Where the Lanza surname comes from
In old Italian and in many dialects, the lance, lancia, was called lanza. The surname comes from a nickname: the first Lanza was probably a man-at-arms in the service of a lord. In a medieval village, the man who went around with a lance was “the Lanza.” The name stayed with his children even when the lance had been hanging on the wall for generations.
A lady, an emperor and a noble house
In the 1200s a noble family from Piedmont followed Emperor Frederick II to the Kingdom of Sicily. Among them, according to many sources, was a young woman who entered the history of the Swabian dynasty. Later, in Sicily, a great Lanza family arose, founded by a lawyer from Catania. The PDF tells how things really went, and how much of it is legend.
Where the Lanzas live today
Lanza is one of the few surnames with two equal homes, one in the South and one in the North: Sicily and Piedmont. In Italy there are about 5,200 families. The two branches were born separately from the same word. In Piedmont the surname is very strong around Biella, and the town where it ranks number one is Sandigliano. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where the Lanzas settled are in the PDF.
Variants
The same lance gave several surnames, from the form of today’s Italian to plurals and diminutives. The PDF shows where each one is concentrated.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Lanza | Sicily, Piedmont, Lombardy |
| Lanzi | Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Lazio |
| Lanzetta | Campania, Lazio |
| Lancia | Lazio, Abruzzo |
| Lanzo | Apulia, Calabria |
FAQ
What does the surname Lanza mean?
It comes from lanza, the old and dialect form of “lancia,” lance. It was the nickname of a man-at-arms: a soldier on horseback or a weapon bearer in the service of a lord.
Is Lanza a Sicilian or a Piedmontese surname?
Both. Sicily and Piedmont are the two homes of the surname, born separately from the same word. In Piedmont it is very strong around Biella.
Are Lanza and Lancia the same surname?
They come from the same word. Lancia is the form of today’s Italian, found as a surname mostly in Lazio and Abruzzo. Until the 1800s the same family could appear in the registers with different forms.
Do the Lanzas descend from the princes of Trabia?
Almost none of today’s Lanza families do. The surname was born many times, in different places, from a nickname tied to weapons. Only documents can tell which branch a family comes from.
Are all Lanzas related?
No. The Sicilian and the Piedmontese Lanzas are two separate branches, and even within each one the families are often unrelated. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Lanza surname noble?
The surname itself does not mean nobility. Sicily had a great noble Lanza family, but the surname belongs to families of every station: farmers, craftsmen, blacksmiths, soldiers.
Is there a Lanza family coat of arms?
There is no coat of arms that belongs to every Lanza. The princes of Trabia had one, some Lanza families of Asti had another, completely different: each belonged only to them.
Is Lanza also a Spanish surname?
Yes. In Spanish the lance is called exactly that, lanza. This is why in Spain and Latin America there is a Lanza surname born independently from the Italian one.
