Esposito


Esposito is a common Italian surname. It ranks fourth among the most widespread surnames in Italy. Although it is frequent throughout the country, it is especially prevalent in the Campania region and, most specifically, in the Naples area.

Etymology and history

, this surname is thought to derive from Latin expositus, which is the past participle of the Latin verb exponere and literally means "placed outside", "exposed". In accordance with the original Latin form, the name is correctly pronounced stressing the antepenultimate syllable ; however, it is common among English-speakers to mispronounce it as , placing the stress on the penultimate.
Italian tradition claims that the surname was given to foundlings who were abandoned or given up for adoption and handed over to an orphanage. They were called espositi because they would get abandoned and "exposed" in a public place. Some orphanages maintained a so-called Ruota degli esposti where abandoned children could be placed. After the unification of Italy, laws were introduced forbidding the practice of giving surnames that reflected a child's origins. A crude meaning is bastard or out of wedlock child.
As a surname, Esposito has produced a number of variants throughout modern Italy, such as D'Esposito, Degli Esposti, Esposti, Esposto, Sposito, etc. Other variants are also found in the Spanish-speaking world, for example Espósito and Expósito.

Notable people