Torregiani

This most interesting and unusual name, of Italian origin, has as its first element the Italian "toro" meaning "bull", an Italian (and Spanish) nickname for a lusty person or a metonymic occupational name for a tender of bulls. This initial element may also have been attributed to a powerfully built or strong person. All of these originate from the Italian and Spanish word "toro", bull. The second element derives from that group of Italian names which form part of the "John Tribe" i.e. names originating from John, which appears as "Giovanni" in Italian. Thus the name appears to be a curious mixture of these two elements. The "-i" ending signifies that the name is of Northern Italian origin and represents a masculine plural form, the bearer being "one of" a certain family. Ermelinda Lisa, daughter of Benedetto and Barbara Torregiani, was born on April 27th, 1861 at Cogruzza, Reggio Emilia, Italy. A Coat of Arms was granted to a family of the name in Florence, Italy, and depicts a gold tower, with two six pointed gold stars at the side and one in chief, on a blue shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Teresa Maria Torreggiani which was dated October 11th 1860, witness at the christening of her son Luigi, at Cogruzzo, Reggio Emilia, Italy, during the reign of Pope Pius 1X, 1846 - 1878. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.