Sicilian Last Names

Five Sicilian surnames per press, each with the Sicilian word, the town or the language it comes from.

Sicilian Last Names

GiuffrèSicilian Giuffrè (“Geoffrey”), from Occitan Jaufre (“Geoffrey”).
FloridiaPlace-name surname: the dictionary enters Floridia as a town in Sicily.
BelpassoPlace-name surname: the dictionary enters Belpasso as a town in Sicily.
MuzzicatoFrom Sicilian muzzicatu, past participle of muzzicari (“to bite”), probably a nickname.
CocoFrom the Sicilian surname Cocu, from Sicilian cocu (“cook”).

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How it works

These 140 Sicilian last names are surnames an open dictionary ties to the island: Italian spellings of names first formed in Sicilian, names taken from Sicilian towns, and names that came by way of Arabic, Greek, French or Spanish.

Read the full guide

Where a Sicilian surname comes from

The dropdown, Comes from, keeps the 59 names built on a Sicilian word or name (Rizzuto, curly-haired), the 69 from a town or place (Messina, Cefalù), the 4 the dictionary traces to Arabic (Macaluso, freed), the 4 to Greek (Fanara, lampmaker) or the few to French or Spanish.

Trades, nicknames and places

Under More filters, Kind keeps the 26 trades and offices, such as Maugeri, a herdsman, and Aparo, a beekeeper, the 10 nicknames, the 74 places or the 24 names from another word, most of them a plant, an animal or a thing, such as Cotugno, a quince.

Tips

A card keeps the Sicilian form where the dictionary gives it: Consolo is Cùnzulu, Ruvolo is Rùvulu.
This list uses no count by region, so it gives an origin and no rank.

Questions and answers

What last names are Sicilian?

Names a dictionary ties to the island: Italian spellings of Sicilian surnames such as Rizzuto, Spataro and Cucuzza, names of Sicilian towns such as Messina and Cefalù, and names that reached Sicily from Arabic or Greek, such as Macaluso and Fanara.

What do Sicilian last names mean?

Many are everyday Sicilian words. Rizzuto is curly-haired, Maugeri a herdsman, Aparo a beekeeper, Saitta an arrow and Cucuzza a pumpkin. Others name a town, as Messina and Cefalù do.

Which Sicilian last names come from Arabic?

The dictionary traces Macaluso to an Arabic word for freed, Maimone to one for lucky and Cabibbo to one for beloved. Choose Arabic in the dropdown for the four names the dictionary ties to Arabic.

How are Sicilian last names different from Italian ones?

Many are Italian spellings of names first formed in Sicilian: Consolo for Cùnzulu, Ruvolo for Rùvulu, Spataro for Spataru. Errera is the Spanish name Herrera, respelled in Sicily. All of them are Italian surnames today.

