SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Ciraci

Origin and meaning

According to G. Rohlfs, it is a surname of Greek-Byzantine origin, present in the province of Brindisi (Brindisi, Ceglie, Francavilla, Latiano, Mesagne, Ostuni). From the Greek κυριακή ("Sunday"); in Greece it survives as the surname Kiriakì. It reflects the Byzantine religious onomastics. It can lose the grave accent in Argentina (Ciraci).

E. Rossoni explains that Ciraci is characteristic of Puglia, of the Brindisi and Taranto areas, especially in Ceglie Messapica, San Michele Salentino, Villa Castelli, Francavilla Fontana and Ostuni. Ciracì seems to be peculiar to Latiano in the Brindisi area. Ciraco is unique. They would be dialectal variants of the Latin name Ciriacus. Traces are documented in Ceglie Messapica from the second half of the 16th century.

Variants

Geographic distribution: Brindisi area, Taranto area, Puglia

📍 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
  • Rohlfs, G. (1974). Dizionario onomastico e toponomastico della Calabria: Prontuario filologico-geografico della Calabria. Longo Editore. Rohlfs, G. (1984). Dizionario storico dei cognomi della Sicilia orientale: Repertorio storico-etimologico. Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici Siciliani.