Most common surnames in Sicily by town.

[alfieb]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Provincia_di_Trapani_colori.svg/1000px-Provincia_di_Trapani_colori.svg.png

PROVINCE OF TRAPANI:

Province-wide: Giacalone, Marino, Lombardo

Alcamo: Lombardo, Pirrone, Milazzo
Buseto Palizzolo: Poma, Maiorana, Criscenti
Castellammare del Golfo: Galante, Messina, Navarra
Calatafimi-Segesta: Simone, Adamo, Accardo
Campobello di Mazara: Indelicato, Stallone, Bono
Castelvetrano: Accardo, Rizzo, Signorello
Mazara del Vallo: Giacalone, Asaro, Gancitano
Custonaci: Castiglione, Poma, Mazzara
Erice: Messina, Candela, Poma
Favignana: Campo, Torrente, Ponzio
Gibellina: Fontana, Zummo, Tramonte
Paceco: Culcasi, Basiricò, Sugamiele
Pantelleria: Brignone, Gabriele, Belvisi
Partanna: Aiello, La Rocca, Nastasi
Petrosino: Marino, Pipitone, Licari
Poggioreale: Salvaggio, Vella, Corte
Salaparuta: Oliveri, Palermo, Cascio
Salemi: Ardagna, Drago, Caradonna
San Vito Lo Capo: Ruggirello, Vultaggio, Cusenza
Santa Ninfa: Biondo, Lombardo, Di Stefano
Trapani: Messina, Giacalone, Marino
Valderice: Oddo, Coppola, Mazzara
Vita: Buffa, Simone, Leo

[Sikeliot]

I'm not familiar with most of those but I knew someone with "Nastasi" and I always assumed they were Greek and shortened their surname from something longer.

[Newsboy]

I'm not familiar with most of those but I knew someone with "Nastasi" and I always assumed they were Greek and shortened their surname from something longer.

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/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Anastasio&x=0&y=0#.UX7pm8ptiSp
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Anastasi&x=0&y=0#.UX7pRMptiSo
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Stasi&x=0&y=0#.UX7pqsptiSp
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Nastasi&x=0&y=0#.UX7pvsptiSp

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

[alfieb]

The surname Navarra is of Spanish origin. Surprisingly, it is common throughout Western Sicily and parts of Southern Italy, even moreso than in Spain.

[Sikeliot]

I also see Vella on there. That is common in Malta.

Speaking of which.. if you put up names from Agrigento and Caltanissetta you'll start to see most of the common Maltese surnames.

[alfieb]

Of the 20 most common surnames in Italy, only 2 of them are found here. Marino twice and Rizzo once. Both of them are predominantly Southern Italian rather than pan-Italian names.

Lombardi is one of the most popular surnames in Italy, but it is instead Lombardo that is found more often in Sicily and Calabria, as seen here.

[alfieb]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Location_Gozo_Malta.svg

REPUBLIC OF MALTA:

Gozo: Vella, Attard, Camilleri
Malta: Borg, Vella, Camilleri

[alfieb]

The surnames Attardo, Cammalleri, Vella, and Borgia all common in Sicily, not only Malta.

[Sikeliot]

Camilleri is common in Agrigento.

All of the ones ending in -eri are from Agrigento.. Camilleri, Spiteri, Cavaleri, etc

[alfieb]

Indeed. Camilleri is a variant spelling of Cammalleri. The latter is more common in Sicily.

