Show ContentsGiannini History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

A variety of distinguished and notable names have emerged from the beautiful and historical Italian region of Tuscany, including the notable surname Giannini. During the Middle Ages, as populations grew and travel between regions became more frequent, the people of Tuscany, who were originally known only by a single name, found it necessary to adopt a second name to identify themselves and their families. This process of adopting fixed hereditary surnames in Italy began in the 10th and 11th centuries, but it was not completed until the modern era. The development of Italian hereditary surnames followed general principles and were characterized by derivatives from one's given name. The patronymic surname, which is derived from the father's given name, was one of the most common name types found in the region of Tuscany. This system of name-making was widely used because it linked well with the existing Feudal System and during the Christian era, many people named their children after saints and biblical figures. The surname Giannini came from a popular variation of the well-known personal name Giovanni, or John.

Early Origins of the Giannini family

The surname Giannini was first found in Florence (Italian: Firenze), with Lapo Gianni in 1270. Gianni was a lyric poet and a friend of famous authors Dante and Cavalcanti.

Early History of the Giannini family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Giannini research. The years 1328, 1500, 1520, 1563, 1568, 1646, 1649, 1685, 1700, 1748, 1753, 1770 and 1801 are included under the topic Early Giannini History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Giannini Spelling Variations

Surnames that originated in Italy are characterized by an enormous number of spelling variations. Some of these are derived from regional traditions and dialects. Northern names, for instance, often end in "o", while southern names tend to end in "i". Other variations come from the fact the medieval scribes tended to spell according to the sound of words, rather than any particular set of rules. The recorded variations of Giannini include Gianni, Giani, Ianni, Ianne, Ianno, Giannelli, Gianelli, Giannillo, Gianniello, Giannella, Gianella, Giannarelli, Giannetti, Gianetti, Gianettini, Giannetto, Gianetto, Giannitto, Giannini, Gianini, Giannino, Gianino, Iannetti, Ianetti, Iannitti, Iannacco and many more.

Early Notables of the Giannini family

Prominent among members of the family was Lapo Gianni (died after 1328) an Italian poet who lived in Florence, eleven ballads and six songs of his remain; Donato Giannotti, a political writer and historian in Florence around 1500; Giugio Pippi di Giannuzzi, a painter and architect who assisted Raphael. When Raphael died in 1520, Giannuzzi completed the Transfiguration in the Vatican at Rome. Antonio Giannotti was Bishop of Forlì in 1563, and of Urbino in 1568; Antonio Gianettini, born in Venice in 1649, was a composer of operas, cantatas, oratorios...
Another 90 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Giannini Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Giannini Ranking

In the United States, the name Giannini is the 11,226th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


Giannini migration to the United States +

In the immigration and passenger lists were a number of people bearing the name Giannini

Giannini Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Frank Giannini, who arrived in Arkansas in 1874 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Giannini (post 1700) +

  • L. M. Giannini, American Republican politician, Candidate for West Virginia State House of Delegates from Brooke County, 1954 3
  • Joanne M. Giannini, American Democratic Party politician, Elected Rhode Island State House of Representatives 7th District 2002 3
  • Eugene T. Giannini, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from District of Columbia, 2008 3
  • Giancarlo Giannini (b. 1942), Italian actor


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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