Why most of the last italian names i heard ends with "ni" like in "Galvani", "Marconi"?

Question

it's also in "Pepperoni"(which is not a name) , apparently it's something in Italian language.

Answer 1

Where are you that you are not  familiar with the word "pepperoni"...I'll tell you where you don't live..L.A. Chicago, N.Y. Philly...  L.A. area has many pizza joints named Pepperoni's or something similar but are fictitious names of course.,  Most pepperoni pizzas are greasy  when made by Americans.  A good pizza cook will at least pan fry the pepperoni slices before placing them on the pizza.  

The "ini" and "oni" means little one(s)..or big one(s) or more than one.  

Pepperoni is a spicy Italian-American variety of dry salami usually made of pork , beef and sometimes fish.[citation needed] Pepperoni is often used on pizza, and sometimes it is used on sub sandwiches. Pepperoni is a descendant of the spicy salamis of Southern Italy, such as salsiccia Napoletana piccante, a spicy dry sausage from Naples. Pepperoni is frequently used as a pizza topping in American-style pizzerias. It is the most popular pizza topping in North America

Answer 2

i don't know why, my last name is Rusconi :-)

Answer 3

I'm Sicilian and my last name ends with an "a".     Interesting question.

Answer 4

Origins of last names are various but one of the most common is the place of origin and often the adjective for a city/region ends in "no": romano (Rome), veneziano (Venice), fiorentino (Florence), parmigiano (Parma), siciliano (Sicily), emiliano (Emilia).

It's not a rule: bolognese/Bologna, milanese/Milano, torinese/Torino (and not by chance lot of Italian last names end with "si" or "se"), etc. but still very common.

Leonardo da Vinci (da Vinci = from Vinci) was also known as "Leonardo il Vinciano".

Plural forms end in "ni".

Also, "one" (spelled Italian way, of course) is common in last names which derives from augmentative (plural "oni"), while "ino" or "ini" can be from diminutive.

Answer 5

Hey! Me and my family originated in Roma. Beautiful city! Anyways italians tend to do that often and it started when they were inventing the language.

Answer 6

its just the way the italians named themselves.  since most words in italian end in a vowel, most italian last names will end in a vowel.

Answer 7

mine one doesn't!!

Answer 8

The origin of place names (etymology) is linked to the “tribes” that once populated the Italian Peninsula, before it became “Italy”. In Lombardy (Milan area), for example you’ll find names ending in –ago (Magnago)  of Gallic origin, -ano (Verbano)  of  Latin origin, and  -asco (Bagnasco)  of Ligurian origin. The Ligurians were the original inhabitants, who were driven out of the rich areas to the poorer ones by the Gauls, who were then latinised by the Romans. Later people, like the Longobards and Goths brought their own name endings. Up to the Middle Ages people did not have “surnames” but were called by their first name, followed by the town they came from: e.g. Leonardo da Vinci (Leonard from Vinci), or their trade Leonardo il Pittore. When surnames were introduced people had a choice between a link to their first names: Leonardini (the family of Leonardo); their trade Pittorini (the family of the painter); or the place name Vincini/Vinciani (a family from Vinci). The –ini was a diminutive form; the alternative was –etti, (Leonardetti/Vincetti), -elli (Leonardelli/Vincelli) or a whole seried of variations like -ucci, -acci,  or the opposite –oni (big Leonards, Leonardoni/Vinconi/Vincioni) or –otti (Leonardotti/Vincotti/Vinciotti) and so on. The two names you mentioned are Galvani (from Galba, an old Latin name) and Marconi (from Marco a well know first name).