Our Italian Surnames

Our Italian Surnames covers every fact of Italian names and naming practices. It is here we discover, for example, that bussolari is Italian for compass, orsini means bear, and passalacqua stands for butterfly. In addition to sections on given names and the evolution of Italian surnames, the book contains chapters devoted to pet names, botanical names, geographical names, bird names, insect names, occupational names, and more. Our Italian Surnames is written for a popular audience, and each chapter of the book is a separate and informative unit in itself. Complete with a list of sources and an index of more than 7,500 names, Our Italian Surnames is a monument to the late Professor Fucilla's lifelong interest in the language and names of Italia.