Why is Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa also called La Gioconda?

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Self-portrait of Leonardo da Vinci drawn in red chalk, showing an elderly man with long hair and a flowing beard, with a serious, contemplative expression. — Leonardo da Vinci Self-portrait, drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1517–18; in the Royal Library, Turin, Italy.

The Mona Lisa is known as La Gioconda because the sitter, Lisa Gherardini, was the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, a silk merchant who likely commissioned the portrait.1

In Italian, the name La Gioconda—and its French equivalent, La Joconde—literally translates to "the jocund" or "the playful one," a play on her husband's surname. While the painting is widely recognized by its title today, this name was not commonly used until the 19th century, following an early account by the biographer Giorgio Vasari.1