Alfano
A surname of Italian origin, likely from a personal name built on Germanic roots meaning “noble” and “all.”
The #7,088 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 65,357 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Alfano is an Italian surname that comes from the medieval given name Alfano. That personal name is usually traced to Germanic elements, commonly explained as meaning something like “noble” plus “all” or “entire.” In surname use, it would originally have identified someone as the son or family of a man called Alfano.
History
The name is long established in southern Italy, especially in areas with strong medieval Lombard and Norman influence where Germanic personal names remained popular. It appears in historical records as both a given name and a hereditary surname. Like many Italian surnames, it later spread through emigration, especially to the Americas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Alfano also appears as a medieval given name, not just a surname, which is often a clue that the family name began as a patronymic.