Spinelli
An Italian surname likely linked to a thorny shrub or bramble, or to a place-name built from the same idea.
The #6,384 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,904 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Spinelli is an Italian surname built on the root spin- meaning “thorn” or “spine,” ultimately from Latin spina. In surname use, it is usually taken as a descriptive or topographic name: someone living by thorn bushes, rough scrub, or a similarly spiny place, rather than from the word for a jewel. The ending -elli may be a diminutive or pluralized family form, and older writers also connect it with a small thorny bush or bramble.
History
The name is established in Italy and has spread widely through Italian migration, especially to the Americas in the 19th and 20th centuries. Older surname collections sometimes group it with other spin- names and gloss it in terms of thorny vegetation or related place-forms. It remains a fairly recognizable Italian surname today, with bearers in both Italy and the Italian diaspora.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because it sounds like the English word "spinel," people sometimes assume a gemstone connection, but the surname is generally about thorns, not jewelry.
From the historical record
“^Allem.). Spinelli. Petit buisson épiueux (Ital.). Spinner. Fiieur (Allem ).”
— Dictionnaire des noms (French surnames)