The following details have been translated from the Facebook group, "ORIGINE DEI COGNOMI ITALIANI" which posted the details about the Misseri surname on 3 July 2017.
Misseri appears to be Sicilian, with a lineage in Palermo and Carini (PA), and a secondary lineage in Rosolino and Pachino in the Siracusa area of Sicily, with presences in Puglia and Tuscany. It is thought to derive from the term "messere" and its dialectal modifications. In the late Middle Ages, this term was used to identify individuals who held prominent positions such as notaries, judges, and doctors, or wealthy landowners.
Before you read any further, our surname was originally "Lo Misseri" from about the late 1400s to the middle 1700s. Might find a few instances even into the 1780s. After that the "Lo" was dropped because it was probably just easier to write "Misseri." I've looked at enough records from the town of Carini and the area around it, to know that many names morphed over time and one of my guesses for the reason why, is because paper was at such a premium. They were trying to write as much as they could on as little paper as possible, and if that meant dropping a few letters here or there, it probably made it easier for the priest who was keeping the records. And I just want to make it clear, that at this point in history, I have found no evidence that links the two groups of Misseri's in Sicily together. There have been no DNA connections what-so-ever with anyone from the Siracusa area. And there are many Misseri's from the Siracusa area that live in and around the state of Connecticut in the United States.
WHOSE SON ARE YOU? LET'S TALK ABOUT THE PATRONYMIC PARTICLES DI, DE, LO, LA, ETC.
In Italy, surnames didn't all originate at the same time: for centuries, people were identified by their father's name, nicknames, professions, etc. Hence the patronymic surnames, those that embody the memory of an ancestor, with the patronymic particle that we often confuse as a feudal predicate, thinking it conveys a certain nobility... almost always nonexistent!
Their function is precisely patronymic or origin, therefore "son of" or "coming from".
Here are some of the most common particles:
🔹 Di/De/D'
It means "son of" or "descendant of" or even "those of".
Di Marco, Di Stefano, De Luca, De Angelis, D'Amico, D'Andrea, D'Antonio, D'Elia, etc.
🔹 Da/Dal/Dalla/Della/Del
More typical of the North, with exceptions such as Del, they could indicate geographic origin or affiliation.
Dal Maso (from the Master), Dalla Chiesa, Da Vinci, Dalla Libera, Della Zanna, Del Carlo, etc.
🔹 Lo/La/Li
In the South, separate particles are found, always with the same function, such as:
Lo → Lo Monaco, Lo Russo, Lo Verde, Lo Misseri
La → La Rocca, La Spina, La Porta
Li → Li Vecchi, Li Voti, Li Causi
These particles derive from the Latin ("ille", "illa") and have been preserved in dialect, becoming true surnames.
Curiosity
Sometimes the particles have been dropped due to errors or simplifications: Di Marco → Marco or Di Federico → Federico
In other cases, they have been transformed by being added to the surname, as often happens with Apulian, Lucanian, and Sicilian surnames: De Luca → Deluca, De Vito → Devito, etc.
Thanks for staying with me regarding this little bit long article. AND thanks to the wonderful ORIGINE DEI COGNOMI ITALIANI" Facebook group.
