Perciante
This form is a variant of the surname Perciaccante.
Origin and meaning
E. Rossoni and V. Blunda differ on the main hypothesis about the origin of the surname.
E. Rossoni derives it directly or through a contracted form of a nickname based on the Calabrian and Lucanian dialect term pircacciante ("business intermediary, mediator"), which would indicate the trade of the ancestors. He considers less probable a derivation from nicknames based on the Calabrian dialect term pirciacchiari ("to scrape by, to live by one’s wits").
V. Blunda, on the other hand, for the Sicilian variant proposes that second origin as the main one: he derives it from the word pirciacchïari ("to live by one’s wits"), applied to one who gets by with ingenious solutions or makeshifts to scrape through in tight situations. As a surname it could have originated in a nickname given to a person used to managing as best they could in difficult circumstances.
Variants
Geographic distribution: Perciaccante is specific to Cassano allo Jonio in the Cosenza area. Perciante is typically from Basilicata, with a presence in Lagonegro (Potenza area) and in the Matera area (Montalbano Jonico and Policoro). Percianti, practically unique, is probably due to a transcription error.
📍 You can view how this surname is distributed in Italy: View distribution in Italy (Cognomix)
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