Frequency: (245)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Italian and Jewish (Sephardic): nickname or occupational name for a seer, from Italian, Spanish profeta ‘prophet’.
GIVEN NAMES: Italian 13%. Salvatore (3), Angelo, Attilio, Ermanno, Giuseppe, Pietro, Renzo, Umberto.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
