Where the Licata surname comes from
Licata is the name of a town on the south coast of Sicily, in the province of Agrigento. The first Licata was, most likely, someone who came from there.
A surname from a place is usually born far from that place. In town, everyone was from Licata: it was the one who left who became, to the new neighbors, “the one from Licata.” The name then stayed with the children. Where the town’s own name comes from, on the other hand, scholars are still debating.
A town with two thousand years of history
Off the headland of Licata, one of the greatest naval battles of the ancient world was fought. A friar came to the town from Jerusalem, and the people of Licata celebrate him every May. And a Licata from Enna, a miner for twenty years, became the oldest man in the world. These stories are in the PDF.
Where the Licatas live today
Licata is a Sicilian surname, above all from the Agrigento area. In Italy there are about 2,400 families. In the province of Agrigento it is the third most common surname of all, and in Aragona, the town of the little mud volcanoes, it is the fifth. Outside Sicily the Licatas live mostly in Lombardy, Piedmont and Lazio, where Sicilians went to work in the 1900s. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where they settled are in the PDF.
Variants
Alongside Licata there are two rarer forms, both Sicilian. The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Licata | Sicily (Agrigento) |
| Alicata | Sicily |
| La Licata | Sicily (Palermo) |
FAQ
What does the surname Licata mean?
“The one who comes from Licata,” the seaside town in the province of Agrigento. It is a surname born from a place name and then passed down to the children.
Is Licata a Sicilian surname?
Yes. It is typically Sicilian and above all from the Agrigento area: in the province of Agrigento it is the third most common surname. The families in Lombardy, Piedmont and Lazio come from the migrations of the 1900s.
Where does the name of the town of Licata come from?
Its origin is debated. The two most accepted theories are the Greek Leucada or the Arabic al-Qal’a, “the fortress.” Neither is proven for certain.
Are Licata and Alicata the same surname?
Yes, they have the same origin. Alicata is the name the town had for centuries: those who bear it have kept the old form. La Licata, with the article, is found mostly around Palermo.
Are all Licatas related?
No. Anyone who left Licata could become “Licata” in the town where they arrived, so the surname was born more than once. To trace your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Licata surname noble?
The surname itself does not mean nobility. A noble Licata family lived in Palermo, the princes of Baucina. But the vast majority of Licatas came from families of farmers, fishermen, craftsmen and miners.
Is there a Licata family coat of arms?
Heraldic archives record the coat of arms of the Licata princes of Baucina, with a gold lion on a red field. It was the coat of arms of that family: there is none that belongs to every Licata.
