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My surname: Italian: from the personal name Gentile, a continuation of Late Latin Gentilis, from Latin gens (genitive gentis) ‘tribe, family, stock’, meaning ‘of the same stock’ and then ‘non-Christian, pagan’; as a medieval name it was an omen or well-wishing name with the sense ‘noble, courteous’, also ‘delicate, charming, graceful’ (Italian gentile). In some cases the surname may have arisen from a nickname, sometimes possibly ironical, from the same word.
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