[alfieb]

http://sicilia.indettaglio.it/ita/mappe/ag/images/mappe_in_provincia_di_agrigento.gif

PROVINCE OF AGRIGENTO:
(No colored map on Wikipedia :()

Province-wide: Vella, Russo, Licata

Agrigento: Russo, Vella, Principato
Alessandria della Rocca: Scaglione, Settecasi, Amorelli
Aragona: Graceffa, Salamone, Galluzzo
Bivona: Militello, Mortellaro, Spallino
Burgio: Miceli, Sala, Ferrantelli
Calamonaci: Scorsone, Riggi, Baiamonte
Caltabellotta: Colletti, Grisafi, Trapani
Camastra: Todaro, Morgante, Di Caro
Cammarata: Mangiapane, Reina, Di Grigoli
Campobello di Licata: La Greca, Falsone, Ciotta
Canicattì: Giardina, Carlino, Lo Giudice
Casteltermini: De Marco, Di Liberto, Calderone
Castrofilippo: Alaimo, Graci, Sferrazza
Cattolica Eraclea: Gentile, Scalia, Iacono
Cianciana: D'Angelo, Montalbano, Carubia
Comitini: Raneri, Valenti, Ceraulo
Favara: Castronovo, Russello, Patti
Grotte: Morreale, Infantino, Agnello
Joppolo Giancaxio: Argento, Cacciatore, Giglione
Lampedusa and Linosa: Maggiore, Palmisano, Costanza
Licata: Incorvaia, Licata, De Caro
Lucca Sicula: Giarratano, Giannetto, Pagano
Menfi: Palminteri, Di Carlo, Mistretta
Montallegro: Iacono, Zambito, Caruana
Montevago: La Rocca, Monteleone, Bavetta
Naro: Gallo, Schembri, Aronica
Palma di Montechiaro: Castronovo, Amato, Scopelliti
Porto Empedocle: Salemi, Marchica, Prestia
Racalmuto: Mattina, Cino, Rizzo
Raffadali: Cuffaro, Galvano, Tuttolomondo
Ravanusa: Avarello, Burgio, Gattuso
Realmonte: Iacono, Burgio, Cottone
Ribera: Tortorici, Miceli, Triolo
Sambuca di Sicilia: Maggio, Cacioppo, Mangiarancina
San Biagio Platani: Di Franco, Savarino, Midulla
San Giovanni Gemini: Scruadato, Panepinto, Reina
Sant'Angelo Muxaro: Buscaglia, Paci, Lombardo
Santa Elisabetta: Fragapane, Militello, Rizzo
Santa Margherita di Belice: Bibello, Barbera, Giambalvo
Santo Stefano Quisquina: Cacciatore, Traina, Leto
Sciacca: Bono, Ciaccio, Venezia
Siculiana: Siracusa, Gagliano, Vella
Villafranca Sicula: Di Graci, Maniscalco, Perricone

[Peyrol]

The surname ''Venezia'' is uberjewish.
Probabily sepharditic.

[alfieb]

I'd imagine Salamone [Solomon] is of Jewish origin too.

[alfieb]

http://www.comprensoriogela.it/images/comprensorimage.jpg

PROVINCE OF CALTANISSETTA:

Province-wide: Amico, Lombardo, Falzone

Acquaviva Platani: Federico, Tagliarini, Castiglione
Bompensiere: Capobianco, Tona, Martorana
Butera: Buttiglieri, Donzella, Bonadonna
Caltanissetta: Amico, Falzone, Lombardo
Campofranco: Falletta, Favata, Mazzara
Delia: Genova, Gallo, Strazzeri
Gela: Romano, Vella, Scicolone
Marianopoli: Lombardo, Cannella, Romano
Mazzarino: Bognanni, Ficarra, Siciliano
Milena: Palumbo, Schillaci, Tona
Montedoro: Mantione, Salvo, Duminuco
Mussomeli: Messina, Sorce, Mistretta
Niscemi: Spinello, Amato, Parisi
Resuttano: Ippolito, Panzica, Puleo
Riesi: Butera, Pistone, Volpe
San Cataldo: Falzone, Riggi, Amico
Santa Caterina Villarmosa: Lo Vetere, Di Martino, La Placa
Serradifalco: Cordaro, Aronica, Montante
Sommatino: Tricoli, Indorato, Incardona
Sutera: Salamone, Carruba, Di Carlo
Vallelunga Pratameno: Ognibene, Insinna, Gaeta
Villalba: Scarlata, Immordino, Plumeri

[Stormer99]

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

[Newsboy]

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

Possibly. The Lombards have been all over Italy, the South included. Lombardo would be Sicilian and Lombardi is a variant found in both North and South.

http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Lombardi&x=0&y=0#.UYGZFMptiSo
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Lombardo&x=0&y=0#.UYGZJcptiSo

[Newsboy]

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

[alfieb]

I'd imagine a surname like Siciliano (shown above) is an indicator of Jewish origin, as many of them changed their names 500 years ago during the Spanish Inquisition.

