Abstract

This paper explores the extent to which suffixes in Italian family names differ from their use in the Italian lexicon. On the grounds of the existing onomastic literature, it provides a classification of suffixes in Italian family names, distinguishing between "lexical" and "onimic" formatives. In a case study, 110 family names apparently deriving from a lexical base Mazza "club" are analyzed both from a synchronic and a diachronic point of view; in particular, this analysis illustrates the notion of "schema" in the suffixation of family names.