The Italian surname blacks originates from the nickname of an ancestor and derives from the Latin adjective niger, meaning “dark color”. The nickname may refer to skin color, hair ou beard of an ancestor.
Other theories suggest that this family name may be derived from medieval name Nero, which in turn would have originated from names such as Guarnier ou Ranieri.
Finally, some records say that the surname Neri may have originated from a Christian cult, linked to devotees of Saint Philip Neri (1515-95), Italian Catholic saint known as the “saint of joy”.
Despite being pan-Italian, that is, found throughout Italy, this surname prevails in the regions north-central part of the country.
Popularity
According to the Italian website Cognomix, there are approximately 10.223 Neri families in Italy. The three regions with the most Neri families are Emilia Romagna and Lombardy, with 2818 occurrences, Toscana, with 2345, and the Lazio, with 1193.
The surname Neri is the 13th most popular in the Emilia-Romagna region, the 5th in province of Siena (Tuscany region) and the most popular in the city of Fabro, located in the province of Terni, Umbria region.
Neri family in Brazil
In Brazil, the most common variations are Neres, blacks, Neri, Nery e Don't worry. There are references to the family name since the 18th century, when French Jacques Nery settled in São João del Rei, Minas Gerais, around 1770.
Another name known in historical records is that of Filipe Néri Teixeira, aggregate captain of Campinas, São Paulo, in 1788, and one of the first planters of the city.
Since the end of 19st century, there are records of the arrival of Portuguese, Spanish and Italians, mainly Neres (more common among the Portuguese) and Neri (originating on the Italian Peninsula).
Among Italians, Joseph Neri landed in Santos in 1883, coming from Genova aboard the Habsburg ship.
Biographies
Among the personalities with this surname or one of its variants is Ana Neri (1814-80), pioneer of nursing in Brazil.
Known as “mother of Brazilians”, Ana Néri was born in the city of Cachoeira, in Bahia, on December 13, 1814. She came to work as a nurse with the battalion of volunteers in the Paraguay WarIn 1865.
Upon his return to his hometown, the imperial government granted him the General Campaign Medal and First class Humanitarian Medal.
She died on May 20, 1880 in Rio de Janeiro, aged 65. In her honor, Anna Nery was named the first Brazilian official nursing school of high standard.
Neri in football and journalism
The soccer player David Neres, 25 years old, also carries one of the surname variants. The player started at São Paulo, where he won several titles in the Under-20 category, including the Copa Libertadores in 2016.
Afterwards he was sold to Ajax, from the Netherlands, passed through Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukrainian football team, and since June this year, with the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine, started playing in Benfica, from Portugal. For the Brazil National Team, he was Copa América champion in 2019.
Another personality in the family is the journalist, speaker and podcasts Natuza Nery, 45 years old, who is currently political commentator in the channel Globonews.
Born on April 28, 1977 in São Paulo, Natuza worked at the news agency Reuters, in the newspaper Folha de São Paulo and was one of “Jô’s Girls”, weekly chart of the Jo Soares on TV Globo, in which female journalists commented political events.
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