The successive waves of German invasion that swept over Italy, leaving their record in the name of one of its fairest provinces, while they added a few German words to the language, left a much larger number of German patronymics in the names of its families. The Christian names borne by well-known Italians, such as _Alberto, Arnolfo, Bernardo, Carlo, Enrico, Federigo_ (Frederic), _Francesco, Leonardo, Luigi, Ludovico, Mainardo, Odoardo_ (Edward), _Ridolphi, Sinibaldo, Ugo_ (Hugo or Hugh), _Onofrio_ (Humphrey), all of German origin, sufficiently attest this to have been the case. And I think we shall be warranted in assuming, as in the case of France, that if this be the case with Christian names, it cannot be essentially different with regard to surnames. But inasmuch as I have not had the same opportunity of collating and examining the mass of Italian surnames that I have had in the case of those of France, I propose to shape the comparison into a rather different form, and, without departing from its etymological purpose, to endeavour to give it something of an ethnical interest as well. This admixture of German blood could not fail to have an influence--and, we can hardly doubt, an invigorating influence--upon the character of the softer and more receptive Italian race. It may not then be without interest--though we need not attach more importance to the result than it deserves--to endeavour to trace the result of that admixture in the names of illustrious Italians. For it is somewhat remarkable how many of the men most distinguished in the council and in the field, in science, literature, and in art, bear names which testify to a German origin. And we are even able, in certain cases, to indicate with a fair amount of probability the particular race of Germans from whom these names may be taken to be derived. The rule laid down by Max Müller (_Science of Language_) that words in Italian beginning with _gua_, _gue_, _gui_, may be taken to be pretty certainly of German origin, holds good also of Italian names. Now this form of _gua_, _gue_, _gui_ represents the prefix of _g_ before _w_, which was a special characteristic of the Franks, as it is still of their descendants, the French, in such names as Guillaume (=Gwillaume) for Wilhelm or William. In some cases, though more rarely, this prefix of _g_, in accordance with a High German tendency, becomes a hard _c_ and is represented by _q_, as in _Queringi_ and perhaps _Quirini_. Such names then as _Gualdo_, _Guardi_, _Guido_, _Guicciardini_, _Guarnerius_, may be taken as certainly of German, and I think, more especially of Frankish origin.