Where the Fichera surname comes from
Fichera comes from a tree: the fig. It was an occupational nickname, given to those who grew figs or sold them at the market. Over time it passed to the children and became the name of the whole family. It is a surname “of the land,” like so many Sicilian surnames.
A family in the streets of Catania
Anyone walking through Catania crosses, without knowing it, two generations of Ficheras. They were father and son, both architects. The father designed a garden loved by everyone in Catania, the son some of the city’s most important buildings. Not far away, in Acireale, another Fichera entered university at fifteen. Their stories are in the PDF.
Where the Ficheras live today
Fichera is almost entirely a Sicilian surname, with about 2,100 families in Italy. It has a clear capital, Catania, and its heart is around Mount Etna. The town where it is strongest is Milo, on the eastern slope of the volcano, where it is the fourth most common surname. Outside Sicily the Ficheras went mostly to the North, with the migrations of the 1900s. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where the family settled are in the PDF.
Variants
Fichera has no true variants: it is a compact surname, born almost entirely in the same area. It does have a few cousins in meaning, born from the same tree, which the PDF presents one by one.
FAQ
What does the Fichera surname mean?
It comes from the fig. It was an occupational nickname for those who grew or sold figs, later passed down to the children as a family name.
Is Fichera a Sicilian surname?
Yes, almost entirely, and from eastern Sicily. It is the 30th most common surname in the province of Catania and the 107th on the whole island. The families in the North arrived with the migrations of the 1900s.
Are Fichera and Ficarra the same surname?
No, they are different surnames. In all likelihood both come from the fig, but Ficarra may also come from the town of the same name in the Nebrodi Mountains, in the province of Messina.
Are all Ficheras related?
No. Every town had its figs and its growers, and the nickname was born in different families. Since the surname is concentrated around Catania, though, finding the hometown is easier. To rebuild your own family history you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Fichera surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t mean nobility. It comes from an occupational nickname, among the farmers and fig sellers of eastern Sicily.
Is there a Fichera family coat of arms?
There is no coat of arms for the Fichera surname. A coat of arms belonged to one specific family, to one branch. Families born from an occupational nickname almost never had one.
