SURNAMES IN ITALY

De Costanzo

This form is a variant of the surname Costanzo.

Origin and meaning

The surname Costanzo derives from the Latin personal name Constantinus (Italian Costantino), which in turn originates from the adjective Constans, meaning "firm," "steadfast," "constant," or "persevering." The name conveyed the idea of strength of character, determination, and fidelity.

Origin and Development

E. De Felice explains that Constantinus was originally a Roman cognomen during the Imperial period before becoming an independent personal name. From this name developed both the masculine form Costanzo and the feminine form Costanza

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: Surname spread in a little over 1000 Italian comuni, mostly southern (Sicily, Campania, Calabria). Less consistent clusters are found in all the other Italian regions, among them Lombardy, Lazio, Tuscany, Liguria and Veneto. In Sicily it is present in all the provinces, above all in the Catania area (46 comuni: Catania, Acireale, Gravina di Catania, Riposto), Messina (46 comuni: Messina, Alcara Li Fusi, Lipari, Tortorici, Cesarò), Palermo (24 comuni: Palermo, Capaci, Bagheria); with less consistent clusters, the Costanzo are also present in the Syracuse area (14 comuni), Caltanissetta and Agrigento. In the Enna area the surname is known in the comuni of Valguarnera Caropepe, Troina, Aidone, Centuripe, Regalbuto, Catenanuova, Leonforte and Enna.

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

Drawing on 4 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:

  • De Felice, E. (1978). Dizionario dei cognomi italiani. Milano: Mondadori.
  • Miranda, F. (2013). I cognomi di Regalbuto, Catenanuova e Centuripe. Ginevra Bentivoglio EditoriA.
  • Patti Holmes, G. (2018). Alla scoperta dei cognomi siciliani. Retrieved from https://www.ilsicilia.it
  • Research conducted by Surnames in Italy, the English-language project of Ancestros Italianos, based on the bibliography cited in the references.