Where the Moretti surname comes from
Moretti is a surname born from a nickname. It comes from moro, from the Latin Maurus, “dark”: it described someone with black hair or olive skin. Moretto was the affectionate diminutive, the dark-haired boy, and his children became “the Morettis.”
A 15th-century document shows the nickname just as it is about to become a surname. The PDF tells where and how.
A surname that became a brand
In 1859, in Udine, a Moretti opened a beer and ice factory. At first the beer was barely enough for the province. Today that surname is on labels all over Italy. The story of that family from Friuli is in the PDF.
Where the Moretti families live today
Moretti is a surname of central and northern Italy, found almost everywhere in the country. There are about 17,500 families, and it is strongest in Lombardy, Lazio, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. In Umbria it is the region’s fourth most common surname. The town where it is number one is Esperia, in the province of Frosinone. Worldwide there are about a hundred thousand Morettis. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached are in the PDF.
Variants
The word moro gave rise to a large family of surnames, with different forms from one region to the next. The PDF explains who the closest cousins are and where they live.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Moretti | Lombardy, Lazio, Tuscany |
| Moro | Veneto, Lombardy, Friuli |
| Moretto | Veneto, Piedmont, Lombardy |
| Morettini | Umbria, Marche, Lombardy |
FAQ
What does the surname Moretti mean?
It comes from “moretto,” the little Moor: a nickname for someone with black hair or dark skin. Moretti referred to the children, the family of Moretto.
Is Moretti a surname from northern or southern Italy?
It is a surname of central and northern Italy, found almost everywhere. It is strongest in Lombardy, Lazio, Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna; in Umbria it is the region’s fourth most common surname.
Do people named Moretti have ancestors from Africa?
Almost never. “Moro” originally referred to the people of Mauretania, but as a nickname it usually just described dark hair or a tanned complexion. It was a way to tell people apart, like “the red one” or “the white one.”
Are Moretti and Moro the same surname?
They come from the same word, the Latin Maurus. Moro is the simple form, strong in Veneto and Lombardy; Moretti comes from the diminutive, “moretto.”
Are all Morettis related?
No. Thousands of towns had their own “moretto,” and two Moretti families almost never have any link. To trace your own family’s story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Moretti surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t indicate nobility. The archives record a few noble Moretti families, in Rome, in Pistoia and in Piedmont, but almost all Morettis descend from a simple nickname.
Is there a Moretti family coat of arms?
Some Moretti families had a coat of arms, tied to that specific branch. No single coat of arms belongs to every Moretti: the surname was born in thousands of different towns.
