Where the Mirenna surname comes from
Mirenna most likely comes from an old nickname. Behind it is a word still alive in the Sicilian dialect: mirenna, the afternoon snack. The word comes from the Latin merenda, “things to be earned.” It may have been the nickname of someone who never skipped his snack, which later became a family name.
A name more than seven hundred years old
The name was circulating in Sicily long before surnames settled into the form they have today. Medieval documents preserve the trace of an ancestor with the twin form of the name. And the dialect still keeps an old proverb about the afternoon snack. The PDF tells who that man was and what the proverb teaches.
Where the Mirenna families live today
Mirenna is a very rare surname, and Sicilian through and through. About 210 people carry it in Italy, and almost nine in ten live in Sicily. Its heartland is the eastern part of the island, in the Catania area and around Paternò, at the foot of Mount Etna. The small groups in Lazio and Campania came with the migrations of the 1900s. The PDF has the map and the countries around the world they reached.
Variants
Alongside Mirenna lives the twin form Mirenda, with the same origin. The PDF records no other common variants.
FAQ
What does the surname Mirenna mean?
It comes from the Sicilian mirenna, “afternoon snack,” which in turn comes from the Latin merenda. It was most likely a nickname tied to that meal, which later became a surname.
Is Mirenna a Sicilian surname?
Yes. Almost nine in ten people named Mirenna live in Sicily, above all in the Catania area and around Paternò. The few families in Lazio and Campania arrived in the 1900s.
Are Mirenna and Mirenda the same surname?
They share the same origin: they are two versions of the same name. Scholars of Sicilian surnames link both to the word for the afternoon snack.
How many people are named Mirenna?
About 210 in Italy and about 290 worldwide. These are estimates: for such a rare surname, a few families are enough to change the picture.
Are all Mirenna families related?
Not necessarily: the same nickname could be given to more than one person. The surname, though, is rare and concentrated in a small area. To be sure you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Mirenna surname noble?
No. It comes from the everyday speech of ordinary people, a nickname tied to the afternoon snack, and there is no record of an old noble Mirenna house.
Is there a Mirenna family coat of arms?
No. No documented Mirenna coat of arms is known. The coats of arms sold online pair the name with any old crest, with no link to the family.
Where do you search for Mirenna ancestors?
In Sicily, civil records begin in 1820; for earlier years you go back to parish registers. What matters most is your family’s exact town, starting with the Catania area and Paternò.
