Where the Montalbano surname comes from
Montalbano is a place surname. In the Middle Ages, anyone who moved was called by the name of the town they came from: “the one from Montalbano.” The nickname stayed with the children and became the surname.
According to many scholars, the name comes from the Latin mons albus, “white mountain.” But there are quite a few places in Italy called Montalbano. The PDF tells which one scholars point to for the Montalbanos of Sicily.
A knight and an inspector
Long before Camilleri’s novels, the name Montalbano was already famous in Sicily. It belonged to a hero that generations of Sicilians watched fight on the puppeteers’ stage. Then came the inspector of Vigata, and the surname became one of the best known in Italy. The PDF tells where that name came from, according to Camilleri himself.
Where the Montalbano families live today
Montalbano is a Sicilian surname, above all from the western part of the island. There are about 1,700 families in Italy. In the province of Agrigento it is the seventh most common surname, and in Cianciana it is the town’s third. Outside Sicily it is found mostly in Lombardy and Piedmont, and almost as many live overseas as in Italy. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world they reached are in the PDF.
Variants
The same “white mountain” gave surnames in other European languages too, while in Italy the form ending in -i is very rare. The PDF explains who the cousins are and where they come from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Montalbano | Sicily, then Lombardy and Piedmont |
| Montalbani | Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany |
| Montalbán | Spain |
FAQ
What does the surname Montalbano mean?
It means “from Montalbano,” the name of several Italian places. According to many scholars it comes from the Latin mons albus, “white mountain”: a mountain covered in snow in winter, or one with pale rock.
Is Montalbano a Sicilian surname?
Yes, above all from western Sicily: in the province of Agrigento it is the seventh most common surname. Small groups also live in other regions, sometimes with different origins: Tuscany and Emilia have other places with the same name.
Does the Montalbano surname come from Camilleri’s inspector?
No. The surname is much older: it comes from the places called Montalbano, which already existed in the Middle Ages. Inspector Salvo Montalbano was created in 1994 by Andrea Camilleri.
Are Montalbano and Montalbán the same surname?
They share the same root, the “white mountain,” in two different languages. Montalbán is the Spanish surname: in Spain there are several places with this name.
Are all Montalbanos related?
No. There are several places called Montalbano, and the surname was born many times from people who left different towns. To trace your own family’s story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Montalbano surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t indicate nobility. It is a place surname, born many times from different people, with no single founder.
Is there a Montalbano family coat of arms?
No single coat of arms belongs to every Montalbano, because the surname has no single founder. Also be careful not to confuse the coat of arms of the town of Montalbano Elicona with a family’s.