All 140 last names

A Sicilian word or name 59

Agugliaro Sicilian agugghiaru (“needlemaker”); equivalent to aguglia (“needle”) + aro (“occupational suffix”).
Alesci Sicilian Alesci (“Alexis”).
Aparo Sicilian Aparu, an occupational surname derived from aparu (“beekeeper”).
Baglio Sicilian Bagghiu, from Sicilian bagghiu (“courtyard, bailey”), from Medieval Latin ballium.
Biondolillo Probably from Sicilian brunnuliḍḍu (“little fair one”), a nickname for a blond person.
Bordonaro Sicilian burdunaru (“one who leads beasts of burden”), from Latin burdōnarius (“mule-driver”).
Brogna From Sicilian brogna (“conch, shell”).
Bucceri Sicilian bucceri, variant of vucceri (“butcher”).
Cacocciola Sicilian cacòcciula (“artichoke”), perhaps a metonymic occupational surname for a grower or seller of artichokes.
Caiola From Sicilian càiula (“baby's bonnet”), probably used as a nickname.
Cassata From cassata (“cassata, a Sicilian cake”), a metonymic occupational surname for a pastry cook.
Cerniglia Metonymic occupational surname for a siever or sifter, from Sicilian cirniglia (“sieve, riddle”).
Cerrito Topographic surname, from Sicilian cirritu (“Turkey oak grove”); compare cerreto.
Ciaramitaro From the Sicilian surname Ciaramidaru, from ciaramidaru (“one who makes the roof tiles”).
Ciavarella From Sicilian ciavaredda, feminine form of ciavareddu (“kid, young goat”), hence a metonymic occupational surname for a goatherd.
Cicero From the Sicilian surname Cìciru, from cìciru (“chickpea”).
Ciraulo Italianization of Sicilian Ciraulu, from ciraulu (“snake charmer”).
Cirrincione From an augmentative form of Sicilian cirrinciò (“greenfinch”).
Coco From the Sicilian surname Cocu, from Sicilian cocu (“cook”).
Consolo From the Italianization of Sicilian Cùnzulu, a surname derived from cùnzulu (“consul”).
Cotugno From Sicilian cutugnu (“quince”); compare cotogno.
Craparotta From Sicilian crapa (“she-goat”) + rotta (“broken”).
Cucchiara From Sicilian cucchiara (“spoon”).
Cucuzza Sicilian Cucuzza, from Sicilian cucuzza (“marrow; pumpkin”).
Cugno From the Sicilian surname Cugnu, from cugnu (“wedge”).
Falanga From Sicilian falanga (“plank, gangplank, temporary bridge; fence”).
Fauci From the Sicilian surname Fauci, from fauci (“sickle”).
Fichera Sicilian fichera (“fig tree”), a toponymic surname for someone who lived by a plantation of fig trees.
Filosa From Sicilian filuosa (“fishing net”), a metonymic occupational surname for a fisherman.
Gebbia Topographic surname, from Sicilian gebbia (“irrigation cistern”).
Giuffrida Sicilian Giuffrida, feminine variant of the personal name Giuffrè.
Iocolano Italianized form of Sicilian juculanu (“joker”), probably a nickname for a playful or lighthearted person.
La Cognata From the Sicilian surname La Cugnata, from cugnata (“hatchet”).
La Russa From the Sicilian surname La Russa (“The She-redhead”), from russu (“red”).
Lia From the Sicilian surname/name Lìa, from Ilìa (“Elijah”).
Liistro From the Sicilian surname Lijistru, from lijistru (“privet”).
Maiorana From Sicilian maiurana (“marjoram”); compare Italian maggiorana.
Majorana From the Sicilian surname Majurana, from majurana (“marjoram”).
Malgeri From the Sicilian surname Maugeri, from maugeri (“herdsman”).
Maugeri From the Sicilian surname Maugeri, from maugeri (“herdsman”).
Midulla Italianization of the Sicilian surname Miduḍḍa, from miduḍḍa (“marrow”).
Musco From the Sicilian surname Muscu, from muscu (“moss”).
Muzzicato From Sicilian muzzicatu, past participle of muzzicari (“to bite”), probably a nickname.
Oglialoro From the Sicilian surname Ugghialoru, an occupational surname derived from ugghialoru (“(olive) oil seller”).
Previte From the Sicilian surname Prèviti, from prèviti (“priest”).
Privitera From the Sicilian surname Privitera, a surname derived from privitera (“priestess”).
Ramunno Borrowed from the Sicilian name Ramunnu (“Raymond”).
Rigano From the Sicilian surname Rìganu, from rìganu (“oregano”).
Rizzuto Sicilian Rizzutu, from Sicilian rizzutu (“curly-haired”), from rizzu (“curl, lock”) + -utu (“-ed”).
Ruvolo Italianization of the toponymic surname Rùvulu, from Sicilian rùvulu (“sessile oak”).
Saitta Sicilian Sajitta, from sajitta (“arrow”), from sagitta.
Scaccia From Sicilian scacciari (“to squash, to crush”), probably applied as a metonymic occupational surname for someone who crushed grapes or pressed olives.
Sipala From Sicilian sipala (“hedge”).
Sparacio From the Sicilian surname Spàraciu, from spàraciu (“asparagus”), a metonymic occupational surname for a grower or seller of asparagus.
Spataro Italianized variant of Sicilian Spataru, from Sicilian spataru (“sword-maker”).
Stivala From the Sicilian surname Stivala, from stivala (“boot”).
Tallarita Sicilian taḍḍarita (“bat”), probably used as nickname.
Vintaloro From Sicilian vintaloru (“kind of cape”), perhaps a metonymic occupational surname for a maker of capes.
Viscuso A nickname from Sicilian viscusu (“tough, tenacious”).

