SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Batticani

Origin and meaning

F. Miranda notes that this is a very infrequent surname, present in Sicily —in localities of the provinces of Catania (Bronte, Misterbianco, Adrano) and Enna (Catenanuova)—, with a small cluster also in Lombardy. Miranda highlights the existence in Sicily of a homonymous geographical referent: the Batticani stream, a tributary of the Belice, which runs near Corleone.

On the origin of the surname, Miranda proposes two hypotheses. The first interprets it as an imperative-type compound formed by the verb batti ("strike") and the noun cani ("dogs"). The second, attributed to Spitaleri Perdicaro, links it to Arabic: a combination of wadi ("valley") and ayn ("spring"), meaning "spring in the valley". G. P. Holmes agrees with this second reading and specifies the translation as "spring in the valley", also mentioning the Batticani stream in Sicily as a tributary of the Belice.

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: Sicily

📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)

Drawing on 2 authors, this entry presents the different hypotheses about the origin of the surname, avoiding a single oversimplified explanation.

Sources

This entry of the Italian Surname Meanings dictionary is based on the following specialized onomastic sources:

  • Miranda, F. (2013). I cognomi di Regalbuto, Catenanuova e Centuripe. Ginevra Bentivoglio EditoriA.
  • Patti Holmes, G. (2018). Alla scoperta dei cognomi siciliani. Retrieved from https://www.ilsicilia.it