Where the Pirrello surname comes from
Pirrello most likely comes from the Greek Pyrrhos, Pirro: a name that means “red-haired,” “the color of flame.” The word comes from pyr, “fire.” The -ello ending is a diminutive: little Pirro, or the reddish one. In a way, Pirrello is the Greek cousin of Rossi.
A king, a plaque and a town in the Belice valley
The most famous Pyrrhus was a Greek king who came all the way to Sicily, and he gave us a saying that is still alive. In the 1700s, in Bagheria, a plaque remembers a Pirrello craftsman in the service of a great prince. And in the Belice valley there is a town rebuilt after the earthquake where the surname is at home. Their stories are in the PDF.
Where the Pirrellos live today
Pirrello is a Sicilian surname: there are about 700 families in Italy, and seven out of ten live on the island. Calabria comes second, especially around the Strait of Messina. In the province of Trapani there is a town where Pirrello is the 8th most common surname: Salaparuta. It reached the North with the emigration of the 1900s. Outside Italy the largest community is in the United States. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where they settled are in the PDF.
Variants
The same Greek name gave rise to three surnames, common in different parts of Italy. The PDF tells how they are connected.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Pirrello | Sicily, Calabria, Piedmont |
| Pirro | Lazio, Campania, Apulia |
| Pirrelli | Apulia, Tuscany, Calabria |
FAQ
What does the surname Pirrello mean?
“Little Pirro,” that is, the reddish one. It comes from the Greek Pyrrhos, “the color of flame,” “red-haired”: the same meaning as Rossi.
Is Pirrello a Sicilian surname?
Yes. Seven out of ten Italian Pirrellos live in Sicily, from the Trapani area through the Palermo area to Caltanissetta. The second center is in Calabria, around Reggio.
Are Pirrello and Pirro the same surname?
They share the same root, the Greek name Pirro. Pirro is the base name, used as a surname without a diminutive, and is more common in central and southern Italy. Pirrello is the diminutive form, typical of Sicily.
Why do old records show Pirello or Pirrelli?
Until the 1800s the surname was written by whoever kept the register, often the way they heard it pronounced. The same family may appear as Pirrello, Pirello or Pirrelli: in the archives it’s worth searching for every form.
Are all Pirrellos related?
No. The surname comes from a personal name, perhaps more than once, and has no single founder. To rebuild your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Pirrello surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t mean nobility. It comes from a personal name, and almost no Pirrello family ever had a coat of arms.
Is there a Pirrello family coat of arms?
There is no coat of arms for the surname. If a Pirrello family of Palermo or Trapani had a coat of arms, it was theirs and not that of every Pirrello in Italy.
