Conti
An Italian surname most often understood as meaning “count” or “earl,” though in some cases it may also point to a place-name or older nickname sense.
The #3,397 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,332 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Conti is the Italian plural form of conte, meaning “count” or “earl,” from Latin comes. As a surname, it was probably used for someone connected with a count’s household or service, or as a status-based nickname for someone thought to be of noble bearing. Some older writers also suggested a locational origin in France from Conty in the Somme, but the Italian aristocratic/title-based explanation is the standard one.
History
The name is long established in Italy and is common there as both a surname and, in historical records, a family designation. It also appears in medieval and later French and English contexts, where it could be written in forms such as Conte or Conti. Because the word is so close to a social title, older surname writers sometimes debated whether a particular family was named for rank, service, or place of origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root that lies behind Conti also gave English the word “count.”
From the historical record
“was decidedly popular. In the Italian dress of Amerigo it gav« title to the great western conti- nent. The United SUtea has restored the feminine form in America, not an uncommon font- name for girls. I see in the Boston Directory, ' America Anderson,”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances