Cognome

Italiano

The strongest concentration of Italiano in US arrival records points to Calabria, with 88 of 205 arrivals (43 percent) originating there.

205

US arrivals
1830 to 1912

76

Comuni of
origin

12

Regioni
represented

2

Notable on
Wikipedia

Arrivals by regioneN = 205
Abruzzo: 8 arrivalsPuglia: 3 arrivalsBasilicata: 3 arrivalsCalabria: 88 arrivalsCampania: 16 arrivalsEmilia-Romagna: 1 arrivalsLazio: 1 arrivalsLombardia: 2 arrivalsMolise: 2 arrivalsSicilia: 77 arrivalsToscana: 2 arrivalsVeneto: 2 arrivals

Top regione

Calabria

88 of 205
43 percent of arrivals

Arrivals
0
< 3
3 to 9
9 to 26
26+

Cittadinanza per discendenza

Could your Italiano line qualify for Italian citizenship?

The largest share of Italiano arrivals came from Calabria, most often from the provincia of Reggio Calabria. If one of them is your ancestor, Italy may recognize you as a citizen under jure sanguinis (citizenship by descent).

The surname alone does not decide it. Each generation between that ancestor and you does: who naturalized, and when. Since the 2025 law, the number of generations matters too.

The checker goes back through your line one generation at a time. It is not legal advice, and it does not search for records.

Check your line
Your lineYou fill this in

Italian-born ancestor

A Italiano from Calabria

Most often from Reggio Calabria (RC)

Each generation between

Name and dates

Did this person naturalize before their child was born?

You

A likely outcome

and the documents your line would need

Not ready to start? Get an email when the citizenship rules change.

Distribuzione per regione

Concentration by regione

12 regioni represented

  • Calabria8843%
  • Sicilia7738%
  • Campania168%
  • Abruzzo84%
  • Basilicata31%
  • Puglia31%
  • Toscana21%
  • Veneto21%
  • Molise21%
  • Lombardia21%
  • Lazio10%
  • Emilia-Romagna10%

Origini per comune

Arrival records by comune

Each row is a comune (municipality) where at least one passenger named Italiano was recorded between 1830 and 1912.

Persone notevoli

Notable Italiano on Wikipedia

  • Federico Italiano

    1976 · Novara

  • Chiara Italiano

    1987 · Genova

Varianti grafiche

Spelling variants worth checking

  • The spelling you know may not be the one in the records. For example, a family remembers Mansini, but the records read Mancini.
  • If your spelling does not appear, a close variant in the list below may be the same family.

Related guide

Myths About Name Changes at Ellis Island

Names were never changed at the border. The spelling here is the original Italian: Giovinelli in the records, perhaps Jovanelli in the family today.

Read guide

Italiani

11 US arrivals

Italiana

2 US arrivals

Italia

39 US arrivals

Vitaliano

36 US arrivals

Titaliano

3 US arrivals

Variants are surfaced from the surname index, not from per-name research. None of these is guaranteed to be the same family as Italiano.