SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Donia

Origin and meaning

The authors agree that this surname is typically Sicilian and would have arrived on the island with the Swabian emperor, deriving from the name of the city of Donia, the probable place of origin of the founder of the lineage, located in the region today known as Denmark.

E. Rossoni notes that the surname is concentrated in the Messina area —in localities such as Messina, Monforte San Giorgio, Torregrotta and San Pier Niceto— and also in the Palermo area. F. Miranda broadens this distribution and indicates that the surname is spread in comuni of several Italian regions, with presence in Sicily in the provinces of Messina, Catania, Palermo —including Palermo and Altofonte— and Enna, specifically in Regalbuto. Outside Sicily, Miranda records specific zones in Lombardy, Campania, Lazio, Emilia-Romagna, Molise and Trentino-Alto Adige.

Geographic distribution: Typically Sicilian of the Messina area: Messina, Monforte San Giorgio, Torregrotta and San Pier Niceto; and of Palermo

📍 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
  • Miranda, F. (2013). I cognomi di Regalbuto, Catenanuova e Centuripe. Ginevra Bentivoglio EditoriA.