To call oneself Siciliano when living abroad is one thing, but in Sicily it's rather redundant.

[Alexander20]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Provincia_di_Trapani_colori.svg/1000px-Provincia_di_Trapani_colori.svg.png

PROVINCE OF TRAPANI:

Province-wide: Giacalone, Marino, Lombardo

Alcamo: Lombardo, Pirrone, Milazzo
Buseto Palizzolo: Poma, Maiorana, Criscenti
Castellammare del Golfo: Galante, Messina, Navarra
Calatafimi-Segesta: Simone, Adamo, Accardo
Campobello di Mazara: Indelicato, Stallone, Bono
Castelvetrano: Accardo, Rizzo, Signorello
Mazara del Vallo: Giacalone, Asaro, Gancitano
Custonaci: Castiglione, Poma, Mazzara
Erice: Messina, Candela, Poma
Favignana: Campo, Torrente, Ponzio
Gibellina: Fontana, Zummo, Tramonte
Paceco: Culcasi, Basiricò, Sugamiele
Pantelleria: Brignone, Gabriele, Belvisi
Partanna: Aiello, La Rocca, Nastasi
Petrosino: Marino, Pipitone, Licari
Poggioreale: Salvaggio, Vella, Corte
Salaparuta: Oliveri, Palermo, Cascio
Salemi: Ardagna, Drago, Caradonna
San Vito Lo Capo: Ruggirello, Vultaggio, Cusenza
Santa Ninfa: Biondo, Lombardo, Di Stefano
Trapani: Messina, Giacalone, Marino
Valderice: Oddo, Coppola, Mazzara
Vita: Buffa, Simone, Leo

Very cool I found my families name in here! My ancestry is from Palermo & Ragusa. However its likely that descendants are in the surrounding area.

Thanks for this

[Peyrol]

Coppola is pansouthern and not only sicilian, btw.
Francis Ford Coppola and the piemontese politician Michele Coppola are both from Basilicata, for example.

[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/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Anastasio&x=0&y=0#.UX7pm8ptiSp
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Anastasi&x=0&y=0#.UX7pRMptiSo
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Stasi&x=0&y=0#.UX7pqsptiSp
http://www.gens.info/italia/it/turismo-viaggi-e-tradizioni-italia?t=cognomi-prov&cognome=Nastasi&x=0&y=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.

[Ulla]

PROVINCE OF TRAPANI:

Province-wide: Giacalone, Marino, Lombardo

Alcamo: Lombardo, Pirrone, Milazzo
Buseto Palizzolo: Poma, Maiorana, Criscenti
Castellammare del Golfo: Galante, Messina, Navarra
Calatafimi-Segesta: Simone, Adamo, Accardo
Campobello di Mazara: Indelicato, Stallone, Bono
Castelvetrano: Accardo, Rizzo, Signorello
Mazara del Vallo: Giacalone, Asaro, Gancitano
Custonaci: Castiglione, Poma, Mazzara
Erice: Messina, Candela, Poma
Favignana: Campo, Torrente, Ponzio
Gibellina: Fontana, Zummo, Tramonte
Paceco: Culcasi, Basiricò, Sugamiele
Pantelleria: Brignone, Gabriele, Belvisi
Partanna: Aiello, La Rocca, Nastasi
Petrosino: Marino, Pipitone, Licari
Poggioreale: Salvaggio, Vella, Corte
Salaparuta: Oliveri, Palermo, Cascio
Salemi: Ardagna, Drago, Caradonna
San Vito Lo Capo: Ruggirello, Vultaggio, Cusenza
Santa Ninfa: Biondo, Lombardo, Di Stefano
Trapani: Messina, Giacalone, Marino
Valderice: Oddo, Coppola, Mazzara
Vita: Buffa, Simone, Leo

Many Lombardos even in Trapani area.

