Surnames in Sicily, Italy

The lists of surnames were derived from the white pages of the 1990's for the recent lists, and from sources as indexes of births, "numerazioni", catasti onciari, parish records for previous centuries.

Surnames in the Provinces of Sicilia

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Surnames Divided by Region

Info on Italian Regions

Messina

Updates: Castroreale | Roccalumera | Sant'Angelo di Brolo | Furnari | Naso | Venetico

Palermo

Updates: Montelepre | Balestrate | Isola delle Femmine | Borgetto | Bisacquino

Ragusa

Updates: Santa Croce Camerina | Acate

Siracusa

Updates: Palazzolo Acreide | Melilli | Sortino | Buccheri | Canicattini Bagni

Trapani

Updates: Pantelleria | Calatafimi Segesta | Petrosino | Santa Ninfa | San Vito Lo Capo

Common Surnames

over 5000: Russo;
3,000-4,000: Caruso, Lombardo, Marino, Messina, Rizzo;
2,000-3,000: Amato, Arena, Costa, Grasso, Greco, Romano, Parisi, Puglisi, La Rosa, Vitale;
1,500-2,000: Bruno, Catalano, Pappalardo, Randazzo.
See also Wikipedia's page

Origin of Surnames

As regards their origin, Sicilian surnames reflect the presence of multiple cultures, languages and influences, but also share common features with the rest of Southern Italy; indeed, many surnames are also common in Calabria (Caruso, Lombardo, Marino, Rizzo), Puglia (Giuffrida, Greco, Longo) and Campania (Bruno, Ferrara, Giordano, Marino, Romano, Russo).

The most common patronymics are Basile, Di Mauro, Di Salvo, Di Stefano, Giuffrida, Leonardi, Orlando, Vitale.
Others derive from medieval names, mostly augural, such as Bellomo, Bonaccorso, Bonanno, Bonfiglio, Bongiorno, Bonsignore.
Among the surnames derived from crafts we have Balistreri (=crossbow maker), Cannizzaro (=thatched roof maker), Cammareri (=waiter), Cavallaro, Ferraro, Finocchiaro (=farmer of fennels), Impellizzeri (=fur maker), Maniscalco, Scuderi (=squire), Spadaro - Spataro (=sword maker), Vaccaro.
Surnames derived from nicknames are Mancuso (=left-handed), Occhipinti (=painted eyes), Pappalardo (=lard eater), Quattrocchi (=four eyed).
Common surnames related to the place of origin are Calabrese, Catalano, Cosentino, Genovese, Provenzano, Puglisi, Toscano, Tarantino.
Finally, there are surnames given to foundlings, such as Di Dio or Trovato, and matronymics (connected to an ancestress) such as Alessandra, Emma, Greca.