Search Etymological origin of Italian surnames

GRECA | GRECCHI | GRECCO | GRECHI | GRECI | GRECO | GRECU

Greca has a Sicilian lineage in Enna, a Roman one and a small one in Mormanno in the Cosenza area and in Strongoli in the Crotone area, Grecco, typically Lazio, has a stock in Sezze in the Latin, in Morolo in the frusinate and in Rome, it could also derive from a alteration of the Latin name Gracchus, Grecu, typically Sardinian, has a stock in Samassi in the Medio Campidano and one in Siniscola in the Nuoro area, Grecchi is native to the area between Milan, Lodi and Pavia, Grechi is widespread in central Italy and in Lombardy, Greco it is widespread throughout Italy, Greeks have a stock in Pontevico (BS), one in Parma and Felino (PR), one in Rome and in frusinate in Boville Ernica, Ceccano, Veroli and Torrice, they should all derive from the medieval Greek name which originally it probably meant the origin of the progenitor. additions provided by Stefano Ferrazzi As rightly said, the Greek, Greek, etc surnames derive from the nickname or medieval name Greco, which, together with the Grecco, Grego and Grieco variants, assumes a clear ethnic value (with reference to Greece): in the onomastics ancient, indeed, the transformation of ethnic names into personal names is very frequent, if we consider, moreover, that Italy was a strongly multi-ethnic country in pre-modern times (some of these names were also handed down to the present day, just think of the cases of Italo, Francesco, Franco, Germano, etc). In the case of the Greek surname, however, some considerations must be added, which, in part, distinguish it from different ethnic surnames: at one time, in fact, the Greek term did not exclusively identify a Greek origin (understood in a purely ethnic sense), but also a more generic geographical origin, relative, that is, to individuals who are not Greek in the strict sense (even though they have lived in Greece for centuries). With this, in particular, I refer to two different ethnic groups, of Greek origin but of non-Greek ethnicity: it is, on the one hand, of the Arvanite or Greek-Albanian minority, which, in Greece, has its roots in the Middle Ages (in the centuries between the XI and XIV AD), and, on the other, of the Jewish-Greek minority, also of ancient tradition. Starting with the first group, first of all, it should be noted that the Albanian emigration has assumed rather large dimensions throughout history, being at the center of a real diaspora in the Balkans (the so-called Albanian diaspora): in this context, however, it is not the case to go into a historical discourse, but, simply, it must be said that this emigration often headed towards both Italy and Greece; in the Italian case, for example, the most striking proof is offered by the arbëreshë reality of the South, a territory that has long been home to countless Italian-Albanian communities. In this regard, however, a detail must be specified, which helps a lot to understand the surnames in question: in our country, in fact, the Albanian emigration does not come exclusively from Albania, but in large part also from Greece, since it is often 'an arvanite or Greek-Albanian emigration (see also Albanito). This situation, however, is understandable in the historical-political context of the Balkans, if we consider the tensions that, for a long time, have accompanied the history of south-eastern Europe: I refer, in particular, to the wars against the Turks , following which many Albanian, Greek, Slavic, etc families preferred to leave their country and emigrate to the west. If this, in short, is the history of the Greek-Albanian emigration, a very similar phenomenon concerns the Jewish-Greek emigration, which, very probably, is also linked to the Ottoman raids of post-medieval age. In Greece, however, the Jewish community is divided into two large groups: the first is made up of Romaniotic Jews, who have lived on Greek soil for more than two thousand years, while the second is that of the Sephardic Jews who emigrated from Spain since 15th century, following the expulsion of the Jews from the Iberian peninsula (Sephardic Jewish emigration, on the other hand, also had Italy as its goal). Now, before concluding, we must add a last hypothesis concerning the surnames in question, which arises next to the Greek-Albanian and Jewish-Greek sources: the Greek term, in fact, could allude not only to a Greek origin, but , perhaps, also to a link with the grika or Grecanic community of southern Italy. This community, in fact, seems to have very ancient origins, traceable even from the times of the Magna Graecia: today, however, very little remains of that distant past, despite the fact that the Grika reality still survives in some areas of Puglia and Calabria (mostly in the Reggio and Salento areas, as shown, among other things, by the many Greek surnames found in these areas).

GRECO | LO | LO GRIECO | LOGRECO | LOGRIECO

The Greek has a Sicilian lineage between Palermo and Agrigento and a small one in Troia in the Foggia and Bari areas, Logreco is specific to the Bari area, in the area of Noicattaro, Conversano and Turi, Lo Grieco, certainly from Puglia, is almost unique, Logrieco is specific to Bitonto in Bari and Bari. Supplements provided by Stefano Ferrazzi The origin of these surnames is to be found in the nickname or medieval name Greco, which, together with the Grieco variant, may allude to a Greek origin or to a Grika or Greek descent (for a more detailed explanation, see the Greek surname). In conclusion, therefore, these are the surnames of nicknames or personal names of the founders.

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