Roma is an Italian surname, a variant of Romano, which denoted a person from the city of Rome—either a resident or someone who had made a pilgrimage there. In Calabria, it could also refer to a person from New Rome, a name for Constantinople. The name is ultimately derived from Latin Romanus, meaning "Roman."Distribution and Cultural ContextAs an Italian toponymic surname, Roma is most common in central and southern Italy, particularly in regions like Lazio and Campania. While it is a surname in Italian, it is also a unisex given name in many languages; for instance, in India it serves as another name for the goddess Lakshmi. The feminine form of the name Roman in some languages, Roma gained recognition as a feminine given name in Western cultures partly through the actress Roma Downey. However, the surname itself is distinct and reflects a geographic origin.Related NamesCognates in other Romance languages include Romà in Catalan, Rome in French, and Romão in Portuguese. In Spanish, Romero is a separate but phonetically similar surname meaning "pilgrim." Furthermore, the Dutch surnames Romeijnders and Romijnders are arguably derived from a Germanic root, adding another layer of linguistic complexity.