Surname BADIA and variation

It is possible also a derivation as a nickname, from an ancestor that was as wealthy as an abbey, which in common usage was synonim of a comfortable situation and abundance, which is confirmed also by an old proverb "casa mia casa mia, per piccina che tu sia pur mi sembri una badia" (= o my home, though small you may be, you seem to me like an abbey").

Another derivation, always toponymic, may be connected to villages whose names contain the word "Badia", as Badia in the province of Catanzaro, Badia Calavena in the province of Verona, Badia near Sulmona in the province of L'Aquila.

The listings collected from the white pages for Italy are based on the online phone directory for the years 2000-2005.

The surname Badia appears in the area of Rome and in L'Aquila (where the origin is the village of Barisciano), and is sparsely disseminated all over Italy, which confirms the toponimic origin - that is to say, the different local occurrences might be non-related. Badii is specific of Florence and Arezzo, Badio is Venetian. Badiale appears in Liguria, Badiali, in the area of Bologna, in Marche and Tuscany.

The BADIA surname is common in Spain as well, and is recorded in a document of 722 as "infantes" of Montañas de Jaca; in the 12th century this family had moved to Catalonia. There is no evidence however that links the Spanish Badia to the Italian branches, though it may be possible for some of them.