Malatesti Name Meaning, Origin and Heraldry

Heraldry is personal: arms associated with the Malatesta surname were borne by specific families, and sharing the name does not mean sharing the blazon.

What Malatesti means

Not every Malatesti is related, but the name itself grew out of Malatesta. The family name meaning is “Bad head, stubborn”, the same as for Malatesta.

Malatesti and Malatesta differ only in the final vowel; Italian surnames often appear in singular and plural versions. Spellings drifted because names were written down by ear in parish books, tax rolls and passenger lists.

Get the complete Malatesti report, with a museum-style coat of arms.