SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Bisignano

Origin and meaning

E. Rossoni notes that this surname is typically southern, with presence in areas such as Taranto, Matera, Cosenza and Sicily.

F. Miranda proposes that the surname very probably derives from the place name Bisignano, a comune of the Cosenza area, in Calabria, the place of origin of the founding ancestors of the lineage. From the etymological point of view, Miranda links the term to the dialectal form visinnanu, possibly related to the Latin personal name Visinius, to which the suffix -anus would have been added.

According to Miranda, the surname is distributed mainly in Calabria, Sicily, Puglia, Basilicata, Lombardy and Piedmont, with minor presence in Campania, Tuscany, Lazio, Veneto, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Umbria. In Sicily it appears in the Messina, Catania, Enna, Syracuse, Palermo and Caltanissetta areas.

Geographic distribution: Sicily

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

This entry brings together what 2 authors propose about the origin of the surname. In some cases they agree and reinforce a single hypothesis; in others, they contribute different views worth considering.

Sources

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

  • Rossoni, E. (2002). Origine e storia dei cognomi italiani. Retrieved from https://www.cognomiitaliani.org
  • Miranda, F. (2013). I cognomi di Regalbuto, Catenanuova e Centuripe. Ginevra Bentivoglio EditoriA.