SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Carciola

Origin and meaning

Surname of uncertain origin. As Carchiolo, it could derive —through dialectal modification— from the term cracchiola, a species of herb similar to chicory (Piccitto's Sicilian vocabulary), or, according to Caracausi, it could be an alteration of carda, from the ancient Greek chalkéus and medieval Greek Chalkias, with the sense of "coppersmith", "blacksmith".

References cited by the author F. Miranda:

  • Piccitto, G. (1977–2002). Vocabolario siciliano (5 vols.). Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici Siciliani.
  • Caracausi, G. (1993). Dizionario onomastico della Sicilia: Repertorio storico-etimologico di nomi di famiglia e di luogo (2 vols.). Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici Siciliani.

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: Rare surname, spread across only a little under 30 Italian comuni scattered in Sicily and, with small clusters, also in Tuscany, Piedmont, Lazio and Liguria. In Sicily it is present in the provinces of Catania (Biancavilla, Aci Catena, Misterbianco, Mascali, Fiumefreddo di Sicilia), Palermo (Palermo, Misilmeri, Belmonte Mezzagno), Messina (Giardini Naxos, Malvagna) and Enna (in the comune of Regalbuto).

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

Entry compiled from specialized sources on Italian surname studies.

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.