Motta
A surname usually linked to places named for a hill or mound, especially in Italian and related Romance areas.
The #7,929 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 73,986 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Motta is most often explained as a locational surname from Italian motta, meaning a mound, hill, or raised piece of ground. The word is related to a Romance term ultimately tied to Latin roots for a heap or earthen rise, and it was commonly used in place-names. As a surname, it likely began as an identifier for someone who came from a place called Motta or lived near such a feature.
History
The surname is especially associated with Italy and with Italian-speaking communities abroad. It appears in many local and place-name forms across northern Italy and elsewhere in Romance Europe, which makes it one of several surnames that can have multiple local origins rather than one single family line. In some cases it may also reflect a toponymic habitational name from towns or villages called La Motta, Motta, or similar.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because motta is a place-word rather than a rare personal name, unrelated families with the surname Motta can spring from different towns or districts.
From the historical record
“Sullae 604. "i" Sulla motta 348. Sullo 531. SuUy 255. *Sulmona 435. Sulpicius 675. Sultanini 283.”
— Die Personennamen, insbesondere die Familiennamen