Surnames in the Puglia Region, Italy

Surnames in the Provinces of Puglia

Common Surnames

(listed alphabetically)
• Between 7,000 and 12,000: Bruno, Greco, Lorusso, Russo, Rizzo, Santoro
• between 5,000 and 6,999: Caputo, Conte, Fiore, Gentile, Perrone, Leone, Longo, Palmisano, Palumbo, Romano, Semeraro
• between 2,000 and 4,999: Bianco, Cassano, De Palma, Fanelli, Lombardi, Prencipe, Rinaldi, Rizzi, Simone

Typical Surnames

• The most common surnames in Puglia are Russo and Greco. Some very common surnames shared with the rest of southern Italy are Rizzo, Leone, Bianco, Santoro, Bruno, Palumbo. Still others, very common throughout Italy, are Conte, Gentile, Romano, De Santis, Orlando, Rinaldi, Rizzi.
• Typical Apulian surnames are Guadalupi, Lorusso (= the red one), Carrozzo, Quarta, Lippolis, Carrieri (= carriage driver), Semerano (= driver of donkeys), Saponaro (= soap maker), Ingrosso. A common feature of many Apulian surnames is the use of definite articles lo- and la-: Loconsole, Lorusso, Losacco, Lobascio (= the short one), Loiacono (=the deacon), Lafortezza (= the stronghold), Loiodice (= the judge), Loperfido (= the cruel one), Loporcaro (= the pig breeder).
• Among surnames derived from nicknames there are Mele (= honey), Caputo (big-headed), Peluso (=hairy), Amoruso (=lovable), Longo (=tall), Pinto (= painted) e Patruno (= master).
• Surnames of Greek origin are Basile (from basileos= king), De Mitri, Calogiuri (from kalogheros= beautiful elderly person), Calimero (= with beautiful legs), those with endings -ò (Castrignanò), -achi (Petrachi), -aci ( Antonaci, Colaci, Liaci). Other surnames of German origin are Ciuffreda, Grimaldi, Ranieri, Ruggiero.

Updates

• Province of Bari: Sannicandro di Bari | Toritto | Cellamare
• Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani: San Ferdinando di Puglia | Spinazzola
• Province of Brindisi: San Michele Salentino
• Province of Foggia: Apricena | Carpino | Stornarella | Stornara
• Province of Lecce: Minervino di Lecce | Miggiano | Martignano
• Province of Taranto: Avetrana | Palagianello | Fragagnano