Vigano Surname in Italy

The surnames Vigano and Viganò are typical of the area covering the provinces of Milan, Varese, Como, Lecco, and Bergamo. They likely originate from local place names: Viganò in the Lecchese area and Vigano San Martino in the Bergamasco, with the surname Vigani almost certainly linked to the latter. The name Viganò derives from the Latin plural genitive 'vicanorum', meaning 'of the inhabitants of the vicus', referring to a rural community already present in Roman and pre-Roman times. This term evolved through forms like Vicanore and Viganore to the modern Viganò, originally denoting land collectively held by the vicani. The surname is documented as early as the 1600s, including figures such as Joannes Franciscus Vigani in Switzerland.