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 Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for Cell growth, growth, reaction to Stimu ...
".
It is a modern form of the Latin name
Vitus, 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 ...
, 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 Latinisation of names, 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 an ...
," 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
*
Vito Dimitrijević
Vitomir Dimitrijević (born 11 December 1948) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League, making 59 appearances for the New York Cosmos and the Los Angeles A ...
, a Yugoslavian former professional footballer
*
Vito Dumas, Argentine sailor and travel-writer, who sailed solo around the world
*
Vito Fossella
Vito John Fossella Jr. (born March 9, 1965) is an American politician serving as the Staten Island Borough President since 2022. A member of the Republican Party, Fossella previously represented the state's 13th congressional district in the U ...
, American politician from New York
*
Vito Genovese
Vito Genovese (; November 21, 1897 – February 14, 1969) was an Italian-born American mobster who mainly operated in the United States. Genovese rose to power during Prohibition as an enforcer in the American Mafia. A long-time associate and chi ...
, Italian-American mob boss
*
Vito LoGrasso
Vito Joseph LoGrasso (born June 18, 1964) is an American actor and professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their " developmental te ...
, American professional wrestler
*
Vito Mannone
Vito Mannone (born 2 March 1988) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Lorient. He has represented Italy at U21 level. Previously Mannone played for Arsenal, Barnsley, Hull City, Sunderland, Reading ...
, Italian footballer
*
Vincent "Don Vito" Margera, actor and TV personality
*
Vito Nikolić
Vitomir "Vito" Nikolić ( sh-Cyrl, Витомир "Вито" Николић; 27 April 1934 – 10 September 1994) was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin poet and journalist from Nikšić. His work is often compared to that of Sergey Yesenin, as he is o ...
, Montenegrin poet
*
Vito Positano, Italian diplomat
*
Vito Postiglione
Vito Postiglione (born 28 February 1977 in Potenza) is an Italian racing driver.
Racing career
Postiglione won the Italian Renault Mégane Winter Trophy in 1998. He then finished runner-up in the main series in 1999. He went one better, winnin ...
, Italian auto racing driver
*
Vito Rizzuto
Vito Rizzuto (; February 21, 1946 – December 23, 2013), also known as "Montreal's Teflon Don", was an Italian-Canadian crime boss alleged to be the leader of the Sicilian Mafia in Canada. He headed the notorious Rizzuto crime family based ...
(1946–2013), Canadian mobster
*
Vito Russo
Vito Russo (July 11, 1946 – November 7, 1990) was an American LGBT activist, film historian, and author. He is best remembered as the author of the book '' The Celluloid Closet'' (1981, revised edition 1987), described in ''The New York Tim ...
, American activist
*
Vito Scotti
Vito Giusto Scozzari (January 26, 1918 – June 5, 1996), also known as Vito Scotti, was an American character actor who played both dramatic and comedy roles on Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from the late 1930s to the ...
(1918-1996), American director
*
Vito Thomaselli
The Thomaselli Brothers are the professional wrestling stable that consists of real life brothers Pauly Thomaselli (Brandon Thomas), Vito Thomaselli (Kent Thomas), and storyline brother Sal Thomaselli (Sal Takavoli). Kent Thomas and Sal Takavoli a ...
, former professional wrestler and podcast personality
*
Victor Vito (rugby player)
Victor Vasefanua Junior Vito (born 27 March 1987) is a New Zealand former rugby player and All Black who last played blindside flanker for French team La Rochelle. He was a star of New Zealand Sevens, and captained the 2006 New Zealand Under ...
, New Zealand rugby union and rugby sevens player
*
Vitellia gens
The gens Vitellia was a family of ancient Rome, which rose from obscurity in imperial times, and briefly held the Empire itself in AD 69. The first of this gens to obtain the consulship was Aulus Vitellius, uncle of the emperor Vitellius, in AD 3 ...
, ancient Roman family
*
Vito Blandi
Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life".
It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern I ...
, American Football Hall of Famer
Fictional characters
*
Vito Corleone
Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' and in the first two of Francis Ford Coppola's film trilogy. Vito is originally portrayed by Marlon Brando in the 1972 film ''The Godfathe ...
, titular character of the novel ''The Godfather''
* Vito O'Malley, supporting character in the video game series ''
Delicious''
** Vito Napoli, namesake of Vito O'Malley and minor character in the ''Delicious'' series
*
Vito Spatafore
This is a list of fictional characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', its video game '' The Sopranos: Road to Respect'' and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.''
Main characters Cast table
Main character biographies Tony Sopran ...
, ''The Sopranos'' character
*
Vito Scaletta, the protagonist of the game ''Mafia II'' and one of the main characters of ''Mafia III''
*
Angela Vito
Angela may refer to:
Places
* Angela, Montana
* Angela Lake, in Volusia County, Florida
* Lake Angela, in Lyon Township, Oakland County, Michigan
* Lake Angela, the reservoir impounded by the source dam of the South Yuba River
Fiction
* Angel ...
, 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
