The Galvani surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 215 people carried this name — #86,645 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,428,600 people counted. That is up 4% from 207 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Galvani surname
From Italian Galvani, from Galvano + -i (“forming surnames”), from galba (“larva, worm, fatty”), from Gaulish of uncertain meaning.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Galvani» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 355 people named Galvani live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 228 people named Galvani.
58 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 21 départements, most often Guadeloupe.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
21 people named Galvani live in Switzerland.
They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Basel-Landschaft.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
Who carried it
People named Galvani,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Pelagio Galvani 1165–1230 · Catholic priest -
Luigi Galvani 1737–1798 · naturalist -
Lucia Galeazzi Galvani 1743–1790 · biologist -
Marianna Brighenti 1808–1883 · actor -
Maria Galvani d. 1843 · editorial assistant
-
Alessandro Galvani 1556–1616 · jurist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Galvani.
- Gally 254 · U.S. census
- Galmiche 153 · U.S. census
- Galon 261 · U.S. census
- Galpin 806 · U.S. census
- Galus 478 · U.S. census
- Galvan 53,822 · U.S. census
- Galves 466 · U.S. census
- Galvez 20,425 · U.S. census
- Galvin 11,882 · U.S. census
- Galy 140 · U.S. census
- Gama 4,513 · U.S. census
- Gamache 4,082 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Galvani is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.