Ferrari
An Italian surname that most often began as a name for a blacksmith or horse-shoer.
The #4,364 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,925 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ferrari is the plural form of the Italian word ferraro or fabbro ferraio, meaning a blacksmith or ironworker, from Latin ferrum, “iron.” As a surname, it originally identified a person who worked with iron or shoes for horses. The related Latin occupational form ferrarius could also mean “smith” or “ironworker.”
History
Ferrari is one of the most common surnames in Italy, especially in the north, and it spread widely through Italian migration. In older records it appears alongside other occupational bynames and was sometimes used in plural family form, reflecting the common Italian practice of surname formation. The name is well known today through many notable bearers, including the racing-driver family and the Ferrari automobile brand, though the surname itself is much older than either.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Ferrari is one of the classic Italian surname types built from a trade, much like Smith in English.
From the historical record
“Vocabolario de nomi propri fustantivi, compilato da Cl. Ermanno Ferrari. {Dizionario delta lingua italiana, vol VII.) Padova, 1830. Ensayo historico etimologico filologico sobre los apellidos”
— Dictionnaire des noms (French surnames)