Surnames of Molise

Molise’s surnames, people by people

Before Rome, these mountains belonged to the Samnites, a people of shepherds and warriors who spoke Oscan. Molise was the heart of the territory of the Pentri, the strongest tribe, with its capital at Bovianum, today’s Bojano. The Samnites fought three long wars against Rome and lost, but their name survives: this land is still called Sannio. Then came the Romans, with Saepinum, Larinum and Venafrum, and many surnames in the book come from Latin.

At the end of the 6th century Molise became part of the Lombard Duchy of Benevento, and with the Lombards came a people few remember, the Bulgars. In the 11th century came the Normans, who made the area a county centered on Bojano: the region’s name comes from their counts, de Molisio.

Between the 15th and 16th centuries many Slavic families left Dalmatia and settled in lower Molise: in Acquaviva Collecroce, Montemitro and San Felice del Molise an old form of Croatian is still spoken. The Albanians, the arbëreshë, came too, and in Campomarino, Montecilfone, Portocannone and Ururi old Albanian is still spoken. The shepherds’ tratturi, the craftsmen’s workshops and the patron saints gave rise to many more surnames.

The volume gives a chapter to each of these eleven peoples and stories. For nearly all of them it lists the surnames in the book that carry their mark.

How to recognize a Molisan surname

Some signs are easy to spot. The Di and De before the father’s name: Di Pardo, Di Lena, Di Iorio, De Lena. Double names joined into a single word: Colavita, Gianfelice, Iantomasi. The mastro, the master craftsman: Mastropaolo, Mastroiacovo, Mastromonaco. And the pet endings of the southern dialects, like -illo and -iello: Colalillo, Miniello, Nardolillo.

Most Molisan surnames come from a personal name, often shortened the way people did in town: Nicola becomes Cola, Giovanni becomes Gianni and Ianni, Francesco becomes Cicco. That is how a single name gives rise to dozens of different surnames.

Province by province

At the back of the volume an index gathers the surnames most common in each province. There are 150 surnames from the book, spread across the two provinces, Campobasso and Isernia. Then comes the list of the 30 Molisan towns where a surname from the book is the most common. In Isernia, No. 1 is Antenucci.