Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
ARLOTTA SicilianFrom the French personal name Arlot, recorded in the Latinized form Arolottus from the 13th century.
ARRA Galician, SicilianHabitational name from a place in Galicia called Arra, this surname was also found in some parts of Sicily.
BALDACCHINO Maltese, Italian, SicilianOccupational name for an artisan who made the baldachin, also spelled baldaquin, a type of canopy used in cathedrals, from Italian
baldacchino "baldachin". This word is derived from Italian
Baldacca, a doublet of
Bagdad "
Baghdad", the city where the material originally came from.
BUSCEMI Italian, SicilianSicilian surname of Arabic origin coming from the town
Buscemi in Syracuse province. The name possibly derives from Arab
'Abu Samah'.
CIRCELLI SicilianDerived from Sicilian
circedda meaning "(hoop) earring", originally used to denote someone who wore hoop earrings.
CRAVOTTA SicilianFrom a Sicilian immigrant to America, Cravotta was changed to Cravatta upon arrival at Ellis Island. The name means "bowtie."
FARANO Italian, SicilianPossibly deriving from a town
Faranò in province of Messina, Sicily. Possible variant of Surname
faran which comes from Irish surnames
Ó Fearáin,
Ó Faracháin, or
Ó Forannáin.
LAMALFA SicilianVariant of
Malfa, most probably a habitational name for someone from Malfa on the island of Salina (Messina), although the name has also been linked with Amalfi in Salerno and Melfi in Potenza.
MACHI SicilianUnexplained. It may be from the Albanian personal name Maqo. Derivation from a Greek name ending in -akis, which has been suggested, is implausible.
MIRABELLA Italian, Sicilian, Italian (Australian)Italian (Campania and Sicily): habitational name from Mirabella Eclano in Avellino or Mirabella Imbaccari in Catania, or from various places with the name Mirabello, all named from medieval Latin
mira, "viewpoint", and
bella, "beautiful"...
[more] OCCHIPINTI SicilianDerived from Italian
occhi "eyes" and
pinti "painted", denoting someone with dark eyelashes or with flecked or blood-shot eyes.
RAPPA Italian, Sicilianfrom Sicilian
rappa meaning ‘bunch, cluster’ or Italian
rappa meaning ‘lock, quiff’, which was presumably applied as a nickname with reference to someone’s hair.
SCUDERI SicilianPatronymic form of
Scudero, a status name equivalent to English
Squire, from
scudero "shield-bearer", Latin
scutarius, an agent derivative of
scutum "shield". In Byzantium, the Greek word σκουτάριος
(skoutarios), a derivative of
scutarius, denoted a member of the imperial guard.
VECCHIO SicilianItalian (mainly Sicily): from vecchio ‘old’, ‘aged’, applied as a status name for the older or oldest son, or as a nickname, possibly for someone who was prematurely gray, bent, or wrinkled.