaning beautiful, and "sole", meaning sun.
SolinasItalian Meaning uncertain; could be related to Latin solum, from which comes Italian suolo "earth, ground, soil" and suola "sole (of the foot or shoe)", or from Italian salina "salt pan, salt marsh".
SorboItalian, Norwegian the surname of Kevin Sorbo (from Hercules, from God's Not Dead movie or two) comes from the word for the "sorb apple" the fruit of the true service tree Sorbus domestica, or from the location-name made up of saurr "mire mud" + bœ´r ‘farm settlement’.
SorellaItalian Means "sister". Nickname for someone known for behaving in a sisterly manner, or perhaps like a nun.
SpadaforaItalian Variant form of Spatafora. Spadafora is the younger out of the two surnames and yet the most common of the two, which might partly be because it is a little bit more italianized... [more]
SpagnaItalian From Italian spagna "Spain" for a Spaniard or someone who had connections to Spain. Also from the female given name of the same meaning, Italian cognitive of Spain.
SpalloneItalian From spalla "shoulder, back", indicating someone who carried things on their shoulders. The modern translation is "smuggler". Alternately, may be an elaboration of Spalla.
SpataforaItalian This surname originates from the Italian island of Sicily, where it was first borne by a noble family of Byzantine origin, which had settled on the island in the 11th century AD. Their surname was derived from the Greek noun σπάθη (spathe) "blade, sword" (akin to Latin spatha "broad sword with a double edge") combined with Greek φορεω (phoreo) "to carry, to bear", which gives the surname the meaning of "he who carries the sword" or "sword-bearer"... [more]
SpecaItalian From a variant of spiga "spike, ear (of grain)"
SpinaItalian Means "thorn" in Italian, originally a topographic name for someone who lived by a thorn bush or a habitational name from any of various locations called Spina.
SpinelliItalian Variant of Spina, of uncertain etymology: could be related to several place names in Italy, to given names such as Crispino, or to the crown of thorns placed on the head of Jesus.
SpinolaItalian Italian (Liguria) diminutive of Spina. Italian topographic name for someone living by Monte Spinola in the province of Pavia.
SpinosaItalian Most likely from Italian spinosa meaning "prickly, thorny, spiny, ticklish, touchy".
StalloneItalian from stallone "stallion" applied either as a nickname for someone thought to resemble a stallion or as a metonymic occupational name for someone who bred horses. from an augmentative of stalla "stable stall" used as a topographic name and as a habitational name from any of the minor places called with this word.... [more]
StamponeItalian Meaning uncertain. Possibly from Italian stampare "to print, to stamp", or from Tuscan stampo "tree stump".
StellaItalian Italian for "star". Either possibly derived from the given name Stella 1, or from several places in Italy containing the word stella.
StellatoItalian Stellato, which is the modern Italian word for "starry", as in "starry sky", translates to "by the stars" from the Latin word Stella. As so many Italians were navigators on ships and navigated "by the stars," and since so many surnames were derived from occupations... [more]
StradivariItalian Italian surname of uncertain origin, either from the plural of Lombard stradivare meaning "toll-man" or from strada averta meaning "open road" in the Cremonese dialect. A famous bearer was Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), a violin-maker of Cremona.
SudanArabic, Italian, Spanish Ethnic name or regional name for someone from Sudan or who had traded with Sudan. The name of the country is ultimately derived from Arabic سُود (sud) meaning "black", referring to the darker skin of the inhabitants.
SyracuseItalian (Anglicized) Americanized spelling of Siracusa. This is also the name of a city in the U.S. state of New York, though the etymology is unrelated.
TagliaferroItalian From the Italian tagliare "to cut" and ferro "iron" occupational name for an ironworker or a nickname for a strong or ferocious fighter, one who was adept at cutting through the cuirass of the enemy with his sword (see Telfer).
TagliaficoItalian From the Italian tagliare "to cut" and fico "fig".
TaglialatelaItalian Taglialatela means "the person who cuts the cloth" and is typical in the Naples and Caserta areas of Italy.
TagliamonteItalian Tagliamonte means "mountain cutter". From the Italian tagliate (to cut) and monte (mountain).
TarantoItalian Habitational name from the southern Italian city and provincial capital of this name (from Latin Tarentum from Greek Taras). Variant of Tarantino and Di Taranto.
TassiItalian Could be a patronymic form of the given name Tasso, indicate the bearer is from one of several municipalities called Tasso, or be a nickname from Italian tasso meaning "badger (animal)" or "yew".
TedeschiItalian Plural; From the Italian word tedesco meaning "German".
TegaldoItalian This surname is the Piedmontese origin. The Tegaldo last name comes from the Latin Teca (= shell beans). Its meaning is grower of vegetables (bean). Also it is known as vegetable farming... [more]
TelferScottish, English, Italian From a personal name based on a byname for a strong man or ferocious warrior, from Old French taille or tailler "to cut" + fer "iron" Latin: ferrum "iron" (see Tagliaferro).
