How could you not love a place where your dentist’s name translates as “Mrs Clove”, your doctor is “Dr Love”, the carpenter is called “Mr Orange Blossom” and the dry cleaner’s name is “Mr Cloth”? Sicilian surnames have fascinated me from the beginning and I thought I would introduce you to some of these today.
When I first arrived I was struck by the number of people in Modica who have the surname “Poidomani” which translates as “Then, tomorrow”. Had the Sicilian concept of pazienza crept into surnames too? I was disappointed to learn that the name is a corruption of a Greek term meaning “shepherd”. Later a version of this surname found its way to Spain and hence
to Modica and Ragusa when Sicily fell under Aragonese rule.
Another surname with an interesting derivation is “Lorefice”: this comes from the family coat of arms in which a lion carrying bay [alloro] is depicted. “Fice” is an Italianisation of the Latin
verb “fero” – to bear.
I was also surprised to meet several people whose surname is “Modica” and learnt that a surname which is the name of a town indicates that many years ago someone in the family was abandoned as a baby and given the name of the town where they were found.
But, as if the surnames themselves were not interesting enough, no one can surpass the fun that the people of Modica and Ragusa have with nicknames: yes, there is a nickname
associated with almost every surname, rather in the way that someone with the surname “Clark” or “Clarke” is called “Nobby” in Britain. [This is because of confusion with the word “clerk” and someone who worked as a clerk was deemed a bit of a snob.] So, in Modica someone with the surname “Cannata” – which already denotes a kind of jug – is also known as “bersagliero”, whether because someone in the family was a member of this Italian army corps whose soldiers run everywhere or because family members always running no one seems to know!
Someone in the Di Raimondo families was famous for his “baffu” – moustache, the Puglisi were famed for their “scacce” – focaccia breads and the Avola families, besides possibly coming
from that town, were cooks. The surname Caruso carries the appellation “cunigghiu” which means “trench” and Caruso became the term for the little boys who worked in Sicily’s sulphur
mines. The Basile were iron workers, the Gerratanas “carried 100 bags” and the Olivieris planted potatoes. I’ll leave you to make your own minds up about “culu nero” – black bottom – an
appellation bestowed upon the Spadoros.
What is my favourite Sicilian surname? I do like “Aprile”, another name used for abandoned babies, this time if they were found in that month. Also common in Puglia, this surname also refers to the beauty of April in Southern Italy. But my all-time favourite has to be “Zagara” – orange blossom. I still get a kick out of greeting the carpenter and remembering that I am saying,
“Good morning, Mr Orange Blossom”.
