Where the Bonanno surname comes from
Bonanno means “good year.” It was one of the auspicious names given to children in the Middle Ages, like Benvenuto or Bonfiglio: a wish for prosperous years for the newborn and his family. Then the father’s name passed to his children and became the family’s name. That’s why the surname has no single founding ancestor: it was born in different places, among different families.
A name from eight hundred years ago
The name was already alive in the 12th century. The most famous Bonanno in history still bore it as a first name: he was a sculptor from Pisa who worked bronze like few others in Europe, and one of his greatest works is right in Sicily. Later a noble Bonanno family lived on the island, rising from the salt pans of Trapani to the titles of prince and duke. Their stories are in the PDF.
Where the Bonannos live today
Bonanno is a Sicilian surname: there are about 3,800 families in Italy, and almost all have roots on the island, especially in its northern part. The town where it is strongest is Misilmeri, just outside Palermo. The families in the North and in Lazio came with the emigration of the 1900s, and more than a third of all Bonannos live outside Italy today. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached are in the PDF.
Variants
The same wish gave rise to three surnames in three parts of Italy. The PDF explains why each one took its own form.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Bonanno | Sicily |
| Bonanni | Lazio, Tuscany, Abruzzo |
| Buonanno | Campania, then Lazio and Lombardy |
FAQ
What does the surname Bonanno mean?
“Good year.” It was an auspicious medieval name, given to children to wish them prosperous years, which later became a family name.
Is Bonanno a Sicilian surname?
Yes. Almost all the Bonannos of Italy have roots in Sicily, especially in the northern part of the island; the families in the North and in Lazio arrived with the emigration of the 1900s.
Are all Bonannos related?
No. Bonanno was an auspicious name carried by many families with no ties to one another. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Bonanno surname noble?
A noble Bonanno family lived in Sicily, with its branches. But the great majority of Bonannos today come from families of farmers, fishermen and craftsmen who carried the same auspicious name. Only the records can tell which branch a family comes from.
Is there a Bonanno family coat of arms?
Heraldic archives record different coats of arms of Bonanno families, each tied to one specific branch. There is no coat of arms that belongs to all Bonannos.
Are Bonanno and Bonanni the same surname?
They share the same origin, the auspicious name Bonanno. Bonanni is the plural form, born mostly in Central Italy; according to some sources, the Bonannis of L’Aquila were related to the Bonannos of Sicily.
