Vito is an
Italian name
A name in the Italian language consists of a given name ( it, nome), and a surname (); in most contexts, the given name is written before the surname. (In official documents, the Western surname may be written before the given name or names.)
Ital ...
that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "
life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
".
It is a modern form of the Latin name
Vitus
Vitus is a Latin given name meaning lively and may refer to:
*Saint Vitus (c. 290 – c. 303), a Christian martyr
*Vitus of Hungary (died 1297), beatified friar
*Vitus (bicycles), a French bicycle manufacturer
* ''Vitus'' (film), a 2006 Swiss film ...
, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or
Saint Vitus
Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical D ...
, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern Italian folklore.
There is also a Slavic name "
Vitomir
Vitomir ( pl, Witomir, sr, Витомир) is an old given name of Slavic origin.
The word is derived from two Proto-Slavic elements: ''vito'' which means "to rule" and ''mir'' which means "peace, world, prestige". The ''vit'' is also found in ...
" that is shortened to "Vito", but has a different etymology.
The name "Vito" is sometimes confused with the German name "
Wido
Guido is a given name Latinised from the Old High German name Wido. It originated in Medieval Italy. Guido later became a male first name in Austria, Germany, the Low Countries, Scandinavia, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and Switzerland. The me ...
," which is derived from Ancient Germanic.
People
People with this name include:
*
San Vito dei Normanni
San Vito dei Normanni ( Sanvitese: ) is an Italian town of 19,947 inhabitants of the province of Brindisi in Apulia. The inhabitants are called Sanvitesi (or Santuvitisi in dialect) and the town is sometimes referred to as San Vito.
Physical geog ...
, Saint Vito Protector of the Normans at sea, since medieval times
*
Vito F. Cinfio, Italian-American Structural Engineer
*
Vito R. Bertoldo, American Medal of Honor recipient
* Vitomir Dimitrijević, Vito Dimitrijević, a Yugoslavian former professional footballer
* Vito Dumas, Argentine sailor and travel-writer, who sailed solo around the world
* Vito Fossella, American politician from New York
* Vito Genovese, Italian-American mob boss
* Vito LoGrasso, American professional wrestler
* Vito Mannone, Italian footballer
* Vincent Margera, Vincent "Don Vito" Margera, actor and TV personality
* Vito Nikolić, Montenegrin poet
* Vito Positano, Italian diplomat
* Vito Postiglione, Italian auto racing driver
* Vito Rizzuto (1946–2013), Canadian mobster
* Vito Russo, American activist
* Vito Scotti (1918-1996), American director
* Vito Thomaselli, former professional wrestler and podcast personality
* Victor Vito (rugby player), New Zealand rugby union and rugby sevens player
* Vitellia gens, ancient Roman family
* Vito Blandi, American Football Hall of Famer
Fictional characters
* Vito Corleone, titular character of the novel ''The Godfather''
* Vito O'Malley, supporting character in the video game series ''Delicious (video game series), Delicious''
** Vito Napoli, namesake of Vito O'Malley and minor character in the ''Delicious'' series
* Vito Spatafore, ''The Sopranos'' character
* Vito Scaletta, the protagonist of the game ''Mafia II'' and one of the main characters of ''Mafia III''
* Angela Vito, the antagonist from the Korean Novel & Manwha ''Angelic Lady''
* VITO, Very Important Top Officer, a way to describe a key decision maker at a large organization
See also
References
{{given name
Italian masculine given names