Morgante

From the name of the eponymous character of the epic poem Morgante (1478) written by the Italian poet Luigi Pulci (1432-1484). In the poem, Morgante is a giant who is converted to Christianity by the knight Orlando and subsequently becomes his loyal follower.

Pulci was likely inspired by the Arthurian legends and as such may have created the name as a masculine form of Morgana, which is the Italian form of Morgan 2. Alternatively, he may have derived the name from the Old French adjective morgant (also found spelled as morjant) meaning "proud, haughty", which is a variant of the Old French adjective mordant, itself ultimately derived from the Old French verb mordre meaning "to bite". Also compare the noun morgue meaning "arrogance, haughty attitude".

A known real-life bearer of this name was Morgante Baglioni (died in July 1502), a member of the Baglioni family, which was a noble family that ruled the city of Perugia in the 15th and 16th century.