Where the Scalia surname comes from
Scalia comes from the name of a place. Behind it is the word scala, which once meant more than a stairway: it could also be a hillside cut into farming terraces, or a landing, a harbor on the coast.
There were several places with this name. Someone who came from one of those places, or lived there, ended up called by the name of the place, and from that the surname was born.
From Sicily to America
The PDF presents three Scalias with ties to both Sicily and America. The booklet tells who they are and what paths they took.
Where the Scalias live today
Scalia is a Sicilian surname: almost 6,000 people carry it in Italy, mostly in the provinces of Catania and Palermo. It is very strong in the Agrigento area, where in Cattolica Eraclea it has always been among the very top surnames. The families in the north and in Lazio come from the emigration of the 1900s, and there are about 10,000 Scalias in the world. The PDF has the region-by-region map and the countries they reached.
Variants
The PDF records no widespread variants of Scalia: the form is stable, almost always Scalia. It does explain how to tell two Scalia families from the same town apart.
FAQ
What does the surname Scalia mean?
It comes from a place name with the root scala, which meant a stairway, a terraced hillside or a landing. It is the name of someone who came from a place like that.
Is Scalia a Sicilian surname?
Yes. Its heartland is in eastern and central Sicily, in the provinces of Catania and Palermo, especially strong in the Agrigento area, at Cattolica Eraclea. Outside the island it lives in small groups in Lazio, Lombardy and Piedmont.
Was Antonin Scalia of Sicilian origin?
Yes. The US Supreme Court justice was the son of an immigrant from Sommatino, in Sicily, and was the first justice of Italian origin to sit on that Court.
Are all Scalias related?
No. Several Scalia families can live in the same town with no close family ties, and they are often told apart by family nicknames.
Is the Scalia surname noble?
The surname itself is not a sign of nobility. It comes from the name of a place, and it was carried mostly by farmers, sulfur miners and families of Sicilian villages.
Is there a Scalia family coat of arms?
Some Scalia families had coats of arms of their own, sometimes with a ladder in the shield, but they belonged to those individual houses. There is no coat of arms that belongs to all Scalias.
How many Scalias are there?
Almost 6,000 in Italy and about 10,000 in the world. The second-largest group is in the United States, with over 2,500 people. These are cautious estimates.
Where should I look for my Scalia ancestors?
The starting point is almost always a specific town in the Catania, Palermo or Agrigento areas. In Sicily civil registration begins in 1820; before that, look in the parish registers.
