SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Busalacchi

Origin and meaning

The authors agree that Busalacchi is a Sicilian surname of Arabic origin, peculiar to Palermo, although they propose different etymologies.

E. Rossoni presents it as typical of Palermo and derives it from the name of the Libyan locality Sidi Bu Salah, near Benghazi, or from the Arabic Abu Salah or Bu Salah.

V. Blunda includes it in the group of Sicilian surnames formed with bū- ("father of"). He derives it from the etymon bū zallāq, meaning "father of the inconstant one" or "of the slippery one", a probable jocular nickname.

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:

  • Rossoni, E. (2002). Origine e storia dei cognomi italiani. Retrieved from https://www.cognomiitaliani.org
  • Blunda, V. (2018). Supposte origini dei cognomi in Sicilia [Digital edition]. Retrieved from https://www.trapaninostra.it