Where the Diceglie surname comes from
Diceglie is a place-name surname: it comes from the name of a town. At its root is the form “di Ceglie,” which marked someone “from Ceglie.” Over time the two words fused into one. It is pronounced Dicéglie (Dee-CHEH-lyeh), stressed on the second syllable.
Which Ceglie?
Apulia has two towns called Ceglie, one near Bari and one near Brindisi. Which of the two the first ancestor left is the surname’s open question. The PDF has the clues, and the theory that leads closest to home.
Where Diceglie families live today
Diceglie is a rare surname from Apulia: about 120 people carry it in Italy. Its strongest core is in Fasano, in the province of Brindisi, between the Bari area and the Itria Valley. The few families in Lombardy and Lazio arrived with the migrations of the 1900s. More Diceglies live outside Italy than in it, a result of the great Apulian emigration. The PDF has the region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached.
Variants
The same place name gave rise to two other forms, one written as two words and one without the “di.” The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Diceglie | Apulia, above all Fasano (Brindisi) |
| Di Ceglie | the Bari area and Fasano |
| Ceglie | the Bari area (Ceglie del Campo), also in the North |
FAQ
What does the surname Diceglie mean?
“Di Ceglie,” that is, someone who came from the town of Ceglie. It is a place-name surname: neighbors called someone who had left his hometown by the name of the place he came from.
Is Diceglie a surname from Apulia?
Yes. Almost all the Diceglies in Italy live in Apulia, with the strongest core in Fasano, in the province of Brindisi. The families in Lombardy and Lazio arrived in the 1900s.
How do you pronounce Diceglie?
Dee-CHEH-lyeh, stressed on the second syllable, like the name of the town of Ceglie.
Are Diceglie and Di Ceglie the same surname?
They have the same origin. Di Ceglie, written as two words, is the original form; Diceglie was born when the two words fused into one. Carrying one or the other doesn’t mean being related.
Are all Diceglies related?
Not necessarily. The surname marked someone who came from Ceglie, and different people may have left the town. To find out you need birth records and parish registers.
How many Diceglies are there?
Very few: about 120 people in Italy and about 280 worldwide, according to cautious estimates. For such a rare surname, one family more or less is enough to change the picture.
Is the Diceglie surname noble?
No. There is no record of any noble Diceglie family: they were small-town families, tied to the land and the olive trees of Apulia.
Is there a Diceglie family coat of arms?
No documented coat of arms is known. And no coat of arms belongs to everyone who carries a surname: it always belonged to one specific branch of a family.
