Surname Perugi
Origin and meaning
Perugi is an Italian surname derived directly from the name of the city of Perugia or from its medieval forms Perusius and Perusinus. It belongs to the broad onomastic group of Perugia, Perugini, Peruggini, Perusi, Perusini, Perusino, Peruselli and Perusin, all etymologically linked to the demonym applied to those who originated from the ancient Etruscan and Roman city of Perusia, today the capital of the region of Umbria.
The suffix -i has a plural patronymic value and originally designates the family or descent of a founder of the line identified by their Perugian provenance.
The form Perugi keeps the spelling with g of the modern Italian place name Perugia, unlike the variants Perusi and Perusini which preserve the s of the medieval Latin spelling Perusius. The distribution of the surname is limited and spread across central Italy. It is rarely documented as an autonomous entry in the classic onomastic repertoires.
💡 The surname Perugi also appears as variant of the surname Perugia in other studies consulted in this project.
Geographic distribution: Perugi has several areas of presence in Genoa, in Florence, Prato and Montale (Pistoia area), in Carrara, in Viterbo and in Rome. Peruselli, absolutely rare, seems to be from the Milan area. Perusi is specific to Verona and its area (Negrar, Bussolengo and San Pietro in Cariano). Perusini, very rare, seems to be from Friuli, especially from Sedegliano in the Udine area. Perusino is almost unique.
📍 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
- Research conducted by Surnames in Italy, the English-language project of Ancestros Italianos, based on the bibliography cited in the references.