Surname Spellings: Italian vs. Sicilian

When researching church records that go all the way back to the 1500s, sometimes you will see surnames that seem similar to names that are used today. The spellings can vary significantly or sometimes, just by a letter or two. The spellings probably changed because they were written phonetically or because of the handwriting style. Here is a list of surname names that you may encounter in and around the area of Carini, Sicily, Italy. It is not a complete list so if you know of more, please let me know so I included the surnames and update the list.

And remember, you might find a surname with "d apostrophe" vs "di". Here are a couple examples:

• di Amato / d'Amato or Amato
• di Messina or Messina

One last note about the different spelling of surnames, I suggest if you are doing genealogy and are building a family tree, use the surname that the person had at the time of their birth. I take the surname directly from the civil birth record and if there is no civil record, then I use the church baptism record. If I find the surname changed during their lifetime, then I make note of it and add that particular spelling as an "alternate surname" in the genealogy family tree software.

 

Italian Surname	Sicilian Surname	Prefix Information
Alamia	La Lamia
Aluia	La Luia
Badalà	Mandalà
Badalamenti	Badaramenti
Baiata	Bajada
Buffa	Bua
Caldarone	Calderone
Cangialosi	Congialosi
Cavoli	Li Cauli
Collura	Collurafici
Costantino / Constantino	Cosntino
Cusimano	Cusumano
Ferranti	Ferrante
Giacopello	Jacopello
Grigoli / Gregoli	Gregorio	Prefix can include "di"
Gritti	Grippi
Guercio	Guercia
Inzone / Insone	Izzuni
Ladragna	Adragna
Mansella	Manzella
Marchese	Maltese
Mauceri	Morici
Messeri	Misseri	Prefix can include "Lo" or "Lu"
Mini	Mineo
Monterusso	Monterosso
Ruffino	Roffino
Ruggeri	Ruggieri
Russo	Rosso	Prefix can include "Lo" or "Lu"
Sansone	Sanzone
Scannaliato	Scannariato
Scavo	Schiavo
Spatula	Spatola
Zerillo	Zirillo