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Help[Surname] Meaning of the Southern Italian surname Liotine/Liotino.
Hello everyone,
I recently came across the Italian surname Liotine, which turns out to be a variant of the (also Italian) surname Liotino. Although both seem to originate from Southern Italy, Liotino seems to be the most common of the two, as there are more bearers and it's more widespread across Southern Italy. Bearers of the Liotine surname seem to mostly live in or around the coastal town Mola di Bari, meaning the surname covers only a small area. Interestingly, this seems to have been like that for quite a while already, since Ellis Island immigrant records show that over 60% of Liotine immigrants come from Mola di Bari - going back as far as 1904.
Other possible variants that I found are: Leotine, Leotini, Leotino and Liatino. But these are only found in Ellis Island immigrant records, not in e.g. the Italian phonebook (except for Leotine, which lists one bearer, who happens to live in Mola di Bari) - so the spellings found in the immigrant records may be misspellings, misheard by someone not very familiar with the Italian language and/or Italian surnames.
Now, my question is, what does this surname actually mean? To me, it seems like it's a diminutive form of something - perhaps there is a relation to Latin leo "lion"? If so, then the surname could possibly mean "little lion" (even though the actual Italian word for 'lion' is leone). That's all I am able to guess - but perhaps someone here knows a little bit more?
Thank you in advance to those that can shed further light on this matter. :)
Lucille
"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on... when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend... some hurts that go too deep... that have taken hold." ~ Frodo Baggins
I recently came across the Italian surname Liotine, which turns out to be a variant of the (also Italian) surname Liotino. Although both seem to originate from Southern Italy, Liotino seems to be the most common of the two, as there are more bearers and it's more widespread across Southern Italy. Bearers of the Liotine surname seem to mostly live in or around the coastal town Mola di Bari, meaning the surname covers only a small area. Interestingly, this seems to have been like that for quite a while already, since Ellis Island immigrant records show that over 60% of Liotine immigrants come from Mola di Bari - going back as far as 1904.
Other possible variants that I found are: Leotine, Leotini, Leotino and Liatino. But these are only found in Ellis Island immigrant records, not in e.g. the Italian phonebook (except for Leotine, which lists one bearer, who happens to live in Mola di Bari) - so the spellings found in the immigrant records may be misspellings, misheard by someone not very familiar with the Italian language and/or Italian surnames.
Now, my question is, what does this surname actually mean? To me, it seems like it's a diminutive form of something - perhaps there is a relation to Latin leo "lion"? If so, then the surname could possibly mean "little lion" (even though the actual Italian word for 'lion' is leone). That's all I am able to guess - but perhaps someone here knows a little bit more?
Thank you in advance to those that can shed further light on this matter. :)
Lucille
"How do you pick up the threads of an old life? How do you go on... when in your heart you begin to understand... there is no going back? There are some things that time cannot mend... some hurts that go too deep... that have taken hold." ~ Frodo Baggins
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Replies
The only thing I can suggest is a derivation of Liotta/Liotti/Liotto (also Leotta) whose origin you'll find at http://www.cognomiitaliani.org/cognomi/cognomi0010i.htm
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