In medieval Italy, a newborn's name could serve as a message from the family to the world. Some celebrated the child's arrival. Others expressed hope, gratitude, or prosperity. And there were also names that revealed weariness, frustration, and even rejection.
Between approximately 1150 and 1300, mainly in Tuscany And in central Italy, names emerged that were so straightforward that they seem almost unbelievable today. One of them was... Perquezivenisti, literally “why did you come?”, recorded in a 13th-century Tuscan document.
But there was a historical reason for such creativity.
When families started inventing names
After the year 1000, especially from the 12th century onwards, the range of names available to families had decreased considerably.
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Many names from Roman antiquity had fallen into oblivion. The number of widely venerated saints was still relatively small. Giovanni already held a prominent place among men and Maria among women, but Francesco and Antonio, who would later become extremely popular names, had not yet been born.
The old Germanic names were also beginning to lose the prestige they had enjoyed in other periods.
It was in this context that true popular inventions emerged: names formed from common words and capable of conveying desires, expectations, and even the family's reaction to the arrival of the child.
Second Enzo Caffarelli, specialist in onomastics and director of Italian Rivista di OnomasticaThese were descriptive names, expressing gratitude or good omen.
Shapes such as appeared Amadeo, Crescimbene, Diotifeci, Graziadei, Ognibene e Salimbene.
Others described desired qualities or the child's own beauty: Allegro, Altobella, Caradonna, Cortese, Fiore, Gemma e Grace.
Benvenuto was not just a greeting.
Some of these names clearly indicated that the arrival of the child was viewed positively.
They appeared Benarrivo, Benenato, Benincasa, Benvenuto, Bonaccorso, Bonagiunta, Bonaiuto, Boncompagno e Buonvicino.
Others celebrated the very moment of birth: Bonora, Buontempo, Buonanno, Buonasera e Good morning.
Even the economic benefit represented by the arrival of a new family member could appear in the name. I'm left overFor example, during that period it had meanings linked to acquisition, profit, and advantage.
"The birth of a child was, in short, an emotional, social, and even economic event," Caffarelli summarizes.
Many of these old names disappeared as given names, but survived precisely as surnames.
This is the case with forms such as Accorsi, Corsi, Venuti, Amici, Avanzini, Giunti, Aiuti, Compagni, Bonanni, Vicini, Giorni, Sera e Time.
When one child "replaced" another.
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There is also a group of names that carry a more painful history.
In the Middle Ages, infant mortality was very high. Poor sanitary conditions, limitations of medicine, epidemics, wars, and periods of famine meant that many children died at a young age.
When a second, third, or fourth child was born after the death of a brother or sister, the new child could be seen symbolically as a replacement for the one who had been lost.
The name reflected this idea.
They appeared Rifatto, Ritrovato, Ritorno e Reborn.
Other names linked to this universe were Recupero, Ristori, Conforti e Remedy.
In some cases, the family even indicated the quality of this "substitution" in the name itself: Paribello, Paribello, Tornabene, Buoncambio, Guadagno, Migliore e Improved.
From this tradition arose surnames such as Cambi, Parboni, Paribelli, Guadagnini, Migliorini e improved.
Viewed through today's eyes, the idea may seem harsh. Within medieval reality, however, the name could represent the loss of a child, the consolation of the arrival of another, and the new beginning for the family.
The names of heartbreak
“However, the newborn was not always welcome,” writes Caffarelli.
The expert calls this group “nomi del disappunto”, the “names of disgust” or discontent.
According to him, some of these names indicated "rejection or reluctant acceptance of the newborn."
The most striking example is PerquezivenistiThe expression means "why did you come?". The name appears in a 13th-century Tuscan document and, in Caffarelli's words, corresponds to a formula that is "decidedly anti-gratulatory," that is, clearly opposed to celebrating a birth.
There were others that were equally straightforward: Aggravio, Malavolta, Maldonato, Malfatto, Maltempo, Malgioglio, Nontivoglio, Soverchia, Orcibasta e Ultimo .
NontivoglioFor example, it literally means "I don't want you".
"Let's stop here."
One of the most curious cases is Finimola.
According to Caffarelli, this was the only one of the "names of displeasure" to survive into the 20th century, almost exclusively in Tuscany.
Its meaning can be roughly translated as:
"Let's stop here, you'll be the last one."
The expert even jokes that, upon meeting the son or daughter of a woman named Finimola, it's worth asking how many uncles that person has.
But a bad name could mean something good.
However, there is one important caveat.
Not every seemingly negative name should be interpreted literally as rejection.
Caffarelli explains that some could assume “apotropaic value, ossia of scongiuro and dunque, anchor a turn, of augury”, that is, an apotropaic value, of exorcism and, therefore, again of good omen.
In practice, a negative name could function as a kind of symbolic protection against bad luck.
This possibility does not eliminate the existence of names linked to discontent. The source itself states that some indicated rejection or acceptance against one's will. It merely shows that not all can be read literally eight centuries later.
From medieval names to Italian surnames
Perhaps the most curious part of this story is what happened next.
Many of these names have completely disappeared from birth records, but have continued to circulate as surnames.
Therefore, words and forms that today seem Italian surnames Perfectly ordinary people may retain the memory of a personal name used by some medieval ancestor.
Benvenuto, Bonanni, Guadagnini, Migliorini, Cambi, Giunti e Aid They are part of this process.
The surname ended up freezing a word that, centuries earlier, could have been a message from parents at the time of a child's birth.
Then the saints arrived again.
This period of intense popular creativity did not last forever.
From the end of the 13th century onwards, great religious figures once again expanded the repertoire of available names.
Francesco, Elia, Bonaventura, Chiara, Domenico e Caterina They began providing new models to families.
Literature also began to influence record-keeping. Characters from chivalric narratives popularized names such as Angelica, Fiordiligi, Medoro, Morgante, Orlando, Rodomonte, Ruggero e Rinaldo.
Later, Humanism and the Renaissance would recover names from Antiquity, while the Church, especially during the Counter-Reformation and the Council of Trent, would reinforce names linked to the religious calendar, pilgrimages, and Christian tradition.
The era of Buoncambio, Rifatto e Perquezivenisti It was coming to an end.
First names have disappeared. Many surnames, however, have not.
And that is precisely why, when researching an Italian surname today, we sometimes find something much more intimate than a geographical origin or a former profession.
We can find the joy, the hope, the loss, and in some cases, even the heartbreak of a family that lived eight centuries ago.
Parents' humor in the name
Joy and welcome: Benvenuto, Benenato, Buontempo, Bongiorno
Starting over after a loss: Rinato, Ritrovato, Rifatto, Ritorno
The "exchange" was good: Buoncambio, Guadagno, Migliore, Migliorato
Disgust: Malavolta, Nontivoglio, Soverchia, Perquezivenisti
"Enough with the kids": Finimola, roughly "let's stop here, you'll be the last one"
They became surnames: Cambi, Guadagnini, Migliorini, Migliorati, Bonanni, Giunti, Aiuti
Curiosity: Some negative names could also function as symbolic protection against bad luck.
(With information from Treccani)
