By Joe Cannavo

This month's surname column continues with surnames that start with the letter "C," but with a slightly different twist. Since October is the month that Italian-Americans celebrate Columbus Day and it is the month officially recognized as Italian Heritage Month, this month's column features an array of given names and surnames derived from Christopher Columbus, in Italian Cristoforo Columbo.

The English rendition of Colombo, Columbus, is actually as it would have been written in ancient Rome. The word Columbus means dove in Latin. Because the Latin – us ending becomes –o in Italian, his Italian name becomes Colombo and found on any Italian legal document bearing his name.

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Source: http://italianamericanherald.com/