SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Gaipa

Origin and meaning

E. Rossoni, following Caracausi, and V. Blunda agree that this surname is of Sicilian dialectal origin and comes from the term gàipa —also recorded as àipa or gàibba—, a generic denomination of the gulls in the popular speech of Sicily.

Blunda broadens the analysis by noting that the term designated a specific variety of larids present on the Sicilian coasts, and that its transformation into a surname probably responded to a nickname applied to a person of strident shouting, by analogy with the characteristic screech of the bird. It is a habitual motivation in the Sicilian zoonymic surnames formed from behavioural traits.

As for its distribution, Rossoni indicates that the surname is extremely rare and presents a zone in the province of Palermo, with another presence, possibly secondary, in the Naples area.

Geographic distribution: Absolutely rare. It has a zone in the Palermo area and another probably secondary in Naples.

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