Where the Di Stefano surname comes from
Di Stefano means “son of Stefano.” It’s a patronymic surname: it comes from the father’s name. The name Stefano comes from the Greek stéphanos, “crown, wreath”: the crown of leaves the Greeks placed on the heads of winners. The PDF explains how that “di” stuck to a family, and why so many boys were named Stefano.
A surname that changed every generation
In 15th-century Siena there was a family of artists whose “surname” changed between father and son. Following their names, you can watch a surname like yours being born. Their story is in the PDF, along with that of a Sicilian tenor and a soccer champion whose grandfather came from Mount Etna.
Where the Di Stefanos live today
Di Stefano is a surname of Central and Southern Italy with its heart in Sicily, home to almost half of all the Di Stefanos in Italy. There are about 9,000 families in Italy. After Sicily come Lazio and Abruzzo. The surname crossed the ocean with emigration, and there it’s often written as one word. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached are in the PDF.
Variants
The same “son of Stefano” took different forms from one region to another: as two words, as one, with De or in the plural. The PDF shows where each one is concentrated.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Di Stefano | Sicily, Lazio, Abruzzo |
| Stefani | Veneto, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna |
| Stefanelli | Apulia, Lazio, Tuscany |
| De Stefano | Campania, Calabria, Apulia |
| Distefano | Sicily |
FAQ
What does the surname Di Stefano mean?
“Son of Stefano.” It’s a patronymic: it marked the children of a man named Stefano, a name that comes from the Greek stéphanos, “crown, wreath.”
Is Di Stefano a Sicilian surname?
Mostly. Almost half of all the Di Stefanos in Italy live in Sicily. The surname is also strong in Lazio and Abruzzo.
Are Di Stefano and Distefano the same surname?
Yes. Until the 1800s the surname was written by whoever kept the register, often the way they heard it spoken. The same family can appear as two words, as one, or with De instead of Di. Distefano is almost entirely Sicilian, strongest in the province of Ragusa.
Are Di Stefano and De Stefano the same surname?
They share the same origin, the name Stefano. De Stefano is the form of Campania and Calabria; in old registers the same family can appear with either one.
Are all Di Stefanos related?
No. In hundreds of towns there was a Stefano who passed his name on to his children. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Di Stefano surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t indicate nobility. It comes from a father’s name, and it belongs to families of every walk of life: farmers, craftsmen, fishermen.
Is there a Di Stefano family coat of arms?
No. A coat of arms belonged to one specific branch of a family, and a surname born from so many different Stefanos has no single founder. No single coat of arms belongs to every Di Stefano.