TempestaItalian Originally a nickname for a person with a blustery temperament, from Italian tempesta meaning "storm, tempest" (compare Tempest).... [more]
TesauroItalian metonymic occupational name for a treasurer or person in charge of financial administration from Old Italian tesauro "treasure treasury" (from Latin thesaurus "hoard"). It may also be from the personal name Tesauro with the same origin.
TesoroSpanish, Italian from tesoro "treasure" (from Latin thesaurus "hoard") applied as a metonymic occupational name for a treasurer. In some cases this may be a habitational name from El Tesoro in southern Spain... [more]
TornatoreItalian Derived from Italian tornatore meaning "turner", which refers to a craftsman who turns and shapes various materials (such as wood and metal) on a lathe. In other words: this surname is the Italian cognate of the English surname Turner... [more]
ToroSpanish, Italian Either a habitational name from Toro in Zamora province. Compare De Toro . Or a nickname for a lusty person or for someone who owned a bull or a metonymic occupational name for a tender of bulls or possibly for a bull fighter from toro "bull" (from Latin taurus).
TortaItalian Probably from Italian torto "twisted, bent, crooked", or the related French tort "wrong, deviated".
TortoraItalian From a given name derived from Italian tortora meaning "turtle dove", ultimately from Latin turtur (genitive turturis). It could also derive from a town and comune with the same name, located in the province of Cosenza in Calabria, Italy.
TozziItalian Derived from the Italian adjective tozzo meaning "squat; stocky" and also "chunk; hunk", both from Latin túndere meaning "to dent" or from Slavic stotz meaning "stump".... [more]
TrandoItalian Italian: from the Germanic (Lombardic) personal name Brando, a short form of the various compound personal names formed with brand ‘sword’, particularly Aldobrando and Ildebrando.
TrebbiItalian Cesare Mauro Trebbi was an Italian painter and lithographer (1847–1931).... [more]
TredoniItalian Mrs. Tredoni is the main antagonist of the 1976 slasher film Alice, Sweet Alice. The role was played by American actress Mildred Clinton (1914-2010).
TribbianiItalian Joseph Francis Tribbiani Jr. is a fictional character, serving as one of the primary characters of the NBC sitcom Friends and the main protagonist of its spin-off Joey, and he is portrayed by Matt LeBlanc in both series.
TricaricoItalian Denoting someone from the province of Tricarico, in Basilicata.
TrifilettiSicilian Topographic name from a diminutive of Greek triphyllon "trefoil".
TrigianiItalian Adriana Trigiani (1969-) is an Italian-American best-selling author, award-winning playwright, television writer/producer, film director/screenwriter/producer, and entrepreneur based in New York City.
TripoliItalian Habitational name from Tripoli in Libya, a place name of Greek origin meaning "triple city", from the elements τρι- (tri-) "three, thrice" and πόλις (polis) "city".
TroiaItalian Could derive from the name of a town in Foggia, or be a nickname derived from Italian troia "sow, female pig", which has a slang meaning of "slut".
TrovarelloItalian First mention of the surname was in Marche in the 14th century, given to a foundling Trovarello di Paolo or "Paolo's foundling".The name was transcribed as a last name, as this person adopted the first name Claudio Trovarello... [more]
TrovatelliItalian Means "foundling" in Italian, literally trovato "found" and the diminutive suffix -ello.
TrovatoItalian Given to a foundling or abandoned child, literally "found" in Italian.
TurbaItalian Possibly from Italian turbare, "to disturb, to trouble", itself from Latin turba, "turmoil, disturbance; mob, crowd". Alternately, it could be from the German surname Turba, of uncertain meaning.
TurcoItalian Ethnic name for a Turk, or a nickname from the same word in the sense of a non-Christian or, following the medieval ethnic stereotype, a cruel, ferocious, or short-tempered person.
TurturroItalian, Sicilian Metonymic occupational name for a groom (a person employed to take care of horses), derived from Sicilian turturo, (ultimately from Italian tortoro) meaning "straw, hay, plait used for strapping horses"... [more]
TuttoilmondoItalian Possibly derived from the French given name Toulemonde, which is either itself derived from the Germanic names Thurmond or Tedmond, or from the phrase tout le monde, literally "all the world", or "everybody"... [more]
TuveriItalian Possibly from Sardinian Campidanese tuvera, meaning "pipe of the bellows", indicating someone who worked at a forge.
UrbinoSicilian, Italian Possibly from the name of an Italian town. Could also be from Sicilian urbu or orbu, meaning "blind", in which case it may refer to literal blindness, or a more metaphorical "blind to one's sins", especially in the case of foundlings.