Rossetti
An Italian surname most likely built from a personal name meaning “little red one” or from a diminutive form of Rossi.
The #9,038 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 85,407 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Rossetti is an Italian surname, and its form points to a diminutive or pluralized nickname built on rosso, meaning “red.” In surname formation, this often refers to someone with red hair, a ruddy complexion, or a family descended from a man with that nickname. It is also plausible as a related form of Rossi, one of the most common Italian surnames.
History
The name is strongly associated with Italy and is especially familiar in English from the Rossetti family of artists and writers, including Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Christina Rossetti. The family’s prominence helped make the surname widely recognized outside Italy in the 19th century. In the United States it remains relatively uncommon but is instantly identifiable because of that literary and artistic association.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The best-known Rossettis belong to the Rossetti family, which became central to the Pre-Raphaelite movement in Victorian England.
From the historical record
“of Elocution at the Royal Academy of Music, &*c. With Selections from I udyard Kipling, Thomas Hardy, R. L. Stevenson, Seton Merriman, H. G. Wells, Christina Rossetti, Anthony Hope, Austin Dobson, Maurice Hewlett, Conan Doyle, <5^c. <5r"c. Extra crown 8vo, 704 pp. Cloth, 35. 6d., and thin paper edition in cloth…”
— Family Names and their StoryNotable people named Rossetti
- Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828–1882)
- Christina Rossetti (1830–1894)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.