SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Policarpo

Origin and meaning

A Greek given name equivalent to the Latin Fructuosus. The name of six saints, of whom the most venerated is a bishop of Smyrna and martyr of the 1st century, celebrated on 26 January.

According to G. Rohlfs it is a surname of Greek-Byzantine origin, present in the Calabrian-Lucanian area (Amendolara), in the province of Catanzaro (Crotone) and in the province of Reggio Calabria (Antonimina); also Sicilian. From the ancient Greek name Polykarpos ('of many fruits'); it coincides with the old casale Policarpo near Briàtico.

Geographic distribution: Calabria

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

Comparative analysis based on 2 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.
  • Rohlfs, G. (1974). Dizionario onomastico e toponomastico della Calabria: Prontuario filologico-geografico della Calabria. Longo Editore. Rohlfs, G. (1984). Dizionario storico dei cognomi della Sicilia orientale: Repertorio storico-etimologico. Centro di Studi Filologici e Linguistici Siciliani.