Siciliani - the origin of names in your family?

[alfieb]

My surname is said to be of Arabic origin. I also have surnames in my family that are of likely mainland Italian origin as well as some of Greek origin. No Spanish, Jewish or Germanic surnames that I know of, although Germanic given names are commonplace, and are generally speaking the same as the ones introduced by the Normans in the 11-12th centuries.

[Sikeliot]

I don't want to give away my own last name for privacy reasons but others in my family:

Costanzo (derives from Constantine) -- Latin
Lipari (from the island Lipari, derived from Greek "Lypàra") -- Greek
Messina (from Messina province, after Messene) -- Greek
Paxhia -- Arbereshe

[Vesuvian Sky]

My ancestor from Cefalù had a name derived from Nicolleta. Some consider this Greek influence.

[alfieb]

Yeah, that's why I didn't ask for actual surnames. Didn't want to make anything too personal.

[Sikeliot]

I said all of them except my own.

[Sikeliot]

Something interesting that I didn't know where to post..

We have relatives in our family who married into the family with the surname "Annino". I never thought about it at all until I found out a girl I went to high school with, her mother is Greek from Lemnos and her family surname is "Anninos".

[alfieb]

While I've never even met someone with that surname. I'd imagine it's exclusively Eastern.

[Sikeliot]

While I've never even met someone with that surname. I'd imagine it's exclusively Eastern.

It is from Catania and Syracuse as one would expect. Another strictly eastern Sicilian surname that is almost directly from Greek is "Platania".

Something I do wonder though is why a lot of the ones ending in -aci are also common in Palermo when that is a Greek root like -akis.

[alfieb]

We didn't have surnames in ancient times. I've got numerous Greek-origin surnames in my own family. I don't know if my ancestors were actually Greek or just Hellenized during the Greco-Roman-Byzantine era.

[Ulla]

My surname is said to be of Arabic origin. I also have surnames in my family that are of likely mainland Italian origin as well as some of Greek origin. No Spanish, Jewish or Germanic surnames that I know of, although Germanic given names are commonplace, and are generally speaking the same as the ones introduced by the Normans in the 11-12th centuries.

Surnames are a linguistic matter. To have a surname of Arabic origin doesn't mean to be of Arabic origin. It's not automatic.

For example, Normans had surnames of Latin origins (of toponomastic origin, derived from place names in France of Latin origins) but Normans were not of Latin origins.