Grimaldi

Grimaldi is an Italian surname most prominently associated with a long-standing noble dynasty that ruled Monaco. The name is of Italian origin, linked to medieval personal names such as Grimaldo and Grimoald, and became connected with the Genoese noble house known as the House of Grimaldi. In popular tradition, Francesco Grimaldi, a soldier and monk, is said to have seized the fortress of Monaco in 1297, establishing the family’s rule over the town and later the principality.

Notable bearers include Joseph Grimaldi (1778–1837), an English stage clown who helped shape modern clowning; Francisco Grimaldi, a 17th‑century Italian physicist who conducted early studies of light diffraction; and members of the Monaco Grimaldi dynasty, including Rainier III (Prince of Monaco, 1949–2005) and Princess Grace (Grace Kelly, the American actress who became Princess of Monaco).

Outside nobility, the name appears in geography and business. Grimaldi, Calabria, is a comune in southern Italy. Grimaldi's Pizzeria, founded in Brooklyn, New York, is a restaurant chain known for coal-fired brick-oven pizza, associated with founder Patsy Grimaldi.