Where the Messina surname comes from
Messina is a place surname: it meant “the one who came from Messina.” Whoever left the city on the Strait became, in another town, the man from Messina. The city’s name comes from the Greek Messene. Before that it was called Zancle, “sickle,” after the shape of its harbor.
The strange geography of a surname
The Messina surname has its record far from the Strait. It is number one in the city of Palermo and second in all of Sicily. The PDF explains why this happens, and which rule applies to other city surnames too, along with the story of the 1908 earthquake, which drove many people from Messina to leave.
Where the Messina families live today
Messina is a thoroughly Sicilian surname: there are about 12,300 families in Italy. Its heart is in Palermo, with a strong presence around Catania. Outside Sicily you find it mostly in Lombardy, Piedmont and Rome, because of 20th-century migration. Outside Italy the largest community is in the United States. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached are in the PDF.
Variants
The forms of the surname are few and all easy to read: they name the same city in different ways. The PDF shows where each one settled.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Messina | Sicily, Lombardy, Piedmont |
| Messineo | Sicily, Calabria, Lombardy |
| Messinese | Apulia, Sicily, Lombardy |
FAQ
What does the surname Messina mean?
It referred to someone who came from the city of Messina. The name was born elsewhere, when a person from Messina moved to another town and became “the one from Messina.”
Is Messina a Sicilian surname?
Yes, thoroughly. It is the second most common surname in all of Sicily and the first in the city of Palermo. It reached northern Italy and Rome mostly with 20th-century migration.
Are Messina and Messineo the same surname?
They share the same origin, the city of Messina. Messineo is Sicilian and Calabrian, found on both shores of the Strait. Messinese means exactly “the man from Messina” and also has a line in Apulia.
Where does the name of the city of Messina come from?
Its first name was Zancle, a word of the Sicels meaning “sickle,” after the shape of the harbor. Then Anaxilas, tyrant of Rhegium, resettled it and named it Messene. The Romans called it Messana.
Are all Messinas related?
No. The surname was born every time someone left Messina for another town, so it comes from different families. To trace your own family’s story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Messina surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t indicate nobility. It was carried by families of every walk of life: fishermen, craftsmen, farmers, sailors.
Is there a Messina family coat of arms?
No single coat of arms belongs to every Messina. And the city’s coat of arms, with its gold cross on a red field, belongs to the town, not to the families who bear its name.
