# The Da Vinci Contention - Was it (and if not, is it now) his surname?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-da-vinci-contention-was-it-and-if-not-is-it-now-his-surname/688902>\
**Category:** Great Debates\
**Created:** [May 21, 2014, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-da-vinci-contention-was-it-and-if-not-is-it-now-his-surname/688902 "2014-05-21T06:12:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-da-vinci-contention-was-it-and-if-not-is-it-now-his-surname/688902/41 "2014-05-23T18:08:10Z")

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> [@UDS](#):
>
> If people wanted to call him the equivalent of “that guy from Vinci”, I imagine that would be something like “il vincese”.

It’s not an exclusive proposition, both forms exist as family names.

> [@Gotterfunken](#):
>
> I can’t really think of any other Renaissance artists named “Leonardo,” so there’s little risk of confusion if one leaves out the patronymic of “da Vinci”

TOPOnymic. The patronymic part was the “de ser Piero”, lit. “master Peter’s son” or “Sir Peter’s son”.

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**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\
**Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-da-vinci-contention-was-it-and-if-not-is-it-now-his-surname/688902/42 "2014-05-23T18:14:18Z")

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You can call him Leo, or you can call him Nardo…

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