SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Marsala

Origin and meaning

The authors agree that this surname is proper to Sicily and derives from the place name Marsala. E. De Felice notes that it is a Sicilian surname formed directly from the name of that city, situated in the province of Trapani.

E. Rossoni broadens the information with the etymology of the place name: the name Marsala comes from the Arabic marsa Allah, an expression meaning "port of Allah" or "port of the Lord".

Geographic distribution: Sicily, 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:

  • 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