SURNAMES IN ITALY

Sangiorgi

This form is a variant of the surname Sangiorgio.

Origin and meaning

The authors agree that the surname derives from the place name San Giorgio, widely extended throughout Italy. E. De Felice notes that it is represented throughout the peninsula, with a frequent presence in Sicily, in particular in the Messina, Catania and Enna areas.

F. Miranda details that the surname is diffused in around three hundred communes of multiple regions: besides Sicily, it appears in Apulia, Lombardy, Lazio, Piedmont, Campania, Basilicata, Veneto and Liguria, with notable nuclei in the Catania, Taranto and northern Milan areas. In Sicily it is present in all the provinces, especially in the Catania, Palermo, Ragusa and Syracuse areas; in the Enna area it is recorded in the municipalities of Centuripe and Troina.

Miranda points out that the surname could have been formed from various place names dedicated to San Giorgio —such as Monforte San Giorgio in Messina, Piano San Giorgio in Palermo or San Giorgio di Biassono in Milan— or else through the belonging of a family to a parish under that dedication. The name Giorgio comes from the Ancient Greek gheorgòs, which means "farmer" or "worker of the land."

Variants

Altered forms and derivatives

Geographic distribution: Sicily (frequent)

📍 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:

  • De Felice, E. (1978). Dizionario dei cognomi italiani. Milano: Mondadori.
  • Miranda, F. (2013). I cognomi di Regalbuto, Catenanuova e Centuripe. Ginevra Bentivoglio EditoriA.