SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Cravotta

Origin and meaning

The authors agree that it is a surname of Sicilian origin. F. Miranda notes that it is spread in several regions of Italy, with presence in Sicily —where the main nucleus is concentrated, in particular in the Enna, Catania, Caltanissetta, Ragusa and Palermo areas—, as well as in Piedmont, Lombardy, Tuscany, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Sardinia, Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Campania. Miranda points out that the surname would derive probably from a dialectal byname that indicates the Croatian origin of the first bearer.

V. Blunda proposes a different etymology: the surname would come from the Sicilian dialectal word cravòtta, meaning "little goat" or "young goat". It is a nickname of a diminutive zoonymic type, which could have been applied to an agile and lively person, or arisen within a family linked to the pastoral trade. Blunda inscribes it within a set of Sicilian surnames related to the caprine lexicon, such as Crapa, Craparo, Crapio and Crasta, which reflects the centrality of the goat in the onomastics of the interior of Sicily.

💡 The surname Cravotta also appears as variant of the surname Capra in other studies consulted in this project.

Geographic distribution: Sicily

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

Comparative analysis based on 2 authors: where they agree, the hypothesis is strengthened; where they differ, the alternative interpretations are presented.

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.
  • Blunda, V. (2018). Supposte origini dei cognomi in Sicilia [Digital edition]. Retrieved from https://www.trapaninostra.it