Most common surnames in Europe

[Peyrol]

Top 20 Surnames in Sicily:

#1 Russo (mentioned above, derived from sicilian name for the color red, russu)
#2 Messina (toponym)
#3 Caruso (word in our language for a male child is carusu)
#4 Lombardo (a northern italian)
#5 Marino (pan-italian name)
#6 Rizzo (name is of greek origin)
#7 Greco (a greek)
#8 Romano (a roman)
#9 Grasso (pan-italian name)
#10 Di Stefano (southeast sicilian patronym)
#11 Amato (name is of spanish origin)
#12 Costa (name is of greek origin)
#13 Parisi (name is of french origin)
#14 La Rosa (sicilian and calabrian matronym)
#15 Bruno (pan-italian name)
#16 Puglisi (an apulian)
#17 Vitale (pan-italian name)
#18 Arena (sicilian and calabrian toponym)
#19 Pappalardo (name is of greek origin)
#20 Catalano (a catalan)

''Costa'' is a panromance surname...could mean ''coast'' or ''rib'' (the bone)

''Caruso'' mean ''shaved head'', from the neapolitan ''cara, capa = head, front'').

[Comte Arnau]

Gai is a great Occitan surname indeed. In the Floral Games of Occitans and Catalans, the winners of three categories were declared Mestres en Gai Saber (Masters of the Gay Science). Because that's what composing is, a Merry Science.

If then the Brits decided to steal our word and call homosexuals 'happy people', that's their problem.

[Vasconcelos]

I thought Silva was the most common Portuguese surname.

It is.

[alfieb]

''Costa'' is a panromance surname...could mean ''coast'' or ''rib'' (the bone)

''Caruso'' mean ''shaved head'', from the neapolitan ''cara, capa = head, front'').

Caruso is much more common in Sicily than in Campania. I think the origins are separate.

[Slycooper]

Portuguese names I see a lot.

Pereira
Da Costa/Costa
Sousa
Santos
Medeiros
Silva
Ferreira
Carvalho
Oliveria

[Peyrol]

Gai is a great Occitan surname indeed. In the Floral Games of Occitans and Catalans, the winners of three categories were declared Mestres en Gai Saber (Masters of the Gay Science). Because that's what composing is, a Merry Science.

If then the Brits decided to steal our word and call homosexuals 'happy people', that's their problem.

Interesting see also the presence of the radix/suffix ''Peyro/Pejro'' (Peter) in many occitan surnames...very strange...the ''Stone of The Church'' (St.Peter) omnipresent in a culture (Occitan) that gave birth to some of the greates heretic movements of the whole History (Catarism, Waldensians)

[Peyrol]

Caruso is much more common in Sicily than in Campania. I think the origins are separate.

The origin is the same...from the ancient doric word ''Kara'' (shaved head).

[Dombra]

I know people named Johansson but thousands of Andersson. Smirnov sounds evil and Horvath sounds offensive

[Sunphq]

"Russu" is red in Sicilian.
The Russo family are said to be of Sicilian noble origin.

We like to make things complicated.

Russo is very common in Sicily, I have distant cousins/family with that surname. I've always wondered about the validity of so-called noble surnames, even my surname is listed as one on the best of Sicily site. My surname is very local and found primarily in the Messina province, and a little bit in the North and Central Italy, as a result of migration.

[alfieb]

Some of them are scams. I've had people online trying to sell me coats of arms for my grandmother's family but I know for a fact that we don't have one and that the name's origin is uncertain.