Palladino
An Italian surname usually linked to the word for a “Palatine” or someone associated with a palace or court.
The #8,042 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 75,029 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Palladino is an Italian surname built on the word paladino, which in Italian can mean a Palatine or, more broadly, someone connected with a court or palace. The ultimate root is Late Latin palatinus, from Palatine, the Roman hill associated with imperial power and elite residence. In some cases, surnames of this type could also have developed as descriptive bynames or through association with chivalric language, since paladino in Italian can also evoke a knightly or heroic figure.
History
The surname is especially associated with southern Italy, where many hereditary surnames formed from occupational, descriptive, or status-based nicknames. Like many Italian surnames ending in -ino, it may have begun as a diminutive or relational form before becoming fixed as a family name. It is now found in Italy and in Italian diaspora communities, especially in the Americas.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname sits close to the English word paladin, which also goes back to the same Latin Palatine root.