Where the Mariani surname comes from
Mariani comes from the medieval name Mariano, Marianus in Latin. Originally it meant “of Mario,” but in the Middle Ages everyone read it as “of Mary.” The children of a Mariano became “the family of Mariano,” the Marianis. Scholars also point to a nickname given to families devoted to the Madonna.
The baton and the brush
In the 1800s two Marianis left their mark on Italian art. One conducted Verdi’s operas and the first Italian performance of a work by a great German composer. The other chased the light of the Mediterranean. Their stories are in the PDF.
Where the Marianis live today
Mariani is a surname of Central and Northern Italy. There are about 15,900 families, and their heart is Lombardy, where one Mariani in three lives. Lazio comes next. The city where it ranks number one is Seregno, in Brianza. In the South the surname thins out and another form takes over. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where they settled are in the PDF.
Variants
The same name gave a southern form and a diminutive from Central Italy. The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Mariani | Lombardy, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna |
| Mariano | Apulia, Campania, Lombardy |
| Marianelli | Tuscany, Lazio |
FAQ
What does the surname Mariani mean?
It means “the family of Mariano,” the family of a man with that name. In the Middle Ages Mariano was read as “of Mary”: that is why the surname is linked to devotion to the Madonna.
Is Mariani a surname from Lombardy?
Largely, yes: one Mariani in three lives in Lombardy, and in Seregno it is the most common surname in the city. It is also common in Lazio, Emilia-Romagna and Umbria, where it is the eighth most common in the region.
Are Mariani and Mariano the same surname?
They come from the same name. Mariano is the southern form, especially in Apulia; Mariani is the form of Central and Northern Italy. In old records the same family can appear in different forms.
Does the Mariani surname come from Mariano Comense?
Some believe that part of the Lombard Marianis take their name from this very town, a few miles from Seregno. In general, though, the surname comes from the personal name Mariano.
Are all Marianis related?
No. Many towns had a Mariano or a family devoted to the Madonna, with no ties between them. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Mariani surname noble?
The surname itself does not mean nobility. The archives record noble Mariani families in Corneto, today’s Tarquinia, and in Ovada. But most Mariani families never had a coat of arms.
Is there a Mariani family coat of arms?
The noble families of Corneto and Ovada had their own coats of arms, but those were theirs alone. There is no coat of arms that belongs to every Mariani.
