Vito is an
Italian name
A name in the Italian language consists of a given name () and a surname (); in most contexts, the given name is written before the surname, although in official documents, the surname may be written before the given name or names.
Italian names, ...
that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "
life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
".
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 (, ) is an old given name of Slavic origin.
In various Slavic languages, ''mir'' means "peace, world, prestige". The ''vit'' is also found in the name of the Slavic deity Svetovit.
Feminine forms include Vitomira and Witomira. Nickname ...
" that is shortened to "Vito", but has a different etymology.
The name "Vito" is sometimes confused with the German name "
Wido," which is derived from Ancient Germanic.
People
People with this name include:
*
San Vito dei Normanni
San Vito dei Normanni ( Sanvitese: ), historically known as San Vito degli Schiavoni 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 s ...
, Saint Vito Protector of the Normans at sea, since medieval times
*
Vito R. Bertoldo
Vito Rocco Bertoldo (December 1, 1916 – July 23, 1966) was a United States Army soldier. A veteran of World War II, he was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for his actions near Hatten, Bas-Rhin, Hatten, France, in January 1945.
Bertoldo was ...
, American Medal of Honor recipient
*
Vito Dimitrijević
Vitomir Dimitrijević (born 11 December 1948) is a Serbian retired 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
Vito Dumas (Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 26, 1900 – March 28, 1965) was a prominent Argentine solo sailor and adventurer, known for his remarkable achievements in long-distance single-handed sailing. Dumas excelled in various fields, incl ...
, 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 ''American Mafia, mafioso'' and the leader of the Genovese crime family in New York City. A childhood friend and criminal associate of Lucky Luciano, Genovese ...
, Italian-American mob boss
*
Vito LoGrasso, American professional wrestler
*
Vito Mannone
Vito Mannone (born 2 March 1988) is an Italian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Ligue 1 club Lille OSC, Lille.
Born in Desio, Mannone was a member of Atalanta B.C., At ...
, Italian footballer
*
Vincent "Don Vito" Margera, actor and TV personality
*
Vito Molinari
Vito Molinari (6 November 1929 – 18 February 2025) was an Italian stage and film director.
Life and career
Born in Sestri Levante on 6 November 1929, Molinari made his debut as a film director in 1954 with his first production on the televisi ...
(1929–2025), Italian stage and film director
*
Vito Nikolić, Montenegrin poet
*
Vito Positano
Vittorio "Vito" Positano, (2 October 1833 – 26 November 1886) was an Italian diplomat known for saving the Bulgarian capital city of Sofia from burning during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).
Biography
Positano was born in the Southern It ...
, 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 (; 21 February 1946 – 23 December 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 in ...
(1946–2013), Canadian mobster
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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 Ti ...
, American activist
*
Vito Schlickmann
Vito Schlickmann (28 December 1928 – 14 February 2023) was a Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate.
Schlickmann was born in Brazil and was ordained to the priesthood in 1954. He served as titular bishop of ''Gurza'' and as auxiliary bishop of the ...
(1928-2023), Brazilian Roman Catholic prelate
*
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 theatre, Broadway, in films, and later on television, primarily from th ...
(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 ...
, former professional wrestler and podcast personality
*
Victor Vito (rugby player)
Victor Vasefanua Junior Vito (born 27 March 1987) is a retired New Zealand 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 Roman Empire, imperial times, and briefly held the Empire itself in AD 69. The first of this gens to obtain the Roman consul, consulship was Aulus Vitellius (consul 32), ...
, ancient Roman family
Fictional characters
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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 Godfath ...
, titular character of the novel ''The Godfather''
*
Vito Spatafore
This is a list of characters from the HBO series ''The Sopranos'', and its prequel film ''The Many Saints of Newark.''
Main characters Cast table
Main character biographies Tony Soprano
Jennifer Melfi
Carmela Soprano
Christopher Moltisanti ...
, ''The Sopranos'' character
*
Vito Scaletta
''Mafia II'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by 2K Czech and published by 2K (company), 2K. It was released on 24 August 2010 for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360. The game is a standalone sequel to 2002's ''Mafia (video game), Maf ...
, the protagonist of the game ''Mafia II'' and one of the main characters of ''Mafia III''
See also
References
{{given name
Italian masculine given names
Masculine given names