Leonardo da Vinci didn’t have a last name in the way we think of one today. “Da Vinci” just meant “from Vinci,” the small Tuscan town where he was born in 1452.
His full name was Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci, which basically translates to “Leonardo, son of Piero from Vinci.” The “da Vinci” part wasn’t a surname. It was a geographic label, and it stuck.
He was born out of wedlock to a notary father and a lower-class mother. At the time, that gave him a bit more flexibility. He wasn’t locked into a traditional career path or expected to follow in anyone’s footsteps.
No one’s completely sure where he was born. Some say it was the hamlet of Anchiano, others suggest Florence, where his father owned property.
What we do know is this: Leonardo became one of the most influential thinkers of his time. Painter, engineer, inventor, architect, scientist—he did it all. The Mona Lisa, The Last Supper, and dozens of notebooks packed with ideas came from a man without a formal last name.
In the end, he became known simply as “da Vinci.” Just a place name. But it’s one the world will never forget.
— Sule
Courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1094073649287902&set=gm.10160750707666783&idorvanity=47092341782
