SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Lucia

Origin and meaning

The surname derives from the feminine name Lucia, which continues the Latin Lucia, the feminine of the praenomen Lucius, derived from lux, "light", with the meaning "luminous". The authors agree that Saint Lucy, a martyr of the 4th century celebrated on 13 December, is universally invoked against diseases of the eyes and is the patron of the city of Syracuse.

A. Bongioanni notes that the popular forms proper to Veneto and Friuli are Lúsia, Lúsie and Lúsio, and that the surname is found mainly in southern Italy.

E. Rossoni adds that, besides being a matronymic form —that is, derived from the name of the mother or of a female ancestor—, it is possible that the surname comes from the numerous Italian place names dedicated to Saint Lucy, such as Motta San Lucia in the province of Catanzaro, or the many places called Santa Lucia, especially frequent in the south. Rossoni also records a presence of the surname in Lazio.

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

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: The South; Veneto and Friuli for the forms Lúsia, Lúsie and Lúsio; Tuscany

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

Comparative analysis based on 3 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:

  • Bongioanni, A. (1940). Nomi e Cognomi. Saggio di ricerche etimologiche e storiche. Milano: Fratelli Bocca.
  • De Felice, E. (1978). Dizionario dei cognomi italiani. Milano: Mondadori.
  • Rossoni, E. (2002). Origine e storia dei cognomi italiani. Retrieved from https://www.cognomiitaliani.org