Is it possible to discern between a Spanish last name and an Italian last name?

Question

I am just curious, since they sound and are spelled similar. For example, Desi Arnez' most famous role was "Ricky Ricardo." I saw an Italian's last name being "Picardo." The pronounciation of the names may be different, but they both could be Italian OR Spanish.

Answer 1

You can "usually" tell the difference, but there are SO MANY cases of shared names between the two groups. And the, depending on the region of either country, it can get even more complicated. (For example, forget whatever rules you cooked up if you include Catalan names come into it ..OK, OK, I know they often don't call themselves Spanish - and don't even think of Basques.)

The case you cite is more or less correct, even though "Picardo" is rarer in Spanish. There are some "general" (but iffy) rules.

Spanish names:
Rarely have double consonants, e.g., Risotti, Puccini
Rarely end in "i"
Never begin with "S" followed by a consonant, e.g., "Spano"
Rarely have tripthongs e.g., "Fraioli"
Rarely contract e.g., D'antoni
Rarely use the "Di" e.g., "DiBenedetto" (In Spanish it's "De")

Answer 2

That depends. Since both languages have a common origin , it is sometimes difficult, but in some cases the difference is clear, like Pazolli, Corleone, Pizzi, Nero, Berlusconi, Bertoni, Roncalli, Verdi, Puccini, Luciani, Giotto, Guareschi, Pacelli

Answer 3

Jat's answer is super - no more to say.