[Ulla]

I also see Vella on there. That is common in Malta.


La Ciutat Vella is a district of Barcelona, and means "old city" in Catalan.

[alfieb]

Many Lombardos even in Trapani area.

http://www.paginebianche.it/persone?qs=LOMBARDO&dv=TP

Yeah. A lot.

[Isleño]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2f/Provincia_di_Trapani_colori.svg/1000px-Provincia_di_Trapani_colori.svg.png

PROVINCE OF TRAPANI:

Province-wide: Giacalone, Marino, Lombardo

Alcamo: Lombardo, Pirrone, Milazzo
Buseto Palizzolo: Poma, Maiorana, Criscenti
Castellammare del Golfo: Galante, Messina, Navarra
Calatafimi-Segesta: Simone, Adamo, Accardo
Campobello di Mazara: Indelicato, Stallone, Bono
Castelvetrano: Accardo, Rizzo, Signorello
Mazara del Vallo: Giacalone, Asaro, Gancitano
Custonaci: Castiglione, Poma, Mazzara
Erice: Messina, Candela, Poma
Favignana: Campo, Torrente, Ponzio
Gibellina: Fontana, Zummo, Tramonte
Paceco: Culcasi, Basiricò, Sugamiele
Pantelleria: Brignone, Gabriele, Belvisi
Partanna: Aiello, La Rocca, Nastasi
Petrosino: Marino, Pipitone, Licari
Poggioreale: Salvaggio, Vella, Corte
Salaparuta: Oliveri, Palermo, Cascio
Salemi: Ardagna, Drago, Caradonna
San Vito Lo Capo: Ruggirello, Vultaggio, Cusenza
Santa Ninfa: Biondo, Lombardo, Di Stefano
Trapani: Messina, Giacalone, Marino
Valderice: Oddo, Coppola, Mazzara
Vita: Buffa, Simone, Leo

I have an Italian-American friend and his surname is Saladino. Do you know which region of Sicily this surname is from?

[Ulla]

I have an Italian-American friend and his surname is Saladino. Do you know which region of Sicily this surname is from?

It was a medieval name. It doesn't imply an Arab origin. And in some cases, It could derive from Sala.

"Come da Serra è venuto Serràino, così da Sala si è potuto originare Salaìno, Saladino. Un conferma ci viene dal pittore allievo di Leonardo, Andrea Salaìno ( 1480-1524), il cui nome rappresenta appunto l'esito originario di Saladino." (Giuseppe Pensabene, Cognomi e toponimi in Calabria: nuove chiavi di lettura con grammatica per i passaggi dalle lingue classiche a quelle romanze, 1987, p. 145.)

[Isleño]

It was a medieval name. It doesn't imply an Arab origin. And in some case, It could derive from Sala.

"Come da Serra è venuto Serràino, così da Sala si è potuto originare Salaìno, Saladino. Un conferma ci viene dal pittore allievo di Leonardo, Andrea Salaìno ( 1480-1524), il cui nome rappresenta appunto l'esito originario di Saladino." (Giuseppe Pensabene, Cognomi e toponimi in Calabria: nuove chiavi di lettura con grammatica per i passaggi dalle lingue classiche a quelle romanze, 1987, p. 145.)
Thanks for the info :thumb001: I will let him know.

[alfieb]

I have an Italian-American friend and his surname is Saladino. Do you know which region of Sicily this surname is from?
West.

1. Trapani
2. Agrigento
3. Palermo

As mentioned, likely no connection to Salah ad-Din, as his Sultanate came in the 1200s, around the same time the last Muslims were deported from Sicily by King Frederick.

[Sikeliot]

Saladino is generally taken to be of Arabic root but it doesn't necessarily imply Arab ancestry.

[Sikeliot]

Many Lombardos even in Trapani area.

