Where the Giuffrida surname comes from
Behind Giuffrida there is a personal name: Goffredo, known in English as Godfrey, which in Sicily was said and written this way. It was an ancestor’s baptismal name, then passed on to his children: “Giuffrida’s children,” and finally “the Giuffridas.” Goffredo is a Germanic name and means “God’s peace.”
A name that came with the knights
The name Goffredo reached Sicily in the 11th century, with the Normans who conquered the island. Meanwhile, all over Europe, a leader of the Crusades was turning it into a hero’s name. The PDF tells how that fame reached Sicilian families.
Where the Giuffridas live today
Giuffrida is a Sicilian surname, and more precisely a Catanese one. There are about 3,350 families in Italy: it is the 33rd most common surname in Sicily and the 5th in the province of Catania. The town where it is the top surname is Gravina di Catania, on the first slopes of Mount Etna. It left the island with the emigration of the 1900s, mostly to Lombardy, Lazio and Piedmont. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where the Giuffridas settled are in the PDF.
Variants
The same Goffredo took a different form in almost every region, from Sicily to Emilia-Romagna. The PDF tells where each one was born.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Giuffrida | Sicily, Lombardy, Lazio |
| Giuffrè | Sicily, Calabria, Lombardy |
| Goffredo | Apulia, Lombardy, Lazio |
| Giuffredi | Emilia-Romagna |
| Iofrida | Calabria |
FAQ
What does the Giuffrida surname mean?
It comes from the personal name Goffredo (Godfrey), of Germanic origin, which means “God’s peace.” It was an ancestor’s baptismal name, which later became the family name.
Is Giuffrida a Sicilian surname?
Yes, and Catanese in particular. It is the 33rd most common surname in Sicily, the 5th in the province of Catania and the most common surname in Gravina di Catania. The families in the North and in Lazio arrived with the emigration of the 1900s.
Are Giuffrida and Giuffrè the same surname?
They have the same origin, the name Goffredo, which took different forms in different regions. Giuffrè is common in Sicily and Calabria. Until the 1800s the surname was written down by whoever kept the register, so in the archives it’s best to search for every form.
Are all Giuffridas related?
No. Goffredo was a beloved and widespread baptismal name, and the surname was born in many different families, nearly all of them ordinary people. To rebuild your own family history you need birth records and parish registers.
Do the Giuffridas descend from the Normans?
Not necessarily. The name came with the Norman knights, but then it passed from the lords to the peasants, who gave it to their children out of devotion or admiration. Bearing that name doesn’t mean descending from them.
Is the Giuffrida surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t mean nobility. It comes from a baptismal name and was born in many different families, nearly all of them ordinary people.
Is there a Giuffrida family coat of arms?
No. A coat of arms belonged to one specific branch of a family, in a specific place and time. There is no single coat of arms for all Giuffridas.
