Skip to main content

Updated June 9, 2019

Family name origins & meanings

  • Italian : nickname for a stubborn, malicious, or treacherous person, from malus (feminine mala) ‘bad’, ‘evil’ + testa ‘head’.
  • The Malatestas were a noble family who ruled Rimini during the Italian Renaissance. Sigismondo Malatesta (1417–68) is often regarded as the prototype of an Italian Renaissance prince. Ercole Malatesta was a soldier in the service of Venice in the 16th century; in 1582, as commander of the guard in Rethimno (Crete), he led an attack on the Turks in the Peloponnese.

Join the Family

Your partner in parenting from baby name inspiration to college planning.

Subscribe