I've met people with it who look far from Lombard lol.

[alfieb]

Saladino is generally taken to be of Arabic root but it doesn't necessarily imply Arab ancestry.

Saladin himself was a Kurd anyway.

[Ulla]

Saladino is generally taken to be of Arabic root but it doesn't necessarily imply Arab ancestry.

Yes, Latin Saladinus is derived from Arab Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn. It was just a medieval name also spread over Northern Italy (and probably even in France, Germany and elsewhere). I agree that doesn't necessarily imply Arab ancestry. As many Italian medieval names of Germanic origin don't necessarily imply German ancestry.

Lorenz Saladin, Swiss mountain-climber

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorenz_Saladin

Paul Saladin Leonhardt, German chess master

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Saladin_Leonhardt

[Ulla]

I've met people with it who look far from Lombard lol.

They are so many! Are really all of them of Lombard ancestry? I'm wondering.

In Southern Italy there are also lots of Genovese, Veneziano, Toscano, Tedesco...

[Sikeliot]

They are so many! Are really all of them of Lombard ancestry? I'm wondering.

In Southern Italy there are also lots of Genovese, Veneziano, Toscano, Tedesco...

I doubt it. Might have meant an ancestor looked Lombard and got the nickname.

[alfieb]

They are so many! Are really all of them of Lombard ancestry? I'm wondering.

In Southern Italy there are also lots of Genovese, Veneziano, Toscano, Tedesco...

Sure. One distant paternal relative centuries ago is their forebearer. People did relocate when opportunities arose, and if you were Alberto from Liguria, in Palermo you would become Alberto Genovese.

[Ulla]

Sure. One distant paternal relative centuries ago is their forebearer. People did relocate when opportunities arose, and if you were Alberto from Liguria, in Palermo you would become Alberto Genovese.

Thanks. I think so. But they are really a lot. Just wondering if this kind of surnames could also be nicknames by a certain time.

[Ulla]

I doubt it. Might have meant an ancestor looked Lombard and got the nickname.

I agree. In some cases it's more probably a nickname.

[alfieb]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Provincia_di_Palermo_colori.svg/1000px-Provincia_di_Palermo_colori.svg.png

