DiDonato
An Italian surname meaning “son of Donato,” originally marking descent from a man named Donato.
The #9,672 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 92,025 Americans shares it.
Etymology
DiDonato is an Italian patronymic surname built from di, meaning “of” or “from,” and Donato, a personal name from Latin Donatus, “given” or “gifted.” In practice it means “of Donato” or “Donato’s family,” and was originally used to identify someone by their father or another male ancestor named Donato. The name Donato was popular in Italy because of its Christian associations with the idea of being “given” to God or as a gift from God.
History
The surname is most closely associated with Italian-speaking regions and later with Italian diaspora communities, especially in the United States. As with many Italian surnames, the prefixed form Di- often became fixed as part of the family name when names were standardized in records. In American usage it is often written as DiDonato, though spacing and capitalization can vary in older documents and family records.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The base name Donato is cognate with the English word “donate,” both ultimately tracing back to the Latin idea of giving.