Where the Puleo surname comes from
In Sicilian, puleu, or puleo, is pennyroyal: a small wild mint with pinkish flowers that grows along ditches. The word comes from the Latin puleium. Scholars of Sicilian surnames think the first Puleo was called that because of this herb. Perhaps he gathered it, sold it or used it as a remedy. It is the most widely held explanation, but there are others, and the PDF tells them all.
An herb from Roman times
Pennyroyal was an herb everyone knew, even in ancient times. Its Latin name hides a curious belief about what it was used for around the house. In a world without pharmacies, whoever knew the herbs was an important person in town. The PDF explains what people said about pennyroyal, and why today it’s better to leave it in the fields.
Where the Puleos live today
Puleo is a Sicilian surname: there are about 1,640 families in Italy, and almost eight out of ten live on the island. Its heart is the province of Palermo. But there is also a branch in Calabria: in Taverna, at the foot of the Sila mountains, Puleo is the town’s second most common surname. Worldwide there are more than eleven thousand Puleos, and almost half live outside Italy. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where they settled are in the PDF.
Variants
The surname has a rarer form, closer to the Latin, and in old records a spelling with a j also appears. The PDF tells which ones they are and where they are found.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Puleo | Sicily, Lombardy, Calabria |
| Puleio | Sicily, Lazio, Calabria |
FAQ
What does the surname Puleo mean?
It comes from the Sicilian puleu, pennyroyal: a wild mint that grows along ditches. The first Puleo perhaps gathered it, sold it or used it as a remedy.
Is Puleo a Sicilian surname?
Yes. Almost eight out of ten Italian Puleos live in Sicily, mostly in the province of Palermo. Off the island the surname is found in Lombardy, Calabria and Piedmont.
Is Puleo also a Calabrian surname?
There is a Calabrian branch. In Taverna, in the province of Catanzaro, Puleo is the town’s second most common surname. But the heart of the surname is still Sicily.
Are Puleo and Puleio the same surname?
Yes, they are forms of the same name. Puleio is rarer and closer to the Latin puleium. In old records Pulejo also appears, and the same family may be written in all three ways.
Are all Puleos related?
No. A nickname like this one is born in many different places, even though almost all the families come from Sicily. To rebuild your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Puleo surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t mean nobility. It comes from a nickname tied to a country herb, and almost no Puleo family ever had a coat of arms.
Is there a Puleo family coat of arms?
If a Puleo family of Messina or Palermo had a coat of arms, it belonged to that specific branch. No single coat of arms belongs to every Puleo.
