Most common surnames in Sicily by town.

[Ulla]

I think Nastasi, along with Anastasi and Stasi are variants of Anastasio (a Campanian surname). Nastasi is the Sicilian variant, Anastasi the Central Italian and Sicilian variant, and Stasi the Apulian variant. At least this is what Gens, an Italian surname website says.

http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turis...0#.UX7pm8ptiSp
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turis...0#.UX7pRMptiSo
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turis...0#.UX7pqsptiSp
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turis...0#.UX7pvsptiSp

It's probably derived from the Greek name Anastasios. Anastasio along with its variants is native to Central and Southern Italy.

Yep, Nastasi is just a patronymic, from Anastasios/Anastasius, probably a name spread in Byzantine times, but not exclusive of people of Greek origin, but also of Greziced Sicilians.

[Ulla]

Lombardo is a pretty common surname in Sicily. I wonder if it points to Lombard origins.

Probably in most cases it is of Lombard origins, and obviously it was spread outside the Lombard communities in Sicily.

[Sikeliot]

Yep, Nastasi is just a patronymic, from Anastasios/Anastasius, probably a name spread in Byzantine times, but not exclusive of people of Greek origin, but also of Greziced Sicilians.

All Sicilians have at least some Greek ancestry, unless they recently moved there from somewhere else.

[Ulla]

But then again surnames don't necessarily indicate ethnic origin.

Agreed, but surnames weren't given at random, Lombardo never became a personal name like Franco (from Franks) or Romano (from Romans) that don't indicate exclusively an ethnic origin. Lombardo and Tedesco never lost their original meaning. And we should see case by case through documents.

Siciliano don't necessarily indicate a Jewish ethnic origin, for many reasons.

[Sikeliot]

Siciliano don't necessarily indicate a Jewish ethnic origin, for many reasons.

In Sicily, the surname "Ventura" signifies Sephardi heritage though.

[Ulla]

All Sicilians have at least some Greek ancestry, unless they recently moved there from somewhere else.

Yes, but in many cases they were simply grecized.

[Sikeliot]

Yes, but in many cases they were simply grecized.

Well I think that people would have started identifying as Greek on a religious basis regardless of ancestry, but Greeks were in every part of the island, so I'd expect every Sicilian to have detectable Greek ancestry.

[Ulla]

In Sicily, the surname "Ventura" signifies Sephardi heritage though.

Ventura is a surname (variant: Venturi, Venturini...) derived from Italian medieval name Buonaventura spread in all the Italian territories and it's not of Sephardi heritage. There may be some cases but it does not mean that all are of Jewish origin. In many cases Jewish translated their original surname in Italian ones.

[Sikeliot]

Ventura is a surname (variant: Venturi, Venturini...) derived from Italian medieval name Buonaventura spread in all the Italian territories and it's not of Sephardi heritage. There may be some cases but it does not mean that all are of Jewish origin. In many cases Jewish translated their original surname in Italian ones.

It is not a "Jewish surname" but it was one of the most common amongst Sephardi Jews in southern Italy.

[Ulla]

It is not a "Jewish surname" but it was one of the most common amongst Sephardi Jews in southern Italy.

Ventura could be attested in Sicily, like in every Italian territories, before the arrival of Sephardi Jews from Spain. We should check.