Where the Sanfilippo surname comes from
Sanfilippo, written as one word, hides two: San Filippo, Saint Philip. According to scholars it most likely comes from one of the Sicilian places that bear the saint’s name. Whoever left one of them became, somewhere else, “the one from San Filippo.” The saint is Saint Philip of Agira, whom Sicily has loved for two thousand years.
The saint who came from the East
According to tradition, Philip came to Sicily from the East to preach the Gospel. Along the road he traveled, churches, hamlets and towns bearing his name remain. The PDF tells which ones they are, and which one has a story that goes back to the Normans.
Where the Sanfilippos live today
Sanfilippo is a deeply Sicilian surname, with about 3,600 families in Italy. It is strongest in the province of Agrigento. The town where it is number one is Santa Flavia, on the coast near Palermo. Off the island there is a branch in Rome, and the emigration of the 1900s carried it to the cities of the North. The region-by-region map and the countries around the world where they settled are in the PDF.
Variants
Sanfilippo is a compact surname, with no common alternative forms. In old records, though, it is also found written as separate words, “San Filippo” or “Di San Filippo.”
FAQ
What does the surname Sanfilippo mean?
It most likely comes from one of the places in Sicily dedicated to Saint Philip, such as Aci San Filippo or San Filippo del Mela. For some families the road may have been a tie to the saint’s cult.
Is Sanfilippo a Sicilian surname?
Yes. It is the 37th most common surname in Sicily and the 12th in the province of Agrigento. Off the island it is found mostly in Rome and in the cities of the North, where it arrived with the emigration of the 1900s.
Are Sanfilippo and San Filippo the same surname?
Yes. In old records the surname is also found written as separate words, “San Filippo” or “Di San Filippo.” Anyone searching for their ancestors should try all these spellings.
Who was Saint Philip of Agira?
According to tradition, he was a priest born in the East, sent from Rome to Sicily to preach the Gospel. He died in Agira, in the province of Enna, in 103, and for centuries the town was called San Filippo d’Agira.
Are all Sanfilippos related?
No. The surname was born from different places, in families that were not related. To rebuild your own story you need birth records and parish registers.
Is the Sanfilippo surname noble?
The surname itself doesn’t mean nobility. A noble Sanfilippo family lived in Sicily, barons and later dukes of Grotte, but almost all the other Sanfilippo families had no coat of arms.
Is there a Sanfilippo family coat of arms?
Heraldic archives record the coat of arms of that noble Sicilian family, and it was theirs. No single coat of arms belongs to every Sanfilippo.
