Where the Laratta surname comes from
Scholars have no certain answer on the meaning of Laratta, and anyone who tells you a precise, final story is making it up. The most cautious and most likely theory is an old family nickname. It was tied to a forefather or to a local turn of phrase, and over time it settled as an inherited surname. A tradition also links it to a noble family with an almost identical name. The PDF tells whether it holds up.
A surname in the notaries’ registers
Laratta is old and well documented: it appears in Calabrian notarial records for more than three centuries. The PDF tells who the Larattas are that the old documents remember, from the 1600s to today.
Where the Larattas live today
Laratta is a rare, entirely Calabrian surname: about 680 people carry it in Italy. Its heartland is in the Serre of the Catanzaro area, in Gagliato, where it is one of the most common surnames among residents. The other center is the Crotone area, with an old cluster in San Giovanni in Fiore. Outside Calabria the families are few, and came with the work migrations of the 1900s. The PDF has the region-by-region map and the countries around the world.
Variants
The PDF records no widespread variants of the Laratta surname.
FAQ
What does the surname Laratta mean?
Its origin is debated: scholars have not accepted a certain etymology. The most cautious theory is an old family nickname that became an inherited surname.
Is Laratta a Calabrian surname?
Yes. Its heartland is in the Serre of the Catanzaro area, in Gagliato, and in the Crotone area, with an old cluster in San Giovanni in Fiore. Outside Calabria the families are few and recent.
Are Laratta and Della Ratta the same surname?
There is no way to say. A heraldic tradition links Laratta to the Della Ratta family, of Catalan origin, but no documented study shows that the Calabrian Larattas descend from it.
How many Larattas are there?
About 680 people in Italy and just over 800 in the world. These are estimates: it is a rare surname that has stayed mostly in its land of origin.
Are all Larattas related?
No. The Larattas known from history each come from their own family and their own town. To trace your own family’s story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is Laratta a noble surname?
No. There is no record of an old noble house of Laratta: it was a surname of ordinary people, farmers, craftsmen and small-town notaries of the Serre and the Crotone area.
Is there a Laratta family coat of arms?
No. No documented coat of arms of the Larattas is on record. There is a noble Della Ratta family, but that is another story, and a coat of arms valid for a whole surname does not exist.