A town or place 69

Alcamo Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Alcamo as a town in Sicily.
Assoro Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Assoro as a town in Sicily.
Barrafranca Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Barrafranca as a town in Sicily.
Belpasso Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Belpasso as a town in Sicily.
Bivona Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Bivona as a town in Sicily.
Burgio Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Burgio as a village in Sicily.
Buscemi Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Buscemi as a town in Sicily.
Butera Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Butera as a town in Sicily.
Caccamo Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Caccamo as a town in Sicily.
Calatabiano Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Calatabiano as a town in Sicily.
Caltagirone Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Caltagirone as a town in Sicily.
Caltavuturo Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Caltavuturo as a town in Sicily.
Camporeale Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Camporeale as a village in Sicily.
Carlentini Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Carlentini as a town in Sicily.
Caronia Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Caronia as a town in Sicily.
Cassaro Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Cassaro as a village in Sicily.
Castelbuono Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Castelbuono as a village in Sicily.
Cefalù Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Cefalù as a city in Sicily.
Centorbi Latin Centuripa, through Sicilian Cintorbi.
Cerami Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Cerami as a village in Sicily.
Daidone Sicilian Daiduni (“Aidone”).
Di Caccamo Habitational surname from di (“of”) + Caccamo (“a town in Sicily”).
Erice Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Erice as a town in Sicily.
Favara Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Favara as a town in Sicily.
Floresta Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Floresta as a village in Sicily.
Floridia Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Floridia as a town in Sicily.
Francofonte Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Francofonte as a town in Sicily.
Gangi Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Gangi as a town in Sicily.
Gibellina Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Gibellina as a town in Sicily.
Girgenti Sicilian Girgenti (“Agrigento”), from Vulgar Latin *(A)girgenti, apocoped metathesis of Agrigentum, ultimately from Ancient Greek Ἀκράγας.
Gratteri Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Gratteri as a village in Sicily.
Leonforte Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Leonforte as a town in Sicily.
Librizzi Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Librizzi as a village in Sicily.
Licata Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Licata as a place in Sicily.
Linguaglossa Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Linguaglossa as a village in Sicily.
Lipari Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Lipari as a place in Sicily.
Malvagna Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Malvagna as a village in Sicily.
Mascali Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Mascali as a town in Sicily.
Mazzarino Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Mazzarino as a town in Sicily.
Melilli Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Melilli as a town in Sicily.
Messina Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Messina as a city in Sicily.
Mineo Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Mineo as a town in Sicily.
Minissale Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Minissale as a place in Sicily.
Misilmeri Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Misilmeri as a town in Sicily.
Modica Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Modica as a town in Sicily.
Mondello Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Mondello as a place in Sicily.
Naro Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Naro as a river in Sicily.
Noto Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Noto as a town in Sicily.
Oliveri Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Oliveri as a town in Sicily.
Paternò Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Paternò as a town in Sicily.
Raccuja Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Raccuja as a town in Sicily.
Randazzo Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Randazzo as a town in Sicily.
Regalbuto Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Regalbuto as a town in Sicily.
Riesi Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Riesi as a town in Sicily.
Salaparuta Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Salaparuta as a town in Sicily.
Savoca Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Savoca as a town in Sicily.
Scaletta Habitational surname from the village of Scaletta Zanclea, in Sicily.
Scordia Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Scordia as a town in Sicily.
Sinagra Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Sinagra as a town in Sicily.
Siragusa Readapted from Sicilian Saragusa (“Syracuse”), from Latin Syrācūsae, from Ancient Greek Συρᾱ́κουσαι.
Solarino Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Solarino as a town in Sicily.
Sortino Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Sortino as a town in Sicily.
Sperlinga Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Sperlinga as a village in Sicily.
Tortorici Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Tortorici as a town in Sicily.
Trainito Habitational surname Italianized after the Sicilian demonym trajinitu (“inhabitant of Troina”), from Trajina (“Troina”) + -itu (“suffix”).
Valsavoia Habitational surname from the name of a small settlement in the municipality of Lentini, in Sicily.
Viagrande Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Viagrande as a town in Sicily.
Villarosa Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Villarosa as a village in Sicily.
Vizzini Place-name surname: the dictionary enters Vizzini as a town in Sicily.

