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Greetings,
Here's what we found out about your name "Dianora Lisabetta Vittori di Cellini." Since we started working on this letter we've gotten a lot of new information, which is why it's taken so long for us to get it to you.
We were able to confirm the evidence for every element of your name in 16th-century Italy. In addition to the citation from the Decameron, we found "Dianora" in a list of names from a list of Florentine tax records from 1427. (1) This is important because not all the names of characters in the Decameron were used by real people. "Lisabetta" is listed in another list of Italian women's names. (2)
"Vittori" originally meant "of or belonging to Vittorio". It would originally have been used by Vittorio's children or by members of his household. (3)
"Cellini" is both a surname (4) and a given name (5). Both "di Cellini," meaning "belonging to Cellini," or simply "Cellini," meaning "belonging to Cellino" could be used as parts of an Italian Renaissance name. "Cellino" is a nickname for any of several Italian given names ending with -cello, like Baroncello, Pacello, etc.
The form of your name is reasonably close to some patterns of naming recorded in Renaissance Italy. Records in Florence from 1427 record names in a limited number of ways. Generally, names are recorded "first name di father," sometimes followed by "di grandfather" or a surname. You could fit this pattern with the names Dianora di Vittoro di Cellini (Dianora, daughter of Vittoro, granddaughter of Cellini) or Dianora di Vittoro Cellini (Dianora, daughter of Vittoro Cellini)
Mother's names are sometimes, but rarely, used, so it would be possible to use "Dianora di Lissabetta di Vittoro Cellini (Dianora, daughter of Lissabetta, grandaughter of Vittoro Cellini). However, this would be an example of a rarer name form.
You could combine the names in other ways as well.
A list of names from the Decameron was published by Arianna of Wynthorpe in the Pikestaff (the East Kingdom Newsletter). As we mentioned, mentioned, the "Decameron" isn't the best source for names, and there are plenty of other Italian Renaissance books which haven't been catalogued. We can find out which sources have been combed for names, and if you're interested in looking cataloging any new source, we'd be more than happy to help out in any way possible. And if there's anything we can do for you regarding your name, please let us know.
Fiametta Adimari, Evan da Collaureo, Arval D'Espas Nord, Ivanor of Sighty Crag, Tangwsytl ferch Morgant Glasvryn, and Llywellyn MacLamont all worked on researching your name.
In service,
Alan Fairfax
Academy of St. Gabriel
(1) "Online Castato of 1427," based on David Herlihy and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber, Principal Investigators, "Census and Property Survey of Florentine Dominions in the Province of Tuscany, 1427-1480." http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/catasto/overview.html
(2) "Italian Renaissance Women's Names," by Lady Rhian Lyth
http://www.panix.com/~mittle/names/italian.html
(3) De Felice, Emidio, Dizionario dei Cognomi Italiani, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1978. (4) ibid.
(5) "Online Castato."