PROVINCE OF PALERMO:
Province-wide: Russo, Messina, Vitale


Alia: Di Piazza, Guccione, Todaro
Alimena: Scelfo, Gangi, Chiodo
Aliminusa: Dolce, Ricotta, Grisanti
Altavilla Milicia: Gagliardo, Urso, Fricano
Altofonte: Di Carlo, La Barbera, Vassallo
Bagheria: Aiello, Di Salvo, Mineo
Balestrate: Vitale, Russo, Agrusa
Baucina: Lo Cascio, La Barbera, Pollina
Belmonte Mezzagno: Chinnici, Bisconti, La Rocca
Bisacquino: Caronna, Ragusa, Marino
Blufi: Macaluso, Albanese, Lio
Bolognetta: Sclafani, Vilardi, Lo Cascio
Bompietro: La Placa, Sabatino, Albanese
Borgetto: Rappa, Cangialosi, Petruso
Caccamo: Cecala, Randazzo, Gullo
Caltavuturo: Sireci, Siragusa, Ruggirello
Campofelice di Fitalia: Ruggero, Cuttitta, Insigna
Campofelice di Roccella: Vaccaro, Battaglia, Fazio
Campofiorito: Bono, Oddo, Colletti
Camporeale: Liotta, Vaccaro, Lipari
Capaci: Vassallo, Giambona, Costanzo
Castelbuono: Mazzola, Fiasconaro, Cicero
Casteldaccia: Canale, Tomasello, Guzzo
Castellana Sicula: Di Gangi, Macaluso, Ferruzza
Castronovo di Sicilia: Tirrito, Gattuso, Biancorosso
Carini: Mannino, Amato, Randazzo
Cefalà Diana: Barbaria, Costanza, Caldarella
Cefalù: Glorioso, Culotta, Tumminello
Cerda: Cicero, Liberti, Cirra
Chiusa Sclafani: Gendusa, Marchese, Colletti
Ciminna: Urso, Scimeca, Catalano
Cinisi: Palazzolo, Vitale, Evola
Collesano: Cirrito, Gargano, Fullone
*Contessa Entellina: Lala, Cuccia, Schiro
Corleone: Di Miceli, Riina, Grizzaffi
Ficarazzi: Martorana, Macchiarella, Saverino
Gangi: Mocciaro, Sottile, Scavuzzo
Geraci Siculo: Corradino, Maggio, Sacco
Giardinello: Polizzi, Caruso, De Luca
Giuliana: Campisi, Musso, Scaturro
Godrano: Caldarella, Cuttitta, Cannella
Gratteri: Cirincione, Di Maio, Muffoletto
Isnello: Mogavero, Vacca, Grisanti
Isola delle Femmine: Bruno, Aiello, Lucido
Lascari: Ilardo, Polizotto, Cimino
Lercara Friddi: Miceli, Lucania, Catalano
Marineo: Spinella, Tuzzolino, Cangialosi
*Mezzojuso: Tavolacci, Schiro, Di Grigoli
Misilmeri: Schimmenti, Vitrano, Amodeo
Montelepre: Gaglio, Candela, Terranova
Montemaggiore Belsito: Gullo, Militello, Scaccia
Monreale: Madonia, Messina, Ferraro
*Palazzo Adriano: Di Giovanni, Cuccia, Gagliano
Palermo: Messina, Gambino, Russo
Partinico: Salvia, Viola, Russo
Petralia Soprana: Sabatino, La Placa, Macaluso
Petralia Sottana: Farinella, Macaluso, Sabatino
*Piana degli Albanesi: Schiro, Matranga, Cuccia
Polizzi Generosa: Cascio, Albanese, David
Pollina: Giambelluca, Cinquegrani, Musotto
Prizzi: Pecoraro, Vallone, Collura
Roccamena: Moscarelli, Palmeri, Roppolo
Roccapalumba: Cirrincione, Pravata, Sanzone
San Cipirello: Randazzo, Maniscalco, Cannella
San Giuseppe Jato: Simonetti, Di Maggio, Maniscalco
San Mauro Castelverde: Scialabba, Drago, Zito
*Santa Cristina Gela: Palermo, Cusimano, Cuccia
Santa Flavia: D'Amato, Sanfilippo, Lo Coco
Sclafani Bagni: Capuano, Geraci, Chimento
Sciara: Fragale, Patti, Passafiume
Scillato: Nicchi, Vitale, Portogallo
Termini Imerese: Rinella, Battaglia, Bova
Terrasini: Palazzolo, Maniaci, Vitale
Torretta: Gambino, Di Maggio, Caruso
Trabia: Sunseri, Cancilla, Vallelunga
Trappeto: Russo, Cusumano, Orlando
Ustica: Tranchina, Caminita, Mancuso
Valledolmo: Vallone, Battaglia, Mancuso
Ventimiglia di Sicilia: Anzalone, Mannina, Di Gangi
Vicari: Pecoraro, Anzalone, Macaluso
Villabate: Fontana, Pitarresi, Costa
Villafrati: La Barbera, Costanza, Ribaudo


Notes: (1) Villages with names in italics and with an asterisk were founded by ethnic Albanians and contain Arbereshe-speakers. (2) It took too much effort to color code them previously. I may do it later, but I couldn't be bothered to now.

[Volscian]

@Alfieb
The mother of a friend of mine is from Favara(AG) and her surname is Bellavia. Is it common enough?

[Sikeliot]

Macaluso might have an Arabic root.

I didn't know Vassallo was Palermitan, I thought it was from Caltanissetta.

[Ulla]

Macaluso might have an Arabic root.

I didn't know Vassallo was Palermitan, I thought it was from Caltanissetta.

Vassallo is also a Ligurian and Piedmontese surname. Vassalli is a Lombard surname.

