This Italian and Spanish surname of ARCOLEO was of two-fold origin. It was an occupational name for a bowman or a maker of arrows, rendered in medieval documents in the Latin form ARCUS. It was also a topographic name for someone who lived by the arch of a bridge. The name has numerous variant spellings which include ARCHI, DELL'ARCO, ARCOS, DARCHE, DESARCHE, ARCHETTO, ARCHETTI and ARCOLI. The origins of Italian surnames are not clear, and much work remains to be done on medieval Italian records. It seems that fixed bynames, in some cases hereditary, were in use in the Venetian Republic by the end of the 10th century. The typical Italian surname endings are 'i' and 'o', the former being characteristic of northern Italy. The singular form 'o' is more typical of southern Italy.