Where the Rizza surname comes from
Rizza was born from a nickname. In the dialects of the South, rizzo meant “curly” (the same word as riccio, which is also the hedgehog). The first Rizza may have had curly hair or hair standing on end, or a sharp, prickly temper.
It’s the same nickname that gave the surname Rizzo, which is much more common. Rizza is a less common form of it, typical of Sicily.
A naturalist against the Bourbons
In nineteenth-century Syracuse, a Rizza who was a doctor and naturalist studied crabs, insects and birds. The place of study he founded in the city soon became the meeting point for those plotting against the Bourbons. The PDF tells his story, and that of an archaeologist and a mathematician of the 1900s.
Where the Rizzas live today
Rizza is mainly a Sicilian surname. There are about 2,700 families in Italy, with their heart in the southern part of the island. In the province of Syracuse it is the sixth most common surname, and in the city itself it is among the top three. There are also branches in Lazio and Calabria, while it reached Lombardy with the emigration of the 1900s. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where they settled are in the PDF.
Variants
Dozens of surnames all over Italy were born from the word for curly. The PDF explains where each one comes from.
| Surname | Where it is concentrated |
|---|---|
| Rizza | Sicily, Lombardy, Lazio |
| Rizzo | Sicily, Apulia, Veneto |
| Rizzi | Lombardy, Apulia, Veneto |
| Riccio | Campania, Lazio, Piedmont |
| Rizzuto | Sicily, Calabria |
| Rizzotto | Veneto, Sicily, Lombardy |
FAQ
What does the surname Rizza mean?
“The curly one.” It comes from the dialect word rizzo and perhaps marked someone with frizzy hair, or a sharp, prickly temper.
Is Rizza a Sicilian surname?
Yes, mainly. Its heart is southern Sicily: in the province of Syracuse it is the sixth most common surname. There are also branches in Lazio and Calabria, between Catanzaro and Crotone.
Are Rizza and Rizzo the same surname?
They come from the same nickname, “curly.” Rizzo is the bigger cousin, strong in Sicily, Apulia and Veneto. Rizza is a less common form, typical of Sicily, and in old records the same family may appear under different forms.
Are all Rizzas related?
No. In many towns there was someone called “il rizzo,” and two Rizza families almost always have no ties to each other. To rebuild your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Rizza surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t mean nobility. It comes from a popular nickname, tied to the hair or the temper of the person who carried it.
Is there a Rizza family coat of arms?
No single coat of arms belongs to every Rizza. Each coat of arms belonged to a specific branch of a family, in a specific place and time. Almost no Rizza family ever had one.
Does the town of Isola Rizza have anything to do with the surname?
No. The town in the province of Verona was called Isola Porcarizza, meaning “pig pen.” In 1872 the residents changed the name because they found it almost vulgar.