Arabic 4

Cabibbo From Sicilian Cabbibbu, ultimately from Arabic حَبِيب (“beloved, dear, darling”).
Macaluso Sicilian surname from Arabic مخلوص (maḵlūṣ) (“freed, liberated”).
Maimone A Sicilian surname derived from Arabic مَيْمُون (“lucky, prosperous”).
Zambuto A Sicilian surname, perhaps from Arabic صَامِت (“silent, taciturn”), used as a nickname.

Greek 4

Fanara Sicilian occupational surname from Greek φαναράς (“lampmaker”), from φανός (“torch, lamp”).
Laganà Occupational surname from Greek λαχανάς (“greengrocer”), itself from Ancient Greek λαχανᾶς (“greengrocer”), via Sicilian; see λάχανον for more.
Tanasi From Sicilian Tanasi, from Latin Athanasius, from Ancient Greek.
Tomarchio From Byzantine Greek τουρμάρχης, a military official, from τύρμα + -άρχης, via Sicilian.

French, Norman or Occitan 2

Ciambra Borrowed from a Sicilian habitational surname, derived from any of various minor places named with Old Sicilian ciambra (“room, chamber”); ultimately from Old French chambre.
Giuffrè Sicilian Giuffrè (“Geoffrey”), from Occitan Jaufre (“Geoffrey”).

Spanish 2

Ernandes Italianized spelling of Spanish Hernández, a surname that arose in Sicily during the Spanish rule of southern Italy.
Errera Italianized spelling of Spanish Herrera, which arose in Sicily during the Spanish rule of southern Italy.

How this list was compiled

A list by a written rule, built on 2 October 2026 from English Wiktionary's Italian surname entries (https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:Italian_surnames, CC BY-SA 4.0), read that day. A surname is listed when (a) its entry marks it as coming from Sicilian, or its etymology names a Sicilian word, a Sicilian form of the surname, a town in Sicily or the island's history, and the etymology could be read as one plain sentence (79 names: the card prints that sentence), or (b) the entry marks the surname itself as a place-name surname and the same entry defines the word as a place in Sicily (61 names: the card says so); a surname that merely shares an entry with a Sicilian place is not listed. Left out as our own call: entries that say only 'Sicilian' or name another surname without saying what it comes from, names whose stated origin is an unkind nickname for a person's body or character or a word for a drink, and two names best known for one politician. Thirteen more names that fit the rule were left off because they stand on this site's Italian list, so that the two lists stay different; Macaluso, Messina, Rizzuto and Spataro stand on both. The sorting into the language a name came from and into kinds is our own, from the words of the entry: 'Arabic', 'Greek', 'French, Norman or Occitan' and 'Spanish' where the entry's sentence or its origin mark names that language, 'a town or place' for place names, and 'a Sicilian word or name' for the rest; the kind 'another word or name' holds the plants, animals and things and the few names that are none of the other kinds. An origin is what a dictionary records for the surname in general, not for any one family, and many of these names are carried all over Italy today. No register of surnames by region is used, so the list is a selection and prints no rank. Counted on 2 October 2026: 12 of 140 names (8.6 in 100) also stand in another list of this site; 4 of them on the Italian list. Licence: Drawn from English Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). The selection and the sorting are our own work.