Comments for the name Umberto

Famous Italian medievalist, philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco bears this name. He is most known in America as a novelist and has written among many other novels, "The Name of the Rose" and "Foucault's Pendulum."

Two kings of Italy bore this name: Umberto I di Savoia (1844-1900), who reigned 1878-1900, and Umberto II, his grandson, who reigned just a month in 1946.

In Italy Umberto was overused in the first years of the 20th century: it was the most popular name in Rome in 1901, the 4th in 1906 (behind Mario, Giuseppe and Giovanni), the 5th in 1911 (behind Mario, Giuseppe, Luigi and Alfredo).

The pronunciation is oom-BERR-taw.

Correction, it is actually pronounced:

Um-Behr-Toe

"U" as in the "U" in "Rude". "Ber" being pronounced much like "Bear", be sure to roll the "R". "To" simply as written, "Toe". [noted -ed]

Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916) was an Italian Futurist painter, sculptor (the only one in the movement) and art theorist.