Some Sicilian surnames can be found also in Northern Italy and it doesn't always imply a migration (from North to South or vice versa).

[Volscian]

Macaluso might have an Arabic root.

Yes and it seems to mean freed.

[alfieb]

@Alfieb
The mother of a friend of mine is from Favara(AG) and her surname is Bellavia. Is it common enough?

Bellavia is the #18 surname in Favara.

[alfieb]

Thoughts:

Two towns have Catalano, one has Portogallo. I would expect Iberian names to be commonplace in Messina/Catania, but not Palermo.

One town has Passafiume. I met a cab driver in Sicily with this surname once, and he claimed that in his dialect, his surname meant to fart / pass gas. It does not, however, in Palermitan Sicilian, where the usual word for this is pìditu.

A number of towns have Albanese as a top surname. This is not surprising, given the relationship between Palermo and Albanians. What I did find very surprising is where the surname is popular: Blufi, Bompietro, and Polizzi Generosa are neighbors, yet all very far from the city of Palermo itself, and far from the Arbereshe-speaking villages. There must have been an Albanian village in this part of the province in the past, or Albanians must have chosen to migrate to the Madonie mountains for some reason unknown to me.

Between the five Arbereshe villages, all of them have either Schirò, Cuccia, or both as top surnames. Those families clearly predominate.

Palermo is the #1 surname in Santa Cristina Gela, an Arbereshe village. It does not come within the top 3 in any other town in the province of Palermo. This lends credence to my theory that some place name surnames are only adopted by foreigners. Perhaps the Messina's, etc. are of Jewish origin.

What is indisputable is that the surname David, found only in Polizzi Generosa, is blatantly Jewish in origin, and has not even been nativized by throwing a vowel at the end (eg Davide).

[Volscian]

Bellavia is the #18 surname in Favara.

Thanks

[alfieb]

I'll get around to doing Enna, but in the meantime if anyone has any particular interest in one of the villages in the Western half of Sicily (Caltanissetta, Agrigento, Palermo or Trapani), I can post up to the top 20 surnames for that town.

For instance, my partial hometown of Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani:

1. Navarra
2. Galante
3. Messina
4. Caleca
5. Stabile
6. Palazzolo
7. D'Angelo
8. Barone
9. Di Bartolo
10. Como
11. Asaro
12. Gioia
13. Ciaravino
14. Bosco
15. Colomba
16. Longo
17. D'Anna
18. Magaddino
19. Cruciata
20. [Variant spelling of D'Anna]


Not surprising that about I know people with half of these surnames, and about 1/3 of them are in my family.

[Tacitus]

I'll get around to doing Enna, but in the meantime if anyone has any particular interest in one of the villages in the Western half of Sicily (Caltanissetta, Agrigento, Palermo or Trapani), I can post up to the top 20 surnames for that town.

For instance, my partial hometown of Castellammare del Golfo, Trapani:

1. Navarra
2. Galante
3. Messina
4. Caleca
5. Stabile
6. Palazzolo
7. D'Angelo
8. Barone
9. Di Bartolo
10. Como
11. Asaro
12. Gioia
13. Ciaravino
14. Bosco
15. Colomba
16. Longo
17. D'Anna
18. Magaddino
19. Cruciata
20. [Variant spelling of D'Anna]


Not surprising that about I know people with half of these surnames, and about 1/3 of them are in my family.


Casteltermini (AG)?

[alfieb]

1. De Marco
2. Severino
3. Di Liberto
4. Varsalona
5. Schifano
6. Calderone
7. Di Piazza
8. Spoto
9. Lo Re
10. Galione
11. Consiglio
12. Cordaro
13. Sanfilippo
14. Minnella
15. Reina
16. Magri
17. D'Urso
18. Capozza
19. Pellitteri
20. Durso

[Sikeliot]

Do Taormina?

[alfieb]

When I get to Messina, sure. Probably Enna next, then Messina, then Catania, then Syracuse, then finish with Ragusa.

[paksaltopam]

Como is the only one familiar to me!