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Updated January 17, 2024

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Family name origins & meanings

  • Italian : from the personal name Colombo, from Latin Colombus, Colomba meaning ‘dove’, a personal name favored by early Christians because the dove was considered to be the symbol of the Holy Spirit. In some cases the name may have arisen as a nickname for a gentle, mild-mannered person, or as a metonymic occupational name for a keeper of doves (Latin columbus ‘dove’).

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