SURNAMES IN ITALY

Surname Santangelo

Origin and meaning

From the name of a place dedicated to the Archangel Michael, or a fusion of the two names Sante and Angelo.

The authors agree that this surname derives from the place name Sant'Angelo, a very frequent place name in Italy, with numerous variants and regional determinations.

E. De Felice notes that the surname is especially characteristic of southern Italy, with a notable presence in localities of the provinces of Caserta, Salerno, Benevento, Avellino, Campobasso, Potenza, Cosenza, Catanzaro, Messina and Agrigento.

E. Rossoni broadens the geographic distribution and indicates that the surname is also found in Lombardy, Lazio, Abruzzo, Molise, Campania, Apulia, Basilicata and Sicily. Rossoni further specifies some of the place names of origin: Sant'Angelo Lodigiano, Colle Sant'Angelo, Mosciano Sant'Angelo, Sant'Angelo d'Alife, Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi and Sant'Angelo di Brolo, among others.

💡 The surname Santangelo also appears as variant of the surname Santi in other studies consulted in this project.

Geographic distribution: The South, especially Sicily

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

Drawing on 3 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
  • Research conducted by Surnames in Italy, the English-language project of Ancestros Italianos, based on the bibliography cited in the references.